On March 25, 2021 the Government of Dominica engaged in a high level Dialogue with the United Nations Sub-Regional Team for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, to provide a roadmap for a more upscaled partnership and better tailored support to meet the priority needs of the Government and people of Dominica.
The Dominica delegation was headed by the Honourable Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, and included members of Cabinet and Senior Public Officers, while the UN Team led by UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Didier Trebucq, included the Heads of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes (UNDP, FAO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, WFP, IOM, ITU, ECLAC, UNEP, UN HABITAT, UNDRR and ILO)
The virtual talks sought to affirm, at the highest level, the UN’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Dominica. This includes identifying key priorities or gaps to be addressed, based on national strategies and development challenges, opportunities for advancing progress on implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and establishment of a joint national steering committee to provide oversight for effective programme implementation, monitoring and reporting.
Describing the meeting as a right step in strengthening Dominica’s relationship with the UN, Prime Minister Skerrit welcomed the efforts by the UN Development System to streamline its support and improve administrative coordination
towards Dominica’s national agenda. “Over the years, the UN has been a trusted and reliable partner to the Government of Dominica. In the last few years, particularly post Hurricane Maria, Dominica’s engagement with the UN has intensified with support from more agencies within the UN System, for social protection programmes, disaster risk reduction and recovery, climate resilience strategy, and economic development,” he noted.
UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Didier Trebucq, underscored the UN’s continued commitment to responding to Dominica’s unique needs, operationalized through a new Dominica-UN Implementation Plan to provide the country with a more integrated support from the UN system, and enhanced by the presence of an in-country UN Coordination Officer. “As part of our ongoing UN Reform efforts, we have been increasing our diverse support for SIDS and particularly to address their vulnerabilities as a result of COVID-19. It is about bringing a distinctive upscaled offer that better tailors our policy and technical support to each country in alignment with national needs and regional priorities,” he underlined.
During the talks, officials on both sides discussed ongoing projects and programmes as well as opportunities for new partnerships in all sectors. The UN team engaged line Ministers on development needs for targeted thematic areas of focus including Digital Transformation, COVID-19 Response, Socio-Economic Resilience, Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, Institutional Strengthening, Sustainable Financing, and Strengthening of Data Systems. The Government of Dominica looks forward to its continued partnership with the UN to realize our shared vision of achieving the SDGs, building a greener and more resilient future, and leaving no one behind.
