(2nd meeting) Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS (Second regular session 2025)

Good afternoon, colleagues. I declare open the 2nd meeting of the 2nd Regular Session 2025 of the Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS. This segment is being held in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board and the approved Annual Work Plan. This afternoon, we will continue the UNDP segment with Agenda Item 16, UNDP Regional Programme Documents 2026-2029, with the presentation of the Regional Programme Documents for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Arab States, Europe and the CIS, and Latin America and the Caribbean for 2026-2029. 2026-2029. I am pleased to welcome to the podium Ms. Ahuna Aziya Konwa, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa; Ms. Ivana Zivkovic, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS; Ms. Michelle Muschet, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean; Ms. Kani Wignaraja, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific; and Ms. Marina Walter, Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director, Regional Bureau for Arab States. I will first give the floor to Ms. Ahuna Esiakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Director, Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP, to present the regional program document for the region. You have the floor, Madam.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Chair.

Dear Executive Board members, esteemed representatives of governments, ladies and gentlemen, it's really an honor to present to you today the Africa program Regional Program Document for 2026-2029. Africa today stands at an inflection point— dynamic, youthful, and innovative, with rapid digitalization, expanding regional integration, and playing quite a pivotal role in advancing global climate solutions. Yet the continent still faces intersecting pressures of fragility, debt, inequality, and intensifying climate shocks. These dual realities underscore the opportunity for a renewed regional program that responds with clarity and ambition. The regional program document before you today has been shaped by over 175 consultations with African governments, the African Union Commission, regional economic communities, civil society, private sector partners, women, and youth. It reflects lessons from the midterm evaluation of the current program and aligns fully with the new UNDP strategic plan. Plan, the AU Decade of Acceleration, the Agenda 2030, and Africa's Agenda 2063. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the program is structured around 4 interconnected outcomes. One, prosperity, which focuses on advancing structural economic transformation, including through the African Continental Free Trade Area. The world's largest single market of 1.4 billion people. Flagship initiatives such as Timbuktu aim to unleash the creativity of Africa's youth, strengthening their agency and economic opportunities. In displaying thought leadership, UNDP works closely with key institutions such as the UN Economic Community, Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank to organize annually the African Economic Conference, presenting policy options for Africa amidst an increasingly unpredictable global landscape. This initiative will continue under the new program. The second is governance. Governance is central to renewing the social contract by strengthening institutions, protecting civil space, and promoting inclusive participation. Following the wave of complex transitions from 2020 to 2024, jointly with the African Union Commission, UNDP is working closely also with other UN partners at regional level and at country level to launch the Africa Facility for Inclusive Transitions, which provides integrated programmatic support to countries undergoing complex political transitions, bolstering African citizens' belief in accountable governance and reinforcing regional norms, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. While also advancing women's and youth's political participation. Crisis resilience is the third, and this recognizes that fragility knows no borders. From the Sahel to the Horn of Africa, from the Great Lakes to the Lake Chad Basin, communities confront conflict, displacement, and violent extremism, and they also face face climate shocks. The program commits to cross-border approaches to prevention and peacebuilding and to supporting recovery and reintegration, as well as the humanitarian-development nexus. It builds on the work of the Africa Borderlands Center. We will use this to turn borderlands from zones of vulnerability into zones of opportunity. The fourth is planet, a healthy planet. By placing Africa's climate leadership at the heart of the program, it focuses on unleashing Africa's immense renewable energy potential.

I thank Ms. Ezeakonwa for her remarks. Dear colleagues, I now open the floor for any comments or questions you might have. The floor is open. I see none. I would like to thank once again Ms. Ezeakonwa for her presentation. This concludes our review of the Regional Programme Document for Africa 2026-2029. I now give the floor to Ms. Ivana Živković, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Europe, CIS UNDP, to present the Regional Programme Document for the region. You have the floor, Ms. Ševković.

Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President, distinguished members of the Executive Board, Excellencies. I'm honored to present the Regional Programme Document for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States for 2026 to 2029. It translates the upcoming UNDP Strategic Plan into our regional context, guided by the same 4 outcomes and 3 accelerators, and is underpinned by a commitment to human rights and to leaving no one behind. Our region has made important gains, including increase in human development, expanded social protection, and rapid digitalization. Yet It faces persistent inequalities, demographic shifts, labor market pressures, and mounting climate and environmental risks. Recent shocks from the war in Ukraine and wider geopolitical instability to extreme weather disasters and rising social tensions underscore the need for comprehensive, integrated, and inclusive regional solutions tailored to diverse sub-regional realities. We will therefore apply systems and portfolio approaches to regional public goods and shared challenges, complementing the support delivered through UNDP country programs. Under Prosperity for All, we will support countries in expanding economic opportunities, particularly for youth and women, through nature— through future-ready skills, including artificial intelligence. We will strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, connect local producers to regional and global value chains, and advance decarbonization through just transitions. Focus will be placed on strengthening human capital, social protection, and health and care systems, with attention to demographic transitions and expanding mental health services using regional initiatives that transfer solutions across borders. On effective governance, we will enhance government efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness through digital transformation and anti-corruption measures. We will focus on shaping future-ready institutions with enhanced foresight capabilities and strengthen institutions to uphold human rights, advance the rule of law, and deliver people-centered justice. We will strengthen local governance through our regional urban portfolio and peer-to-peer network of local authorities and support security sector reforms and confidence-building measures across the region. On crisis resilience, we will address drivers to fragility, enhance regional early early warning systems and support risk-informed development approaches. In conflict-affected contexts, we will support governments to re-establish functionality, bridge humanitarian and development efforts, and help mobilize financing for long-term resilience. Under Healthy Planet, we will help countries implement climate and environmental commitments through national planning and public finance systems. We will advance sustainable energy, climate adaptation, circular economy approaches, and nature-based solutions while addressing transboundary environmental challenges through enhanced regional cooperation. The program will be delivered through diverse partnerships, first and foremost with program countries including Türkiye as the host of our regional hub, as well as with our traditional partners and other emerging strategic counterparts. Drawing on our system-wide integrator role, we will work with the UN entities through the Regional Collaborative Platform and strengthen partnerships with international financial institutions. We will also deepen engagement with the private sector, civil society, academia, youth networks, and philanthropic philanthropic partners, and continue to support the South-South and triangular cooperation. This regional program budget is estimated at $86 million over 4 years, with the institutional core allocation of $1.7 million. Mr. President, Excellencies, this program translates the strategic plan into a coherent region-specific offer And we respectfully seek the Board's endorsement for our regional program document. I'm available for any questions. Thank you.

I thank Ms. Sivkovic for her presentation. I now open the floor for comments or questions. I see distinguished representative of the Russian Federation. You have the floor.

Mr. Chairman, this— Madam Regional Director, the Russian Federation has taken note of the draft document that has been submitted, and we wish to note that it is not entirely balanced in nature, and there and this is a general remark regarding regional program documents, that there were no consultations with member states conducted on these documents. We have before us the final drafts. On the regional program document for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, the document asserts that UNDP intends to pay particular attention to regional social welfare and general development-related challenges which can best be resolved at the regional or sub-regional levels, including through regional integration initiatives. At the same time, we wish to note that the document has a one-sided view of a region largely through the prism of the European Union from its perspective. Its support for expansion of the EU as well as assistance in normative basis of dates being adapted to reflect— to align with those of the EU. At the same time, 4 of 17 countries in the region, that is one-fourth, which— where the programs are being carried out, are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, which are operating in line with their own rules and integration processes. We think the document should better reflect the distinctions of regional bodies and ways for— paths for development of states. At the same time, we are also concerned about the biased UNDP approach in terms of development of transport routes in the region. Given the sensitivity of this matter, we call upon the program and its activity to hew to a neutral approach in the UN development system, to have a more balanced and inclusive approach. This would better reflect the interests and advance the interests of states in the region. We request that the comments be reflected in the report, and we trust that they will be taken into account in the program.

Thank you.

when the regional program document is implemented. Thank you for your attention.

I thank distinguished representative of the Russian Federation. See, I see no other requests for the floor. I would like to go back to Ms. Živković for her response, please.

Thank you. Thank you very much for the comment. We wanted to make this regional program document as inclusive as possible, of course, and involving as many partners as possible. Through our regional interactions and also through the country program documents, and also given the ownership of the program countries, there have been some priorities, as stated, more important, perhaps of a higher priority. And when you speak about inclusivity when it comes to corridors, we as UNDP support the reference that you have provided to us, and we would of course like to make it broader and more inclusive. However, this was not possible as the text of the document was already published, but we very much see the point and are more than happy to involve work on different corridors in the region. When it comes to your perception of supporting the European Union perspective, it is in a way that we have done in certain member states perhaps a comparison of SDGs and European Union accession goals. And to some 70%, they overlap. So we, we work on the ones that are contributing to governments' European Union accession targets, but not stepping away from those Sustainable Development Goals. And when we talk about alignment to the EU, this also means trade perhaps facilitation, alignment of rules and procedures, which also supports countries in easier access to the European Union market. And for many countries in our region, this is the primary market of export for the products. So in that way, of course, the, the perception of one-sidedness, we don't really share that view, and we are definitely very much open to extending our cooperation with different organizations in our regions, as we already have been doing in the, in the past, including the Eurasian Economic Union. Thank you.

I, I thank Ms. Sivkovic for her response. Colleagues, this concludes our review of the Regional Programme Document for Europe and the CIS, 2026-2029. I finally give the floor to Ms. Michelle Muschet, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP, to present the Regional Programme Document for the region. You have the floor, Ms. Muschet.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Excellencies, distinguished members of the Executive Board, colleagues, I wish to begin by thanking the members of this Executive Board for the support they provided to the process by which we present regional programs at this 2nd Regular Session. Latin America and the Caribbean is a region with a wealth of potential. It is a superpower in terms of biodiversity, a leader in social innovation, and the home of vibrant democracies. In the 2 most recent decades, the region has been able to reduce poverty by half, significantly improve health and education, and broaden civic participation. However, this progress has been uneven, and today it has proven to be fragile. Growth is slow, productivity is stagnating, and inequality persists. Today, an increasingly high number of shocks are testing the resilience of our societies as never before.

Of the board, dear colleagues, it is in this context that I present to you the Regional Program Document for Latin America and the Caribbean for 2026-2029. This document lands the ambition of UNDP's Strategic Plan to the region's context and reflects an aspirational but realistic vision: to put resilience at the heart of the region's development agenda, as a promoter of agency, a protector of hard-won development gains, and a pathway towards sustainable progress. The priorities outlined in the Regional Programme Document are the result of extensive consultations with Member States, local governments, national counterparts, and UNDP colleagues. They are also closely aligned with the priorities set out in the Country Programme Documents across the region, ensuring that our actions directly support their implementation and help advance the goals they define. Our programme is anchored in 4 mutually reinforcing outcomes closely align with those of the Strategic Plan. First, resilience as a path towards development, helping countries build more stable middle classes that have the capacity to thrive amid uncertainty. This includes addressing root causes of vulnerability while lowering future risks. Second, effective governance, a clear priority for the region. Supporting institutions ensure that governance effectively responds to national priorities and meets the needs of people. Third, a healthy planet. Supporting countries align policies, institutions, and finance with climate and biodiversity goals, managing trade-offs in areas like energy and resource use, and building investment ecosystems for practices that feature what's found in nature to address social challenges benefiting people and planet. Fourth, prosperity for all, enhancing productivity, helping create employment, reducing vulnerabilities, particularly for youth, women, and those furthest behind, supporting entrepreneurship and strengthening social protection and care systems to consolidate stable middle classes. These outcomes, like the strategic plan, are powered by 3 accelerators: gender equality, digital transformation, and sustainable finance, embedded across all our work. The regional program relies on a reinvigorated regional cooperation to accelerate transformative change and proposes the Facility for Financing Resilient Human Development in LAC, operating from our regional hub in Panama as a platform to connect governments, development banks, private sector, civil society, academia and communities, and to leverage South-South and triangular cooperation, deepening strategic alliances with regional organizations, development cooperation agencies and other UN partners, honoring our integrator role. Our resource framework foresees a $40.7 million resource envelope, from which less than $6 million come from core resources. Aiming to leverage our resources, our regional presence and capacities to mobilize additional public and private resources for national-level implementation. Mr. President, Excellencies, Members of the Board, this is not just a plan. It is an invitation. An invitation to co-create solutions, align efforts, and seize opportunities that can emerge from uncertain times, working together to strengthen resilience, and foster human development within planetary boundaries will help ensure Latin America and the Caribbean not only weathers today's storms but strives in the decades to come.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair. Thank you, thank you, Ms. Mouchet, for your presentation. Colleagues, the floor is open for any questions or comments you might have. I see distinguished representative of Brazil. You have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. Brazil welcomes the presentation of the UNDP regional programs for the period 2026-2029, in particular the one for Latin America and the Caribbean. This document appropriately derives from the strategic plan while adding granularity by identifying the structural challenges faced by our region. We support its adoption. At the same time, my delegation wishes to highlight a few essential considerations for its effective implementation. First, Brazil recommends that the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean establish a mechanism for periodic dialogue with national focal points. Such a mechanism would serve 2 purposes. First, allow for discussion of potential regional cooperation initiatives in areas where UNDP could add value as an implementation partner. Second, ensure that national cooperation authorities are directly informed of initiatives supported under the regional programme. Second, Brazil stresses that any activities foreseen with subnational entities, non-governmental organizations, or private sector actors must be discussed and approved beforehand by the relevant national authorities in charge of international cooperation. This is necessary to guarantee alignment with each country's development priorities. Third, we consider that activities related to resource mobilization, whether from public or private sources, should be understood as complementary and integrated to the financing for development strategies defined by national governments. Regional initiatives must remain sensitive to the specific circumstances associated with financial matters in each country. Finally, Brazil recalls that the concept of human security does not enjoy a multilateral definition, and should therefore be avoided. Likewise, we do not find it appropriate to classify developing countries engaged in South-South cooperation as non-traditional donors, as the very nature of these exchanges and cooperation is distinct from traditional cooperation modalities. With these considerations, Mr. President, Brazil is prepared to join consensus on the adoption of the Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean. I thank you.

I thank distinguished representative of Brazil. I now give the floor to distinguished representative of Colombia.

Thank you very much. I wish to warmly greet Ms. Michelle Mouchet, Regional Director of the UNDP for Latin America and the Caribbean. Distinguished colleagues, Colombia commends the the Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean and recognize the fact that it is aligned with UNDP's strategic global plan. As the Regional Report on Human Development for 2025 affirms, development in Latin America and the Caribbean is under pressure and is at risk of seeing progress undone. In this vein, we recognize the value of concepts such as resilience and putting them at the heart of the strategic vision for the region. What's at stake is leaving no one behind and not allowing anyone to be left behind, either as countries or as a region. We agree that there are shared challenges. These include social fragmentation, reduced fiscal space, being able to harness technological change, the effects of climate change, and we note that there is harmonization with the goals and accelerators and between those and the regional context. There was work done in terms of sustainable finance during the previous cycle, and we hope that we'll be able to build on this experience to meet the fiscal and environmental challenges faced by our countries. President, Director, for Colombia, it is important that the regional program bolster its mechanisms which allow it to work on a territorial level. We must guarantee that regional strategies produce tangible impacts at a local level, particularly in territories which are highly vulnerable in climatic, social, and economic terms. And in territories where the concept of resilience tends to vanish. We also appeal for the strengthening of South-South and triangular cooperation, and we wish to see the effective participation of communities, women, young people, and indigenous peoples in all phases of the programme cycle. Lastly, Colombia recognizes the technical rigor of the programme and its follow-up and monitoring system. Here, it will be important for us to reflect national priorities and realities, and we appeal for greater coordination with the country teams and national authorities when it comes to implementing the regional plan.

Thank you. I thank distinguished representative of Colombia and now give the floor to Ms. Mouchet for her response.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I would like to start by thanking both the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil and Deputy Representative from Colombia for your support and your comments, and to mention that your recommendations are well taken. And I would like also to take the opportunity to mention that we are currently working to establish formal and informal mechanisms to connect with member states and national cooperation authorities to guarantee alignment at the national level. with the regional perspective. And this alignment includes resource mobilization, but also considering the work on territories and local communities. So with this, I thank you again and willing to continue working hand in hand with you to the implementation of the regional programme, shall we get your approval to it. Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Mouchette, for your response, but also Thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for your presentation. This concludes our review of the Regional Programme Document for Latin America and the Caribbean 2026-2029. I would now like to give the floor to Ms. Marina Wolter, Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director, Regional Bureau for Arab States, UNDP, to present the Regional Programme Document for the region. You have the floor, madam.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, ladies and Ladies and gentlemen, it's my real pleasure to present on behalf of the Bureau for Arab States the new Regional Programme document for the Arab States covering the period 2026 to 2029. This Regional Programme has been developed through extensive consultations with a wide range of stakeholders across the Arab States, building on the Strategic Plan discussions, including with Member States, the League of Arab States, the Arab Coordination Group, international financial institutions, UNESCWA, and many key partners. The program translates UNDP's global ambition in the new strategic plan into a regional framework that is grounded in both national but also regional priorities and opportunities, reflecting the unique potential of the Arab states. We believe that the region offers significant opportunities to rethink development models, strengthen partnerships, demonstrate regional leadership on global issues, and mobilize indeed new sources of financing. At the same time, as we all know, it faces complex and overlapping challenges from protracted conflict and crisis, economic instability, to climate shocks and social fragility. These challenges cross borders, borders, and require collective solutions and deeper regional collaboration. 3 developments have been particularly important in shaping this programme in front of you, reflecting a region defined both by volatility but also by momentum. First, the resurgence of complex crises, which increases needs for protection and collaboration across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Secondly, the emergence of regional leadership, which positions the Arab states increasingly as more of an influential global actor. And thirdly, a shifting donor landscape, as we heard before, creating demand for new and innovative ways to finance development. Building on these dynamics, the New Region Programme is designed as a strategic platform for inter-country collaboration, regional innovation, but also catalytic action across 4 interconnected objectives. It complements and tries to complement UNDP's country-level support while driving regional action on the Agenda 2030. The programme is fully aligned with and adopts the objectives of the UNDP Strategic Plan as it is proposed, ensuring coherence between regional initiatives and the global ones. As you will see, under Prosperity for All, we will promote inclusive economic transformation, regional cooperation at large. Achieving inclusive growth in the Arab states requires systemic change, for which we will attempt to link digital and green transformation, promote regional trade and investment, try to strengthen value chains, and promote a conducive business environment and financing ecosystem. Strengthening human capital and skills development will be central to generate quality employment and driving long-term economic change. A regional knowledge and skills index will track progress and guide evidence-based human development policies, while the program advances thought leadership on human development. Strategic investments in reconstruction, transport, and digital connectivity, along with innovative financing, will attempt to further strengthen resilient, knowledge-based economies. For effective governance, we will promote inclusive, transparent, and rights-based governance by empowering youth, women, and persons with disabilities and expanding civic space. Strengthening institutions through anti-corruption efforts, legal reforms, and public financial management will boost accountability and hopefully investor confidence in the region. The region program will also advance inclusive digital governance, develop smart public sector frameworks, and build capacity for responsible digital transition. On crisis resilience, we will strengthen the regional coordination for stabilization, recovery, and peacebuilding, including conflict prevention. Under Healthy Planet, we foster regional cooperation on shared environmental challenges the region is facing. By leveraging technical expertise, best practices, financial partnerships, we will try to help governments advance global environmental commitments, for example, through the Green Financing Platform. Across all of these objectives, digital transformations and AI will be key to drive cross-border infrastructure economic integration and futures.

I thank Ms. Mota for her presentation. I now open the floor for comments or questions. I see no request. This concludes, dear colleagues, our review of the Regional Programme Document for the Arab States 2026-2029. I now give the floor to Ms. Karniwi Naraja, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, UNDP, to present the Regional Programme Document for the region. Sveinadadja, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President, distinguished members of the Executive Board. I'm pleased to introduce the Regional Programme Document for Asia and the Pacific for 2026 to 2029. In this region, we cover 36 programme countries and territories. It is home to over half the world's population and is indeed a region of significant contrasts. So while it hosts a growing middle class, with a relatively stable economic growth overall, it is also home to 66% of the world's informal workers, millions who still live in extreme poverty, and it faces over 40% of the world's natural disasters. The new regional programme is grounded in how UNDP's new Strategic Plan addresses these challenges, drawing in UNDP's global expertise and partner networks. It has been shaped by over 100 consultations that was engaging all our countries in the region, our old and new partners, and the UN family. It draws on independent evaluation results and uses new forecasting tools and data to anticipate where regional public goods will evolve over the next 4 years. On oversight and governance, The RPD benefits from the strategic directions of internal and external advisory groups, including dedicated regional project boards, and twice-yearly will receive guidance from our Regional Ambassador Group in New York. In fact, I wish to thank them for the recent guidance we have just received. The Regional Programme is UNDP's primary instrument to drive regional, sub-regional and transboundary cooperation. To unlock untapped investments and partnerships that exist solely at this level, or largely at this level, and to promote and scale regional public goods and initiatives that have the backing of governments, businesses, and communities alike. It is aligned with our new strategic plan and is built on the same 4 foundational pillars. These are not abstract. Are grounded in the lived realities of our region. So, for example, we see increasing human mobility and the rise of informality. We see the differences in capabilities and skills and the ability to adjust, therefore, to new technology. We heed the need for policy coherence across countries and the call to respond to intensifying disasters that really don't recognize borders. These need multi-country collaboration. The Strategic Plan's 3 accelerators will drive this next level of ambition. We see digital and AI that is already fast reshaping economies and jobs in our region, gender equality where the disastrous gaps must be closed with urgency, and sustainable financing required at scale, which means bringing in business capital and we hope capital market instruments to meet growing development demands. You said this morning that we should protect and focus on our core mandate. You also spoke to the new financing needed, and indeed we must deliver on these two through the Strategic Plan, our regional programmes and our country programmes. What excites me also is illustrative of regional initiatives that have been seeded and now will adjust in scale, like the Regional Climate Finance Network, the Pacific Green Transformation Initiative, the Regional Business and Human Rights effort, and the Dynamic Regional Youth Entrepreneurs and Innovation and Learning Platform. The financial envelope for this 4-year cycle is approximately $118 million, of which $12 million is from CORE. So we are deeply grateful to our current funding partners, the EU, Japan, Republic of Korea, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, the GEF, and our regional philanthropic and private sector partners. Our current regional programme has over 20 contributing partners and 22 countries that are directly involved and 19 UN system partners. This will be similar in the next cycle and will only grow. We look forward to your guidance and endorsement and to working together to deliver on this ambitious regional program together with the others.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Vignaraja, for your presentation, and I open the floor for comments or questions. I see none. Dear colleagues, this concludes our review of the Regional Programme Document for Asia and the Pacific 2026-2029. This also concludes the consideration of Agenda Item 16, UNDP Regional Programme Documents 2026-2029. I wish to inform the Board that the approval of the UNDP Regional Programme Documents for Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, Arab States, Europe and the CIS, and Latin America and the Caribbean for 2026-2029 will be held later in this session. Please stay with us. We will make some podium changes before our next session.

Thank you, Chef.

Thank you. Colleagues, Can I ask you to take your seats? We will now continue the UNDP segment with Agenda Item 4, Financial, Budgetary and Administrative Matters, focused on the UNDP Integrated Resources Plan and Integrated Budget Estimates for 2026-2029, as well as the report of the Advisory Committee on on administrative and budgetary questions on the UNDP Integrated Resources Plan and Integrated Budget Estimates 2026-2029. I am joined on the podium by Ms. Linda McGuire, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Management Services, UNDP, and Mr. George Kyriakou, Chief Financial Officer of UNDP. I now invite Ms. Maguire, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Management Services, to deliver her presentation. You have the floor, madam.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Good afternoon, distinguished members of the Executive Board. I am pleased to present UNDP's Integrated Resources Plan and Integrated Budget for 2026-2029. together with the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, the ACABQ. I would like to thank the board for its engagement on this topic, including during the informal meeting held last week. The document before you is informed by extensive consultations across UNDP and with our partners, and the framework is adaptive by design. It includes a mandatory midterm review in 2028 and the option to revert earlier if required, giving the next administrator the ability to recalibrate. For 2026-29, we project $23.8 billion in available resources. This is 15.8% below the original planning estimate for 2022-2025, and of which $17.9 billion would come from new contributions. Total expenditure is estimated at $21.9 billion. In this constrained outlook, earmarked funds are projected to account for over 89% of the portfolio. Core contributions are expected to reach about $1.9 billion, around 38% below the original planning estimate for 2022-25, underscoring the pressure on flexible funding. Core resources and flexible funding remain the bedrock of UNDP's financial sustainability, rapid crisis response, and ability to plan long-term and innovate. Every flexible core dollar mobilizes more than $7 in non-core. Your support is therefore sought for critical flexibilities within the core program budget. This is a rule-based mechanism that consolidates selected lines when core contributions drop and channels any upside to restore balance. This protects program quality and agility, particularly at country level. We expect this mechanism to be activated in 2026 through 2028, and we'll report on this to you through existing reporting vehicles. The integrated budget is the core-funded portion of the integrated resources plan and the part that the Board approves, setting the level for the quadrennium. We propose here a budget of $2.2 billion, $1.2 billion for the programmatic component and $1 billion for the institution component— institutional component. The institutional component safeguards UNDP's core capabilities, namely universal presence and crisis surge capacity, integrated program and development effectiveness support, robust risk management, oversight and transparency, and a future-smart operating platform powered by our Quantum ERP, as well as global shared services, AI-enabled tools and data analytics. And these benefit the wider UN system. We consider this the minimum required for fiduciary control and program quality. Business transformation and organizational efficiency have enabled UNDP to channel 91 cents— over 91 cents of every dollar to development activities. UNDP also hosts 4 system-wide assets: UNV, the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, UNCDF, and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation. UNDP's services to the UN system provide policy coherence, plus cost-effective execution in a single package. To navigate a constrained and evolving resource landscape and advance the strategic plan, we are accelerating delivery and risk-informed programming. We are also expanding shared services, exploring relocation of location-independent functions to strategically selected duty stations, optimizing the workforce, and applying expenditure caps. In parallel, we are mobilizing flexible resources such as program-country co-financing and innovative financing with IFIs and the private sector. We welcome the ACABQ's review and take note of its observations. We also share the concern on the balance of regular resources between program and institutional uses, which results from the projected lower core. Our proposal keeps the institutional budget at the level required to safeguard universal presence, independent oversight, risk management, and other systems that underpin delivery and enable the program budget.

Thank you, Ms. Maguire. Just right on time. And now, colleagues, I now open the floor for comments or questions. I see none. I would like to thank Ms. Maguire for her presentation once again. And colleagues, this concludes the consideration of Agenda Item 4, Financial, Budgetary and Administrative Matters on the UNDP Integrated Resources Plan and Integrated Budget Estimates for 2026-2029. I wish to inform the Board that the draft decision on Agenda Item 4, on the UNDP Integrated Resources Plan and Integrated Budget Estimates for 2026-2029, is under preparation and will be presented for the Board's consideration later in the session. Please stay with us as we change the podium for the next segment. Dear colleagues, we will now continue with Agenda Item 5, UNDP Structure Funding Dialogue. Which will include the Structured Dialogue on Financing the Results of the UNDP Strategic Plan and the Annual Review of the Financial Situation of the United Nations Capital Development Fund for 2024. I am pleased to welcome to the podium Ms. Susan Brown, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy of UNDP, and Mr. Pradeep Kurukula Surya, Executive Secretary, UNSCDF. I now give the floor to Ms. Brown, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy of UNDP, for her presentation. You have the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, distinguished members of the Executive Board, members Good morning, dear colleagues, dear friends. It's a pleasure to join you for this year's Structured Funding Dialogue. This morning, Halyang Zhu, our Acting Administrator, set out the what of UNDP's new strategic plan, its vision, its priorities, and the direction of our work. The session on financial, budgetary, and administrative matters just then discussed the how much is needed to deliver the plan. I'm now going to speak to the how, how we intend to finance the new strategic plan, and give you a little bit of background on the last couple of years. As you know, we're operating in a world of compounding crises, from climate change, economic stress, political instability, and conflict, and this means resources are tightening. We hear you on this. Demands, though, are rising, and the multilateral system is under pressure. Our new strategic plan has been designed with flexibility, but it's also been designed understanding there are cuts in ODA in mind. So we are realistic, but we are still ambitious. In 2024, UNDP mobilized $4.9 billion. That was a slight decrease from '23, The overall picture is nuanced. Core funding rose by 3%, reaching $581 million. That was 10 partners increasing their contribution. There were some payments intended for '23 delayed till '24. We wouldn't encourage that again, but that explains the picture last year. Contributions to the funding windows grew by 6%. That went up to $133 million. Interagency pooled funds rose by 12%. Government financing remained steady at $1.2 billion. That is, our partners at program level are funding their development to a quarter of our budget. Private sector foundations, NGOs contributed $94 million. That was an 8% increase.

increase.

And in contrast, the vertical funds declined by 10%. They went from $1.03 billion to $920 million. So that's quite strong partner support that enabled us to achieve the sorts of results that you saw Haoliang present this morning. But the outlook for 2025 is far more challenging. Several donors have announced significant ODA cuts. If the current trends continue, core funding could fall to $435 million— that's 9% of our contributions— and it could fall further in 2026 to just $379 million. This puts the final year of our current plan and our next strategic plan at risk. The Integrated Resources Plan and Integrated Budget for '26 to '29 has an estimated 38% reduction in core contributions. So we're taking some action to address this. We are going to elevate the visibility of our core partners. We have heard you. You want recognition for the work. You want to understand the investment. You want your taxpayers to understand this. and to clearly see it. So we will provide quite a lot more work on this. We will be expanding the donor base for core and flexible funding by talking to those donors who provide relatively smaller amounts to convince them to hopefully increase their investment. There are emerging partners and philanthropic institutions we're having very serious discussions with. We're also encouraging timely payment of the arrears for our local office costs. With philanthropic institutions, we're shifting from a project-based relationship to a much more strategic, further upstream relationship. We're looking at more options with the private sector. We're reviewing the effectiveness of funding windows. We're scaling up government co-financing. We're looking at non-ODA sources like market mechanisms, micro-levies, and we're looking at contingency plans across our whole financing strategy. We remain committed to the Funding Compact. We're actually working our end. We have progress on nearly all of it. We're looking to member states for further progress on theirs. So we're inviting your feedback, your ideas, and to work with us, what we can do together for our strategic plan.

Thank you, Ms. Brown, for your presentation. I now give the floor to Mr. Kurukula Surya, Executive Secretary, UNACDF, for his presentation. You have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Excellencies, distinguished members of the Executive Board, over the past 2 years we have made deliberate efforts to revitalize UN Capital Development Fund, reshaping the organization to be fit for purpose today. Yet despite these reforms, our core resources remain worryingly low. They account for only 5% of the total contributions, roughly the same as the previous year, with the number of core donors stalled at 7, down from 10 in 2021. Even with repeated Executive Board decisions in support of $25 million annual core target in our Strategic Framework, progress has not materialized. Non-core earmarked contributions have been steady, with the European Union, MasterCard, and Gates Foundation among our top supporters. On the expenditure side, our restructuring reduced overall expenses by 16% to $85 million. This was expected in a year of reform, and I am confident that these changes, rooted in lessons from recent audits and evaluations, will bring greater clarity, efficiency and stronger risk management as we move forward. But the truth remains that the lack of core resources severely limits our ability to respond to Member States seeking our help to de-risk private capital flows in the very countries that need it most— the least developed and the furthest behind. To meet this challenge, UNCDF cannot solely rely on core funding. We are renewing ties with former contributors, engaging new member states, opening doors with philanthropy and foundations, and strengthening partnerships with the UNDP and across the UN system. Our goal is to complement policy reforms and capacity development with UNCDF's unique financial de-risking tools to crowd in private capital, an approach aligned with UNHCR reforms. We are also deepening collaboration with MDBs and DFIs, including regional and national development banks, to de-risk the deployment of their much larger financial flows into high-risk and hard-to-reach markets. This positions UNCDF as an off-balance sheet de-risking instrument. In some of these circumstances, we will have to explore extraordinary options to raise capital in order to deliver blended finance solutions that de-risk private sector finance towards the development outcomes in high-risk markets. This, of course, will require the Executive Board's support to review and adjust UNCDF's financial rules and regulations, particularly with respect to loans and guarantees. Despite these challenges, I believe the revitalized UNCDF of today provides a compelling case for investment. There are several reasons to be cautiously optimistic. First, the outcome document of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development explicitly calls on UNCDF to act as an early-stage provider of de-risking capital, paving the way for greater flows of private finance, as well as from MDBs and DFIs. This is a clear recognition of the unique niche we occupy in the global development finance architecture. Second, our catalytic investment approach multiplies scarce ODA resources. With our reimbursable grants, guarantees and low-interest loans, every dollar entrusted to UNCDF can leverage up to 3 to 4 times. The Zimbabwe Renewable Energy Fund, the Portfolio Guarantee in Afghanistan, the Portfolio Guarantee in PNG has demonstrated this over and over again. Third, we are focusing resource mobilization efforts on 3 reinforcing pillars: focusing scarce core resources on strategic flagship initiatives in LDCs, revamping the UNCDF Trust Fund to pool lightly earmarked financing for revolving interventions aligned with national priorities, and enhancing transparency and visibility to showcase how donor contributions unlock private finance for poverty reduction. Excellencies, the stakes are high, but with your kind guidance, active engagement, and support, I am confident that UNCDF can deliver on its promise as the UN's catalytic financing entity for the world's most vulnerable markets.

Thank you. I thank Mr. Kurokulasuriya for his presentation. Colleagues, the floor is open for any questions or comments you might have. I see distinguished representative of Nigeria, followed by Colombia. Sorry.

Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, Nigeria is taking the floor to express appreciation to the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund for the presentation of the annual review of financial situation for 2024. We commend the clarity of the report and acknowledge UNCDF's efforts to maintain a strong financial position and liquidity despite significant decline in revenues. We, however, note with concern the shortfall in core resources, well below the annual target of $25 million envisaged in UNCDF's Strategic Framework 2022-2025. This trend is bound to affect the Fund's ability to maintain the flexibility, innovation, and presence that are the hallmarks of its mandate. UNCDF is an important partner for Nigeria, We recall in particular the landmark investment made in partnership with UNICEF under the Nutrition Suppliers Financial Facility, a $2.5 million blended financial loan facility to Aerial Food, a Nigerian company. By strengthening supply chains, empowering smallholders, farmers, and micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises, and reducing imports dependency, these interventions directly support Nigeria's fight against child nutrition while simultaneously fostering domestic economic development. This experience demonstrates the unique value of UNCDF in the UN development system as the only UN entity mandated to deploy concessional capital and guarantees in frontier markets where traditional finance do not. Looking ahead, Nigeria encourages the provision of sustained and expanded predictable core resources to UNCDF. This will be an investment in the catalytic capacity of the UN system to deliver innovative financial solutions where they are needed most. With adequate and reliable resources, UNCDF can continue to scale interventions such as those we have witnessed in Nigeria, ensuring that vulnerable communities benefit from resilient food systems, inclusive finance, and sustainable growth. I thank you, Mr. President.

I thank distinguished representative of Nigeria. I invite now distinguished representative Colombia to have the floor.

Muchas gracias, señor Presidente.

Thank you very much, Chair. May have on the implementation of the strategic plan. In the same vein, we point to efforts in terms of strategic partnerships and diversifying financial sources. Secondly, we draw attention to the effects of the prolongation or the worsening of the financial situation of the UNDP and the effects that will have on the UN system and the Resident Coordinator System and the services they provide. We underscore the importance of reaffirming the commitments in the Financing Pact in order preserve the integrity and sustainability of UNDP's mandate and preserving the agreements that we reached in the Quadriennial Comprehensive Policy Review. We recognize what UNDP has done to maximize program resources, and we see that Colombia is one of the 10 main countries receiving support from UNDP. This points to our close partnership and the importance of the work they do. Their work complements state action. In the same vein, we are delighted to be among the country programs that lead the government-level financing of UNDP that contributes to ensuring that countries in our region constitute 71% of all government finance received by the organization. This is a two-track relationship. We benefit from cooperation, we recognize its value, and we also support the financial sustainability of the organization. The regular resource deficit The global trend towards financial reduction jeopardizes the scope and integrity of UNDP's initiatives globally and in Colombia. This is particularly important for long-term and crisis response initiatives. We need to reaffirm our financial and political support for UNDP to ensure it is resilient and can continue to produce high-impact results in the next strategic cycle.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Colombia. I now give the floor to Ms. Brown and Mr. Corocolla Soria for their responses. You have the floor, Ms. Brown.

Thank you.

Oh, before— I'm sorry. Before I give the floor to you, Ms. Brown, I have Jamaica asking for the floor. You have the floor, Jamaica.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and apologies for my delayed intervention. I thank UNDP and UNCTAD Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to thank the UNCDF for their respective presentations. However, I will focus my intervention on the annual review of the financial situation of UNCDF 2024. For small island developing states, the role of UNCDF is particularly critical. Our countries are often on the front lines of climate change, natural disasters, and systemic vulnerabilities in accessing global capital markets. UNCDF's mandate to provide catalytic concessional finance offers an opportunity for localized, innovative financing solutions that de-risk investment, crowd in private capital, and support the resilience of SIDS as well as our sustainable development priorities. Jamaica therefore sees great value in UNCDF's potential to expand its footprint in the Caribbean. We remain concerned about the persistent shortfall in core resources, which has amounted to only 5% of total contributions. Contributions last year, this lands far below the annual target of $25 million needed to sustain an adequate global presence. We commend the efforts of UNCDF to combat the current decline in core resources. Once more, we stress the importance of equipping UNCDF with sufficient predictable core resources. Only then can the Fund extend its reach to SIDS, strengthen our ability to mobilize finance for climate resilience and inclusive growth, and truly deliver on its promise as the UN system's catalytic finance arm for those in need the most. Thank you.

Thank you, Jamaica. Now I would like to go to our presenters for their responses. Ms. Brown, you have the floor.

Thank you, and I'll address my comments to Colombia. Thank you for your observations. Yes, we are very worried also about CORE, and I was really pleased to hear you talk about the relationship between core and the crisis response, because around 60% of our core goes into that. And we really need that funding to be available, to be flexible, to be able to respond fast, to get to the places that need us. We're the last ones to leave. We work on the stabilization and the recovery towards a pathway way of development. So cuts in core alarm us greatly in terms of the flexibility that we have for crisis. The other point that I'd like to make is for every $1 of core which is invested, we— with us, we turn that into $7, at least, in some areas much more, of development support. So again, repeating my offer, my plea, my invitation, dedication to work with member states. We are open for ideas on innovative financing, on working better with private sector, on working with philanthropists in your countries, on working with you as a way to demonstrate the investment, and I look forward to working with you further. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Brown. Mr. Gurukula Surya, please, you have the floor.

From private sector finance. The downside of it is that it's under $10 million of core that we have. In many ways, this conversation, I think, is probably very similar to what happened here in 1966 when UNCDF was set up against the backdrop of the Bretton Woods institutions, and I think then, like now, we have to consider whether special attention is actually needed to drive capital into difficult-to-reach markets. And I think what we have is 60 years of hindsight, which has been reflected in the FFD4 document, that recognizes that unless special efforts are made, unless you have a vehicle that has the risk-absorbing capacity, like a UNCDF— if UNCDF did not exist, FFD4 or FFD5 will definitely create it. And this is really the essence of an outcome that has now emerged through a publication, an assessment that was done of the gaps in the development finance landscape, and there really is a need for this type of de-risking instrument in hard-to-reach markets, particularly LDCs. So really, I think it's all up to you as member states to work out what the best use of UNCDF will be in the broader development finance architecture, in support of not just the UN organizations but MDBs, and then decide whether this is worthwhile investing in. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kurokawa and Ms. Brown, for your responses. Colleagues, this concludes the consideration of Agenda Item 5, UNDP Structured Funding Dialogue. I wish to inform the Board that a draft decision on Item 5 on the UNDP Structured Funding Dialogue is under preparation and will be presented for the Board's consideration later in the session. Tomorrow at 10 AM, we will continue the Second Regular Session with the UNFPA segment. The afternoon meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Distinguished delegates, we will resume negotiations on the draft decisions in Conference Room B at 4:30, so in 7 minutes.

Thank you.