UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Technical Cooperation

Technical cooperation constitutes an integral part of UNECE’s work. It is carried out in accordance with the principles and priorities set up by the UNECE member States in the Technical Cooperation Strategy adopted by the Commission at its sixty-second session in 2007.

The unique in-house expertise of UNECE, critical for policy development and norm setting, determines the choice of modalities of delivery of technical cooperation assistance to the beneficiaries – member States with economies in transition. For its technical cooperation activities, UNECE mainly employs the “agency execution” modality, where it assumes the responsibility for technical and managerial execution of its projects/activities in the recipient countries. However, this is increasingly complemented by the use of national technical expertise and institutional capacity, or “national execution” modality, a cooperative operational arrangement under which a recipient country assumes responsibility for the formulation and management of programmes or projects.

This approach provides UNECE with the opportunity to achieve the best possible mix of expertise in support of its technical assistance. Furthermore, this approach is more cost-effective, participatory and has greater development impact. It not only provides UNECE with the opportunity to involve national policymakers, experts and civil society and to tap the national knowledge and expertise, but also ensures long-term sustainability of technical assistance to recipient member States, strengthens national ownership of development, and contributes to enhancing national technical expertise crucial for the policy development and norm setting work in UNECE.

Major achievements in 2008

In 2008, the demand for UNECE technical assistance services continued to be stimulated by current developments and policy challenges in the areas of institutional frameworks, market infrastructure and competitiveness faced by many of the countries with economies in transition in the UNECE region.

Focus on countries in need. The UNECE technical cooperation projects, advisory missions and training workshops undertaken in 2008 were focused on 18 member States eligible for Official Development Assistance: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. In response to their requests, more than 60 advisory missions, capacity building workshops and training activities were carried out in 2008.

Increased extrabudgetary resources. While some technical cooperation projects are funded from the United Nations regular budget, an increased number of technical cooperation projects are financed from extrabudgetary resources, in particular: (i) 14 projects are funded from UNDA, and (ii) 27 projects are funded from extrabudgetary resources contributed to the UNECE General and Local Technical Cooperation Trust Funds, including 14 new projects launched in 2008. Three more UNECE-led project proposals have been submitted to the UNDA Programme Manager for consideration under the theme “Support to addressing key global development challenges to further the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, through collaboration at global, regional and national levels” of the seventh tranche of UNDA.

Increased impact of technical cooperation services. UNECE technical cooperation services were instrumental in strengthening national capacity to implement UNECE legal instruments, norms and standards, assisting beneficiary countries in resolving transboundary challenges, and developing new policies and legislation. Concrete results were achieved in several areas, in particular in improving the national legislation for dam safety in Central Asian countries based on the model national law on safety of large hydraulic facilities developed within the framework of a joint UNECE/UNESCAP project; improving transboundary cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in the Dniester River Basin; promoting investments in energy efficiency by the establishment of the National Centre for Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency in Kazakhstan; broadening of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to improve the management of shared water resources in the Chu and Talas rivers; and increased application by member States of international statistical standards to improve data reliability and international comparability.

UNECE technical assistance contributed to closer regional cooperation by enabling its member States to pool their resources in order to provide “regional public goods”, such as the development of transport infrastructures, the design and harmonization of standards and legislation, environmental management, the promotion of trade linkages, and implementation of concerted and coordinated actions to tackle transboundary issues.

Enhanced partnerships. In 2008, UNECE further strengthened partnerships with all relevant stakeholders in the region, including international organizations, the private sector, civil society, the media and academia. UNECE cooperation included, but was not limited to, such entities as the European Commission, European Free Trade Association, OSCE, UNCTAD, UNEP/GEF, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial, European Business Congress, etc.

Within the United Nations system, UNDP was by far the most prominent partner in practically all areas of UNECE technical assistance. Increased involvement of, and support by UNDP contributed, in particular, to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of activities carried out by UNECE and UNESCAP within the SPECA framework. The United Nations regional commissions were among UNECE’s most frequent partners in the projects financed with UNDA funds. The number of UNDA projects implemented by UNECE jointly with other regional commissions increased in 2008 by 27 per cent. Implementation of those projects contributed to the adoption of more coherent approaches to specific development challenges faced by beneficiary countries, and supported more effectively their efforts aimed at achieving the international development goals, including the MDGs.

An increased number of UNECE policy advisory services and capacity-building activities were also implemented in close cooperation with subregional organizations and initiatives, such as the Eurasian Economic Community, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, RCC and CIS.

Partnerships with other organizations and stakeholders in providing technical assistance enabled the UNECE to attract external expertise, avoid potential overlap or duplication, and use more effectively its financial and human resources, as well as its comparative advantage in normative, analytical and technical work.

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