The agreement on the new cooperation framework between the Angolan government and the United Nations for Sustainable Development for the period 2020/2022 was signed this Friday in Luanda by the Minister of Economy and Planning, Sérgio dos Santos and the representative of the United Nations, Paolo Balladelli.
The areas elected for cooperation are the economic and social transformation of the country, adolescents, youth and women's empowerment, the environment and resilience of the population and vulnerable and democracy and stability.
"The great novelty is a very specific area addressed to young people and women," said Paolo Baladelli.
In the case of young people, the aim is to strengthen the exercise of citizenship and their skills to improve access to employment.
"We know that the youth theme is important for the country and will be a major focus of work in the next three years," he said.
As for women, Paolo Baladelli considered that they are "an essential component for the sustainable development of the country" and should be "empowered and protected".
The new framework also brings together the economic and social components: "we have taken into consideration that if we don't have the resources to make the economy more dynamic, we won't be able to have resources for the social sector", he justified.
He also stressed the need for "good governance".
"If we really want to improve the economy and help young people and women we need strong institutions, decentralisation, de-bureaucratisation of powers and resources. This is possible if we generate in the municipalities the capacity to manage all this critical mass of resources", he stressed.
With a financial envelope of 260 million dollars, or about 85 million dollars available each year, the main objective of the UN is "to work to enhance national capabilities "and transfer technology and knowledge, empowering local entities," the UN coordinator noted.
Of this amount, about half is already available and is made up of United Nations reserves, with 120 million dollars still to be raised.
The four areas of cooperation include government, international financial entities, civil society, the private sector, academia and 13 UN agencies with a presence in Angola and eight abroad, but which develop programmes in the African country.
