24 September 2012: UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark met with Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for Development, to discuss continued partnership between the UN and the EU on the post-2015 development agenda. The meeting took place on the margins of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, US.
Clark welcomed “the Commission’s interest in joining forces with UNDP and the UN family on the post-2015 process, including sharing analytical thinking and reflecting on…the future global development framework.” She said UNDP is organizing broad consultations to facilitate multi-stakeholder participation on the post-2105 development agenda and ensure substantive contributions.
Clark recognized the EU’s new Agenda for Change development policy, stressing inclusive sustainable growth and good governance as key in tackling human development, inequities and poverty reduction. They also discussed stimulating action to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Clark and Piebalgs signed a joint letter to the European Parliament presenting the seventh annual EU-UN partnership report, “Saving and Improving Lives: Partnership between the United Nations and the European Union in 2011.” The report presents concrete achievements and results in the areas of development, human rights and peace and security. It includes chapters on making development sustainable, building progressive societies and accountable governments, fostering livelihoods and overcoming crises. The EU and UNDP collaborate in over 110 countries. Clark is expected to hold similar bilateral discussions with other UNDP partners on the margins of the UNGA.
In related news, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Piebalgs to his High-level Panel (HLP) on Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) and the HLP on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, both of which will meet in New York at the end of September. [UNDP Press Release] [Publication: Saving and Improving Lives: Partnership between the United Nations and the European Union in 2011]