“UNDP has provided invaluable support to the Public Investment Management Office in ensuring timely delivery and good progress on the implementation of sovereign loans,” – Marko Blagojević, Director of the Public Investment Management Office
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a groundbreaking framework for people, our planet and prosperity. Implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require that we leverage all sources of finance – domestic and international – reinforcing each other. In order for that to happen, partnerships arise as a powerful resource for delivering meaningful impact.
UNDP’s new Strategic Plan calls for UNDP to play a stronger role as a provider of integrated development solutions, tackling multidimensional development challenges through SDG country-driven approaches, and to help governments leverage development financing.
As a development partner in nearly 170 countries, UNDP supports governments in designing and implementing projects funded from their own revenue or from grants or loans provided by International Financial Institutions (IFIs).
Globally, over the last decade, UNDP has helped governments and IFIs implement projects with IFI financing worth over $2 billion, helping to overcome operational bottlenecks while developing capacity and supporting the implementation of national development priorities.
UNDP supports governments throughout the project cycle – designing bankable projects, implementing projects and providing monitoring and evaluation oversight as a third party or fiduciary agents – such as for large-scale grants submitted through the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) or Green Climate Fund (GCF). If loan implementation is delayed, UNDP may be called in by a government to support activities outlined under the loan agreement. When there is a prospective loan under discussion, UNDP may also be brought in to provide technical policy assistance or capacity development services (in the areas of recruitment, procurement and financial management).
The benefits of tripartite collaboration include capacity development, faster implementation, lower costs, leveraged resources and increased transparency. UNDP has been working to facilitate an institutional environment that is conducive to closer collaboration with IFIs, developing joint action plans, mapping opportunities for cooperation and organising events and technical discussions to engage with IFIs and governments to lay the foundations of more effective development partnerships.
Global memoranda or frameworks for strategic cooperation have been signed with, among others, the Asian Development Bank (2007), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2014), the Islamic Development Bank (2016), the European Investment Bank (2016), the Council of Europe Development Bank (2017) and the World Bank Group (2018).
In Serbia, UNDP has supported the government on loan implementation since 2016, by attracting the best available expertise necessary for project management, including in complex procurement. The results today show that uniting forces produces better results and has a greater impact.
“The benefits of UNDP support to governments in delivering their domestic resources, including loans, can include quality development results with savings in terms of time and funds while strengthening institutions and implementation capacity. UNDP’s extensive experience working in countries around the world and partnering with a wide array of stakeholders – including governments, IFIs and others – allows it to provide meaningful support to member countries as they work to achieve the SDGs and strengthen the livelihoods of millions of people,” – Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator
