Pristina, 5 July 2023
The objectives for Sustainable Development, as well as the cooperation of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo with UNKT, were at the center of the third meeting of the Executive Committee for the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in Kosovo (UNSDCF), for the period 2021-2025.
“We highly appreciate the role played by the United Nations Kosovo Team (UNKT) in addressing the social and economic inequalities that remain high in Kosovo, as well as its work in advancing human rights for all, building a multi-ethnic society, improving multilingualism, and enhancing interethnic harmony,” said Prime Minister Kurti in his opening speech.
He highlighted the changes that have occurred since the last joint meeting, such as the approval of the National Development Plan 2030. The implementation of the vision defined in the NDP should contribute to fulfilling the conditions for our country’s membership in the Euro-Atlantic institutions and demonstrate our commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The Government of Kosovo remains committed to strengthening human capital, particularly by reforming the education system, in order to ensure the development of necessary skills for the labor market, offering prospects for our youth,” added Prime Minister Kurti, also mentioning the digital transformation of Kosovo and youth employment schemes.
On the other hand, the United Nations Development Coordinator in Kosovo, Arnhild Spence emphasized that: “Our presence in Kosovo serves only one purpose. To support people, working towards development, human rights, and peace. We appreciate the government’s recent policy guidance to optimize our support for the people of Kosovo.” She appreciated the National Development Plan, which aligns well with sustainable development goals, emphasizing inclusivity as a key factor in achieving objectives.
Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:
Honorable Ms. Arnhild, United Nations Development Coordinator in Kosovo,
Honorable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Dear UN representatives in Kosovo,
I am pleased to start, together with you, the third meeting of the Joint Steering Committee. The Committee has proven to be a key instrument in determining the relationship between the Government and the United Nations – towards celebrating common successes, reflecting on challenges, and defining a shared vision for the future. We are proud to host a strong presence of UN agencies in Kosovo, and on this occasion – a warm welcome to Mr. Nuno Queiros, the new UNDP Representative, and thanks to Mrs. Maria Suokko, who left Kosovo after four years of service. I am also pleased that the UN Economic Commission for Europe has recently joined this team.
We need to reassess the importance of this mechanism as a tool for reviewing the framework of development cooperation and aligning it with the government’s agenda, as well as for continuous monitoring of implementation. It is important to make significant progress through this mechanism, but also to reflect on challenges and needs. By doing so, we continue the partnership to advance common priorities within the United Nations Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation.
We highly appreciate the role that the UN team has played in addressing social and economic inequalities, which remain high in Kosovo, as well as its work in advancing human rights for all, building a multiethnic society, improving multilingualism, and enhancing interethnic harmony. Through the UN’s normative work, as well as its development programs and technical assistance, the people of Kosovo are gaining better access to employment, education, healthcare, and other services. This investment in human capital is crucial for curbing youth emigration. And for this, we need to closely cooperate with the UN to strengthen the demographic sustainability of Kosovo.
Since the last meeting, we have noticed many developments, especially when it comes to defining the strategic framework at the national and sectoral level. In this context, I want to emphasize that on March 8, we approved the National Development Plan 2030, as a platform that combines the country’s long-term vision with concrete activities to bring about desirable changes. We appreciate the support given by UN agencies in the drafting of the NDP.
The implementation of the vision defined in the NDP should contribute to fulfilling the conditions for our country’s membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions. At the same time, it will demonstrate our commitment to the integration and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, it should serve as a platform for the UN and donors to align their interventions with it. Therefore, we must strengthen our donor coordination efforts with the active role of the UN Development Coordinator.
In this regard, I am pleased that the UN will develop a SDG table for Kosovo, which will reveal where we have fallen behind and where we need to accelerate actions in support of the Objectives.
Identifying gaps will allow us to invest where it is most needed. For this, we have requested from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office and our donor coordinator to facilitate the establishment of an Accelerator Fund for SDG in Kosovo by the end of the year, which would enable us to direct government and donor funds to priority areas within the National Development Plan.
I appreciate my partnership with the Development Coordinator and our joint efforts to advance key initiatives such as the people census. I am fully committed to this year’s people census and other data strengthening initiatives. Taken together, these projects will put us in an even better position to make evidence-based policy decisions, plan development interventions and monitor progress towards meeting the SDGs.
The Government of Kosovo remains committed to strengthening human capital, especially by reforming the education system in order to ensure the development of skills needed for the labor market, offering perspective to our youth. Therefore, our partnership in this direction should continue through the support that is being offered in the design of policies, the design and implementation of active labor market measures, education, internship programs, strengthening of institutional capacities and legislative work in the field of employment. The government has initiated important platforms that will facilitate the transition from school to work, such as the Guaranteed Youth Employment scheme, where I hope to see strong UN participation.
According to our Government Programme, we are working on the reform of social assistance in order to improve targeting and distribution of social protection, as well as ensure better access to social services.
We are very happy with the attention our partners are paying to our digital transformation priority. Recently, we adopted the Digital Agenda for Kosovo, which outlines the vision for the next 10 years on our path to digital transformation. It is of utmost importance that we work together to this end and take advantage of the expertise and other funding opportunities that are available through UN mechanisms.
Let me close this address by referring to the last of the 17 SDG goals: the commitment to “Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals”. SDG 17 calls for a strong partnership between the UN team in Kosovo and the Government of Kosovo. I am fully committed to supporting UN services in our country and we will look at the mechanisms of cost-sharing agreements with the UN and donors, as well as through other engagements and exchanges, including those that will be identified during today’s meeting.
I look forward to hearing and discussing your presentation on what you consider the top priorities and what this means for the coming year.
Last modified: July 10, 2023