PRESS RELEASE
UNCDF Executive Secretary to Visit Guinea to Launch New Phase of Programme
Conakry, 25 January 2008: The Executive Secretary a.i. Henriette, Keijzers, will visit the West African nation of Guinea this week to review the organization’s portfolio of projects and to launch a new phase of the Local Development Programme in Guinea.
UNCDF Programme Officer Carlos Barry emphasized four points related to Keijzers visit:
- To strengthen the partnership between UNCDF, the UN Development Programme and the Government of Guinea.
- To meet with and explore opportunities with donor partners resident in Conakry.
- To officiate at a signing ceremony to launch the new phase of UNCDF’s Local Development Programme in Guinea (known by its acronym PDLG II).
- To review existing agreements related to cofinancing partnership arrangements.
During her visit, the executive secretary will meet with all partners associated with UNCDF’s programmes in Guinea, in particular those in the Government, resident donor country representatives, several UN agencies and bilateral donors. She also will meet with representatives from the mining sector and non-governmental organizations.
The highlight of her visit will be the signing of a new phase of an existing, highly successful local development programme in Guinea. The new initiative, titled Local Development Programme in Guinea- Phase II, will build on the experiences of the first phase, incorporating lessons learned and expanding the benefits to a broader population in the remote northern areas of the country.
The first phase was active from 2001 to 2006, said Keijzers. “The second phase will go further to support the Government’s efforts to decentralize planning authority and to engage local citizens in solutions that will reduce their poverty,” she said.
