UN Women Multi-Year Framework Agreement to get €8m Luxembourg Support

From Wednesday 13 July to Thursday 15 July 2022, Luxembourg's Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Franz Fayot, traveled to New York to take part in the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, the main United Nations platform for monitoring and taking stock of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The trip took place in parallel with that of Minister of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Joëlle Welfring.

This year's HLPF was marked by the presentation by a number of participating countries, including Luxembourg, of their Voluntary National Review (VNR), a process by which countries assess the progress made in their implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the seventeen SDGs. The results of the Luxembourg VNR were jointly presented by Ministers Fayot and Welfring, with Minister Fayot covering the Grand Duchy's efforts and initiatives to advance the achievement of the SDGs in developing countries. The interventions of the two ministers were preceded by a message from Lara Bertemes, a Youth Delegate from Luxembourg, on the need to involve youth. After 2017, this is Luxembourg's second NVR.

Ministers Fayot and Welfring also had a meeting with the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed. On this occasion, Minister Fayot reiterated Luxembourg's support for multilateralism as well as Luxembourg's commitment to sustainable development, not only at national level, but also in the partner countries of Luxembourg's development cooperation.

In New York, Minister Fayot also met with Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, to sign the very first multi-year framework agreement for the period 2023 – 2025 with UN Women, the United Nations entity that coordinates the efforts undertaken women's rights and promotes more effective gender mainstreaming at the UN level. The Luxembourg contribution will amount to a total amount of €8 million, spread over three years. The establishment of this partnership enables the Luxembourg Development Cooperation to strengthen its commitment to respect for women's rights, their empowerment and the fight against violence against women and girls.

The trip also gave rise to a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, Arnoldo André Tinoco, which allowed Minister Fayot to discuss the prospects for development cooperation, both at the bilateral level with Costa Rica and at the regional level in Central America.

On the sidelines of the HLPF, Minister Fayot participated in an event organised by the United Nations Population Fund, Luxembourg, Finland and Laos on equalising opportunities for women and girls through innovation, as well as to a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Economic Planning and Finance of Rwanda, Uzziel Ndagijimana.