UN to establish development coordination office in Istanbul

Bülent Sarıoğlu- ANKARA

Istanbul is poised to become a regional hub for the United Nation’s development operations in Europe and Central Asia as the organization is set to establish a coordination office in the city as part of its ongoing reform efforts.

The agreement signed between Türkiye and the U.N. in New York in November 2022 emphasized the need for regional coordination among resident coordinators as part of the U.N.’s reform process in its development structure.

The review in the system led to decision to establish Development Coordination Regional Offices, with Istanbul set to host the fifth regional office, joining Panama, Addis Ababa, Amman and Bangkok. Currently, under the U.N. umbrella, there are 130 resident representatives covering 162 countries.

Turkish Foreign Ministry sources described the agreement as “a concrete step in line with its vision to make Istanbul a U.N. center,” akin to New York and Geneva.

Briefing the parliamentary commission on the agreement, ministry officials highlighted the significance of the role of the U.N. resident coordinator, particularly evident after the devastating earthquakes that struck the country’s south on Feb. 6, 2023. The U.N. resident coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the U.N. development system at the country level.

The ministry reminded that through the international emergency aid appeal issued by the U.N., the funds exceeding $550 million raised from international donors helped address the urgent needs of millions of earthquake survivors.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has implemented a series of reforms in the development system in recent years to make the organization's support for countries' development efforts more effective and to accelerate the realization of the 2030 sustainable development goals.