UNDP chief to visit Turkey, inaugurate regional hub
ANKARA
AFP Photo
Helen Clark, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) administrator and chair of the U.N. Development Group, is set to arrive in Turkey on April 21 for a lengthy visit, during which she will take part in high-level government meetings in Ankara and visit a refugee camp near the Syrian border before joining President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other international leaders for the centennial commemoration ceremonies in Gallipoli.Clark’s first stop will be Ankara where she will meet with Erdoğan and government officials. Clark will then proceed to the southeastern Anatolian city of Gaziantep in order to visit a refugee camp near the Syrian border.
The senior U.N. official and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will then jointly inaugurate the new U.N. Istanbul Regional Hub on April 23. Turkey and the UNDP signed a global Partnership Framework Agreement in 2011, which focused on the country’s role as a global development partner. The result of a strategic partnership, the new Hub in Istanbul recognizes the increasing role and engagement of Turkey in shaping and contributing to global development issues.
The Hub was designed to operate within a framework that will help deliver quality, accessible and locally relevant services to the countries and territories in which UNDP works in Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The Hub also hosts the UNICEF and U.N. Women offices.
The Istanbul Regional Hub covers the areas of sustainable development, governance and peace building, energy, disaster resilience and climate change. The Hub also works across thematic areas on gender, health, partnership building, protection of children’s rights and knowledge and innovation.
After attending the Peace Summit that will be held in Istanbul on April 23, Clark will also join the commemorative ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I on April 24-25 in Çanakkale.
