UNDP Asia-Pacific Chief Visits India for Sustainable Development

New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) UN Assistant Secretary-General Kanni Wignaraja is set to visit India from October 3-8 to bolster cooperation on sustainable development between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the government.

Wignaraja, the UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, will engage with key officials from several ministries, including the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and NITI Aayog, among others, a statement said.

These meetings will centre around critical discussions on the localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG financing, and India's growing role in South-South Cooperation, the statement said.

Key highlights of her visit include her participation in high-level events such as a national workshop on SDG financing, co-hosted by the Ministry of Finance and NITI Aayog, and a policy dialogue on the 'One Health' approach for pandemic preparedness, organised by UNDP and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The agenda also includes a roundtable on the urban childcare ecosystem and the care economy, further emphasising UNDP's holistic approach to sustainable development.

Wignaraja will also be on a two-day visit to Meghalaya from October 5-6, where she will meet the state's deputy chief minister.

There, she will take part in a roundtable on Advancing Gender Equality (SDG5) organised in partnership with UN Women, and interact with young entrepreneurs supported by UNDP's Youth Co:Lab initiative.

Additionally, she will engage with women healthcare workers at a UNDP-supported community health centre and visit the renowned Living Root Bridges in Pynursla, a biodiversity project backed by the Government of Germany and UNDP.

The visit will conclude in New Delhi on October 8.