Opening Remarks by Ms. Elaine Conkievich

Resident Representative, UNDP Mongolia

22 December 2020

Your Excellency Mr. Khurelbaatar, Minister of Finance

Your Excellency Ms. Ariunzaya, Minister of Labor and Social Protection

Your Excellency Mr. Mendsaikhan, Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry

Your Excellency Mr. Traian Hristea, EU Ambassador to Mongolia

Ladies and Gentlemen, Esteemed colleagues,

UNDP Mongolia is pleased to co-host today’s virtual launch ceremony of “SDG-aligned Budgeting to Transform Employment in Mongolia” project with the European Union and Government of Mongolia led by the Ministry of Finance along with co-implementing sister UN agencies UN Food and Agriculture Agency and International Labour Organization and line ministries including Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry

In last 3 years, UNDP Mongolia has been collaborating with the Ministry of Finance in improving and strengthening SDG-aligned budgeting processes and procedures in pilot Ministries including Ministries of Health, Environment and Tourism, and Education and Science.

Earlier this year, UNDP Mongolia and Ministry of Finance signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further expand our cooperation in advancing the Public Financial Management Reform.

We are pleased to build on this excellent collaboration with the Ministry of Finance as well as the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, and Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, through this EU funded grant to provide technical assistance as part of the larger EU Direct Budget Support to Mongolia. This project, funded by the EU, is also a crucial building block in Mongolia’s work toward establishing an Integrated National Finance Framework for Sustainable Development.

UNDP Mongolia commends Mongolia’s transition to evidence-based and result-focused planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting systems with the adoption of the Law on Development Policy, Planning, and Management as well as the country’s long and medium-term policy documents including Vision-2050 and the national development guidelines for 2020-2025.

The Covid-19 pandemic has placed significant pressure on Mongolia’s economy, especially, on small and medium enterprises and labour-intensive sectors and could undermine Mongolia’s efforts towards achieving the SDGs. Furthermore, the impact on vulnerable groups, such as youth, persons with disabilities or women, need to be in focus in order to leave no one behind on the path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Mongolia.

With the project being launched today, it enables us to further support the Government of Mongolia and Mongolian women and men on policy level transformations to increase employment and promote decent work in Mongolia through supporting efficient, accountable and responsive delivery of public services in the Labour and Employment sector; supporting the modernisation of Mongolia’s Public Finance Management (PFM) systems and strengthening institutional capacities..

We look forward to the successful implementation of the project. Thank you!