Opening Remarks

Elaine Conkievich

UNDP Resident Representative

Good morning! I am very pleased to welcome you all to our Sounding Board meeting today as part of UNDP Mongolia’s transformational journey. 

To recall, in early 2020 we in UNDP started taking a systems approach to exploring how UNDP could better assist Mongolia’s development, looking at how we could do development differently, how we could best engage to accelerate achievement of the SDGs and support Mongolia in its national development priorities.  This journey has shown us that it is even more important and urgent now to ponder systems solutions to complex development problems, as we continue to face the unending challenges and diverse impacts in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In order to frame how we might do development differently; we first developed a strategic argument for pursuing a different kind of change.  This framing of the strategic argument was done with a small, but dedicated reference group, whose work last year was shared with many of you as Sounding Board members in the two meetings we had last year.  For this third sounding board meeting today, we have expanded our invitation to hear from more thought leaders and influencers from different walks of life.

The outcome of our work last year, resulted in the framing of the strategic intent for our future work in Mongolia around two overarching themes: Dignified Lives and Rebalanced Economy, with 5 underlying priority areas, but more on that when my colleague Sanchir will present to you shortly.  

These two objectives, Dignified Lives and Rebalanced Economy are envisaged to be pursued by way of portfolios, aimed at achieving the longer-term development goals of Mongolia.  These objectives are to stimulate our conversation today which in turn will contribute to the development of new kinds of blueprint solutions for the complex development challenges that Mongolia faces.

In this context, I would like to mention that the Executive Board has recently endorsed UNDP’s new global Strategic Plan for the years 2022-2025.  This new Strategic Plan envisages three key enablers, or how UNDP will support change in countries

First, through Structural transformation, particularly green, inclusive and digital transitions; 

Second, through Leaving no one behind, a rights-based approach centred on human agency and human development; 

And third, through Building resilience to respond to systemic uncertainty and risk. 

At UNDP, we are working with these approaches as part of our broader approach to innovation.  And here I would like to take a moment to introduce the UNDP Mongolia Accelerator Lab, dubbed the “fast and the curious”, one of 90 such labs around the UNDP world.  Our Alab, as they are called in short, is engaged to move forward our systems thinking approach to our future engagement, and they have been instrumental in preparing for and now facilitating this Sounding Board meeting.   

COVID-19 has changed our lives more so than we could have ever have imagined, by placing a stress test on current systems, systems we had placed our trust and faith in, We have come to realize that the way forward, cannot be by going back to the pre-Covid world, but rather we need to create a new normal for our common future, which is why we don’t want to build back better, but rather we want to build forward better, and here I emphasize again, build forward better.  To do this we need new approaches, ones in which we strive to accelerate, for the sake of people, and for the sake of planet.  

The new future is still uncertain and emerging. Nevertheless, the solutions and answers we facilitate for Mongolia should further strengthen dignified lives, rebalance the economy and overall support structural transformation, to leave no one - no woman, no girl, no man, no boy - behind, while building resilience to deal with future, even unknown challenges, that undoubtedly, we will be faced with. 

We at the United Nations in Mongolia are working to develop our new Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework with Mongolia for the period 2023-2027, and in this connection, we at UNDP will be developing our new Country Programme Document to be aligned with the priorities identified in the new UN Cooperation Framework.

However, none of this can happen without our committed partners, you, who have joined us in our Sounding Board today, to support UNDP and to support Mongolia, to build forward better, together.  We are here to bounce our ideas off of you, and most importantly to hear from you, your insights and contributions.  As respected thought leaders, your input to shape and inform the options for the future, are invaluable to us and we thank you for taking the time to be here today and to actively engage in the discussions with us. 

Thank you and I hand over to Sanchir who will walk us through our meeting today.