Press release on signing the Memorandum on the Replenishment of the Russia–UNDP Trust Fund for Development

On May 21, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had an online meeting at his office with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner. The officials signed the Memorandum on the Replenishment of the Russia–UNDP Trust Fund for Development (TFD), in keeping with Government Directive No. 1128-r of April 24, 2020.    

The officials exchanged views of the Trust Fund’s performance and discussed the prospects for developing cooperation in this format. The first tranche to replenish the TFD is expected to be used to provide assistance to priority countries in combating the negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Trust Fund was established in 2015 to carry out projects to help the countries in the programme, primarily those from among the CIS member countries, sustain socioeconomic development, including the development of rural areas and adaptation to climate change, as well as efforts to mitigate the risk of disasters and secure early recovery, create more opportunities for women and youth, provide support to integration processes in Eurasia and ensure the sustainability of the energy sector.  

In 2019, there were over 560,000 direct beneficiaries of the TFD-led projects. The UNDP has estimated that these projects had an indirect positive impact on the well-being of 3.8 million people. About $6 million was additionally raised through the co-funding by the governments of programme countries and $7 million from other sources, including the UNDP budget.

For more details about TFD activities, visit www.expertsfordevelopment.ru