President invites heads of UN agencies to meet Cabinet members

President David Granger is flanked by Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams (left) and United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

President David Granger has extended an invitation to the UN Heads of Programmes in Guyana to a roundtable discussion which would allow for them to interface directly with Cabinet members.

This, he said, according to a Ministry of the Presidency statement today, will pave the way for greater synergies between the UN system and the Government.

Granger was, yesterday, paid a courtesy call by United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka, who gave him an update on the work of the various UN agencies in Guyana. The meeting was held at State House.

President David Granger is flanked by Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams (left) and United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

Tanaka stated that in 2017, a total of 15 UN agencies executed various projects in Guyana, all with the aim of ensuring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are met. The UN agencies have undertaken several capacity-building programmes with ministries and government agencies and conducted community awareness/sensitisation programmes on various issues including gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, corporal punishment and nutrition.

President Granger said that Guyana is committed to working closely with the UN system to ensure that their programmes are successful. To this end, he designated Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams to work with Tanaka to consolidate the UN programmes and to conduct an analysis so that implementation can be more effective.