The second Steering Committee meeting of the Joint UN Programme PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature Held

The presentation of the progress achieved during the first year of the implementation of the Programme, as well as the planned activities for 2024, were the key topics of the second meeting of the Steering Committee of the Programme "PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature", organized on February 2, 2024 in Belgrade.

The importance of partnership and synergy achieved with national institutions within the Programme, in terms of national ownership of results, as well as the importance of the participation of the Ministry of European Integration (MEI) as an observerving members of the Steering Commette, especially considering the role of MEI in coordinating international support in Serbia, it was highlighted in the opening speeches of the co-chairs of the Steering Committee, the UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia, Francoise Jacob, and the head of the Department for Environmental Governance in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Mirjana Todorović, as well as the representative of the donor, the Regional Governance Advisor for in the Swiss Cooperation Office in Serbia Melina Papageorgiou.

During the meeting, detailed information on the Programme activities implemented so far were presented, as well as an overview of the planned activities and budget for 2024 for all three Programme pillars - Good Governance, Social Inclusion and Environmental Governance. The activities that the Programme will implement in order to support the improvement of the position of informal waste pickers, whose income is affected by the construction of regional recycling centers within the project "Solid Waste Program in Serbia" financed from the Loan Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Agreement on Credit Arrangement between the Republic of Serbia and the French Development Agency (AFD).

The participants of the meeting were members of the Steering Committee from the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, partner UN agencies, as well as representatives of MEI, EBRD, AFD and SCTM as observering members.

The Programme "PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature" is jointly implemented by the United Nations agencies in Serbia - UNOPS, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNEP, in cooperation with the Government of Serbia, and with the financial support of the Government of Switzerland.