Al- Jaafari and Shabana discuss cooperation between Syria and UNFPA

On July 18th, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, met with the Regional Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. Louay Shabana.

The two sides discussed areas of cooperation between Syria and the United Nations Population Fund and joint programmes, in the presence of Dr. Omar Blan, Assistant Representative of the United Nations Population Fund, and Yanika Beinert, International Program Coordinator.

The two sides also discussed the facilities provided by the Syrian government to the fund to enable it to perform its work and implement the projects it carries out with government partners, which contributes to alleviating the suffering of the Syrian citizens.

Al-Jaafari praised the work of the Fund in Syria, which is moving away from politicization, stressing the importance of implementing the new Security Council Resolution No. 2642 for the current year, especially in terms of implementation of early recovery projects tosupport electricity and water, and the delivery of humanitarian aid across the lines by United Nations agencies to those in need.

Al-Jaafari talked about the negative effects of unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on the Syrian people, which contradict the United Nations sustainable development agenda for 2030.

Al-Jaafari called on the United Nations to exert its efforts to pressure the aggressor countries to lift the unilateral coercive economic measures that impede the implementation of development plans and recovery projects in Syria.

For his part, Shabana expressed his thanks for the support provided by the Syrian government to the work of the Fund, reiterating the Fund’s determination to continue its work in line with its mandate and Syria’s priorities identified in the framework of the Fund’s Country Program Document in Syria.

The meeting was attended by the Director of the Media and Translation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Rif Al-Halabi, and Director of the Deputy Minister’s Office, Dr. Yamen Yassouf, Muhammadiyah Al-Naasan from the Department of International Organizations and Conferences, and Dr. Nizar Kabibo from the Deputy Minister’s Office.

O. al-Mohammad