Partners in Progress: UN and Donors Align Development Priorities for Trinidad and Tobago

International partners gathered on Tuesday for a high-level meeting convened by UN Resident Coordinator Joanna Kazana and the UN Country Team to review sustainable development progress achieved through UN partnerships in Trinidad and Tobago for 2024-2025 and share their own priorities for development cooperation.

Reflecting on the UN’s 2024 contributions to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ms. Kazana reaffirmed the UN System’s role as a trusted and capable partner delivering cross-cutting development support. This support, she noted, is firmly anchored in national priorities and aligned with regional and global frameworks, including the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) and the Pact for the Future.

“The UN is an instrument for mobilising partnerships across diverse sectors—partnerships that might not easily coalesce otherwise,” Ms. Kazana stated. “We facilitate inclusive dialogue and foster integrated solutions. In 2025, we are deepening our collaboration with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in key areas such as digitalisation, resilient food systems, health systems strengthening, social protection, climate adaptation, and the prevention of violence—particularly through initiatives that build social cohesion at the community level.”

Speaking on behalf of the entire UN Country Team, heads of UN agencies, funds and programmes shared high-level insights from the UN’s 2024 Annual Results Report for Trinidad and Tobago. 

Contributions were delivered by ILO Caribbean Deputy Director Ms. Noortje Denker, PAHO/WHO Representative Dr. Gabriel Vivas, UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Representative Mr. AbdulKadir Musse, and UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Ugo Blanco. Together, they outlined the UN System’s 2024 achievements and previewed 2025 workplans under the UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026.

International partners represented at the meeting included the European Union, the United States of America, Canada, Spain, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, France, China, South Korea, Mexico, and Australia. Representatives from international financial institutions such as the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) also participated.

During her remarks, Ms. Kazana also highlighted the importance of optimising climate finance mechanisms - such as the Green Climate Fund - and underscored the continued value of pooled funding instruments like the Joint SDG Fund and the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund in driving impactful, inter-agency programming.

Discussions also focused on the UN Funding Compact, a global agreement between UN Member States and the UN development system aimed at improving the quality, predictability and flexibility of funding. The Funding Compact advocates for approaches such as pooled donor funding, which can enhance the scale and impact of sustainable development programming.  

Looking ahead, Ms. Kazana said the next UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF) for 2027-2031 will place greater emphasis on regional solutions. She added that these cross-border approaches will be shaped by the ABAS and the principles of UN 2.0, including digital transformation and strategic foresight. 

In a call to action, the UN Resident Coordinator urged partners to shift from fragmented to collective solutions around high-impact areas and continue engaging the UN in designing the new MSDCF for 2027-2031.