Strategic partnerships will bring everyone on board to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030

Some 20 technical staff of the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Planning (MoP-KR) honed their skills in a training on how to build strategic partnerships for collaboration to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone in the Kurdistan Region. 

The Development Support Office (DSO) in the UNAMI Erbil Regional Office, in partnership with the MoP-KR, conducted the one-day training with the objective of empowering the participants to build and foster collaborative relationships with different relevant stakeholders with whom they can collaborate and monitor the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“This training is relevant to increasing our knowledge in understanding the SDGs as well as building strategic partnerships because we are critical in the implementation of government policies and development plans,” explained Dr. Kanar Hidayat, the Director General of Development Coordination and Cooperation at the Kurdistan Ministry of Planning (MoP).  She added that the knowledge gained by the participants will be transferred to other colleagues at the director-general offices in the government ministries of the Kurdistan Region.

In his remarks, Kiezit Patrick of UNAMI DSO Erbil Regional Office explained to the participants that MoP Iraq sees vision 2030 as the framework for its development progress and a road map which all ministries and local governments should adhere to for the realization of the implementation of the global agenda 2030.  “It is therefore important for us to equip you with the tools and the knowledge you need to do this work,” he said.

Gohdar Mohammad Ali, head of Population and Labour Force Statistics, one of the participants, spoke about his take-away from the training. “What was important for me is to know who our partners can be and what resources they bring to the table. With this knowledge, I now have a better idea of developing indicators that are relevant to the implementation of the SDGs.”