On May 3, the third meeting of the Steering Committee on the United Nations-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework (UNAPF) document covering the years 2016-2020 was held.

At the event, Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev noted that relations with the UN are at a high level, that Azerbaijan has joined many initiatives and programs of the UN, and that important documents have been signed. Emphasizing that the election of our country as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2011 was an important historical event, the Minister of Economy pointed out the effective cooperation with the organization and its specialized institutions.

It was emphasized that the establishment of the National Coordinating Council for Sustainable Development by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev dated October 6, 2016 is an important step in the development of our country's cooperation with the UN.

Shahin Mustafayev pointed out that Azerbaijan was awarded the "South-South" award of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization for its success in the fight against poverty and hunger. Our country was one of the 18 countries among 128 countries in the world that achieved the goal of reducing malnutrition. In addition, in 2015, the State Agency for Service to Citizens and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan won the nomination "Improving public services" organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Azerbaijan's economic success is highly appreciated by other international organizations. Thus, in the "Doing Business 2019" report prepared by the World Bank, Azerbaijan was included in the list of the 10 most reforming countries in the world and was declared the country that carried out the most reforms. In the report, the position of Azerbaijan advanced by 32 places to the 25th place among 190 countries, and to the leading position among the CIS countries.

As a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals, in 2015, Azerbaijan joined the new global Sustainable Development Goals, which include 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets of the UN. It was noted that at the High-Level Political Forum to be held at the UN Headquarters in 2019, Azerbaijan, as the first country in the region, will present a report on the work done by our country in accordance with the relevant thematic topic within the framework of the implementation of sustainable development goals for the second time.

Minister Shahin Mustafayev said that the UN-Azerbaijan relations have entered a new stage with the "United Nations-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework Document" signed in July 2016 for the years 2016-2020, the document is based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, "Azerbaijan-2020: He pointed out that "View of the Future" is aligned with the Development Concept and Strategic Road Maps.

It was stated that the preparation of the new Development Agenda until 2030 is of strategic importance in order to fully integrate the goals, targets and indicators set as a priority for Azerbaijan into the development agenda. The support of the UN Development Program, which has great experience in this direction, is important.

Ghulam Ishaqzai, the resident coordinator of the UN in Azerbaijan, emphasized that the Government of Azerbaijan cooperates effectively with the country's representation of the UN and said that the implementation of the Framework Document on the UN-Azerbaijan Partnership will contribute to the rapid reforms.

Within the framework of the Steering Committee meeting, presentations were made on the UNAPF Final Evaluation Terms of Reference Document, the work done by the UNAPF Results Groups in priority areas in 2018, and the directions identified for 2019-2020.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Economy is the coordinator of the Azerbaijan Government on the UN-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework Document.