PHILIPSBURG:--- On Wednesday, March 29, 2017, the Honorable Prime Minister William V. Marlin signed for St. Maarten’s participation in the United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework (UN-MSDF). Through this new framework, the UN in partnership with St. Maarten and 17 other Dutch and English speaking countries and territories jointly aim to achieve concrete development results in the period 2017-2021. The Multi-Country Framework will serve as the overarching structure guiding the work of the UN system in the region, superseding the six Development Assistance Frameworks currently in place.
The Framework represents an innovative approach, which will draw on the complementarity and commonality of Sustainable Development Goals priorities across the Caribbean region while following national priorities programming. The process of setting regional priorities was informed by the work of regional entities, national governments, and key actors such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and some of the region’s universities. “The Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework will enhance St. Maarten's involvement in regional initiatives and collaboration, and enable knowledge sharing and cross-collaboration within the region”, Prime Minister Marlin stipulates. “It is the aim of my government in our national development, that with the assistance of organizations like the United Nations, nobody on St. Maarten is to be left behind as we proceed on our path to a sustainable future”. No costs are involved in participating in the Framework. Coordination on the island will be executed by the Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the context of national development and in collaboration with all ministries.
The countries that participate in the framework besides St. Maarten are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
