Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic and UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia William Infante signed a new five-year Country Partnership Strategy yesterday in Belgrade, which provides $250 million in investment for the period from 2011 to 2015.

The Minister pointed out that the document marks the start of a new era of cooperation between the government and people of Serbia and the UN.

The programmes and projects will be created by the Serbian government and other partners, with special support to the process of the country’s European integration.

The strategy has been prepared together with Serbian government ministries and agencies, civil society representatives and other partners. It focuses on responsible management, sustainable development, social inclusion, regional stability and cooperation.

All programmes and projects planned within the framework of the strategy are to be drawn up on the basis of the five basic principles which the UN defines as global interests. These are gender equality and the fight against gender discrimination, environmental sustainability, human rights protection, capacity development and result based management.

Infante emphasised that the implementation of the strategy relies on the experience and expertise of more than 24 resident and non-resident agencies which will provide expert advice for forming state level policies and capacity building, achieve concrete results and strengthen Serbia’s position as a leading country in the region.