UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia Pacific visits North Central and

Thursday, 9 April 2015 01:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Haoliang Xu and UN Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative Subinay Nandy meet with the Northern Province Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran at his office in Jaffna Haoliang Xu, the visiting United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Chair, United Nations Development Group Asia-Pacific and UNDP Assistant Administrator & Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific has concluded his 2 day field visit to the North Central and Northern Provinces yesterday. Xu met with the Chief Minister Northern Province - Justice C.V. Wigneswaran at his Office in Jaffna. At this meeting, Xu re-emphasized UN’s commitment to provide strategic policy and technical support to the Northern Provincial Council to enable it to deliver on its mandate by addressing local development priorities. The meeting also provided an opportunity for Xu to be briefed on the political and development context in the Province, especially after his last meeting with the Chief Minister in February 2014. Xu concluded his mission to the North with a visit to the Palm Producers Development Cooperative Society - Jaggery Processing Centre and the Thampaddy Rural Fishermen’s Society - Crab Processing Centre in Kayts, Jaffna. These two producer organizations are supported by UNDP Sri Lanka under the Norway and New Zealand funded Northern Livelihood Development Project I and II respectively. Both Producer organizations have and will have a significant impact in the Kayts area with the Thampaddy Crab Processing Center expected to provide employment to approximately 80 women in the area whilst the Palm Producers Development Cooperative Society, which operates on a membership basis has shown an increased membership of over 50% from 170 in 2011 to 270 in 2013. Her Excellency Grete Lochen Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives attended both events which are supported by the Royal Norwegian Government. Today (9 April) Xu will continue his visit back to Colombo where he will meet with Government officials and representatives over the next two days before he departs on the 10th April 2015. Xu, is in Sri Lanka on a 6 day visit, where he is expected to meet and exchange views with high-level Government officials, development partners and the civil society on learning more about the emerging development needs and expectations of Sri Lanka in a new political environment whilst ascertaining the future direction of UNDP support along with other members of the UN family, in particular strengthening UNDP’s role as a key development partner in Sri Lanka. On Tuesday Xu concluded day one of his field visit to the North Central and Northern Provinces. During this field visit, Xu visited the Community Forestry Project (CFP) Site in Mihintale, Anuradhapura, a UNDP Supported project funded by the Government of Australia, initiated to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in the dry and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka. By the end of 2015, this project which operates in 184 sites, is expected to increase the quality of 23,000 h.a. of forests through the community forestry approach. Further, it will improve livelihood options available for 10,000 households and build capacity of 90,000 people to engage in sustainable community forestry management activities. Xu then travelled to Mullaitivu to assess the support extended by UNDP to the community in the District. In Mullaitivu, Xu handed over a rice mill to the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) Panankamam, a producer organisation supported by UNDP Sri Lanka under the Norway and New Zealand funded Northern Livelihood Development Project I. Through this rice mill, the MPCS will be able to increase the production capacity to 30-40 MT per month. He then met with the members and the Board of Directors of Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Panankamam to explore other opportunities and understand the results that have been achieved thus far in this District.