UNDP chief vows support to development in Somalia

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) will support Somalia’s development, peace-building and state-building, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said during her visit to the country on Wednesday.

Among the topics of her discussions with Somali leaders were Somalia’s 2016 electoral process and the upcoming launch of the country’s first national development plan in more than three decades.
Clark said that with elections coming up and the national development plan nearing finalization, Somalia’s development was gaining momentum.
“I take away a positive message from my visit about what is being achieved,” said Clark, according to a statement issued in Mogadishu on Thursday.
Clark urged Somali government leaders to support achieving the 30-percent target for women members in both houses of the country’s next parliament due to be elected later this year.
Somalia is set to hold presidential election on Oct. 30, and parliamentary elections from Sept. 24 to Oct. 10.
Clark said UNDP was very much involved in supporting the elections and promoting women’s political participation and representation.
The three-year national development plan is due to take effect at the beginning of next year.