RIYADH, 2 June 2007 — A three-member team from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) wrapped up a weeklong visit to Riyadh, saying that the international agency will initiate new programs in the Kingdom under its five-year plan.
“There are several programs coming up in the context of new country programs under the UNDP five-year plan,” said leader of the delegation George Zaidan, international consultant for the Office of Evaluation of the UNDP. He added that these projects are being negotiated with the respective countries for implementation.
Regarding the purpose of the mission, Zaidan said: “We were here to review the activities of the UNDP in the Net Contributing Countries (NCCs), which include Bahrain, Libya, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.”
The Kingdom was the final leg of the UNDP team’s regional tour. “This was part of a broader study to assess how well UNDP programs are being carried out and to see how they can be further strengthened to yield better results,” Zaidan said.
The team, which included Nurul Alam, deputy director of the UNDP Office of Evaluation in New York, and Michael Reynolds, its senior evaluator, met officials in the ministries of economy, planning and foreign affairs, UN project coordinators, heads of non-governmental organizations and media men to get feedback on the image of the UNDP and the progress of its activities in the Kingdom.
