To strengthen the partnership with Hong Kong's private sector and support its contribution to poverty alleviation programmes in China, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed September 18th in Beijing between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Peace and Development Foundation (PDF), a charity based in Hong Kong.
This two-year framework of cooperation will focus on three areas: leadership training and capacity building in Hong Kong and mainland China; poverty alleviation in the Pan Pearl River Delta and China; fighting pollution in Pan Pearl-River Delta and Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong has a large, well established business community actively engaged in fighting development challenges ranging from global disaster relief to social development in mainland China," said Khalid Malik, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in China. "We believe that this new cooperation mechanism will provide a strategic approach in partnering with the private sector in Hong Kong where there is considerable potential for fund raising for UNDP's initiatives aiming to eradicate extreme poverty and promote sustainable development."
This new key partnership is part of UNDP China's efforts to strengthen the role of the private sector and the business community in addressing China's remaining development challenges. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are a key tool to mobilize all sectors of society to achieve the Xiao Kang vision and the Millennium Development Goals. Through programmes and initiatives such as the China-Africa Business Council, the Human Development Fund and this new partnership with the Peace and Development Foundation, UNDP China aims at fostering Public-Private Partnerships for poverty reduction.
