Statement by Mr. Finn Reske-Nielsen, UNDP Representative

& UN Development Coordinator

Signing of AMCAP Project Document

Monday 21 January 2002

Ministers of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor, Special Assistant to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bishop Belo, Bishop Nascimento, heads of diplomatic missions and UN agencies in East Timor, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am very pleased to be here this morning for the signing of the Ainaro and Manatuto Community Activation Project, which has come to fruition through a partnership between the Government of East Timor, the Government of Japan, the United Nations Secretariat, UNOPS and UNDP.

The project is designed to target the poorest layer of rural society. During its five-year lifespan some 12,000 rural families in the Districts of Ainaro and Manatuto will be benefit from a broad range of integrated, bottom-up activities. New farming techniques, rehabilitation of irrigation systems, livestock improvement, reforestation, soil conservation and capacity building in areas of income generation, management and preventive health care will be covered. In addition, a community training center, equipped with a library and basic facilities, will be built in Ainaro District, to be used not only for activities directly related to the project but also by the government and the community in general.

The project, which is complementary to community development initiatives being carried out by other development partners and the government, has indeed been designed to promote not only food security but also more broadly poverty alleviation, income generation, community reconciliation and the reversal of environmental degradation.

The project will be directed by a steering committee, composed of representatives of the relevant government departments and all the other stakeholders under the chairmanship of the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries or his designated representative, in order to promote full national ownership.

UNOPS, which has many years of experience with the implementation of integrated community development programmes not least in post-conflict situations, will in its capacity as executing agency provide the necessary technical expertise and management support under the overall guidance of the steering committee.

The project is being funded by the Human Security Fund of the United Nations, which is financed by the Government of Japan. In this regard, I should like to express my gratitude to both the Government of Japan, as represented here by Minister Koji Tsuruoka of the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta and the Representative of Japan in East Timor, Mr. Hiroshi Matsuura, as well as the Comptroller of the United Nations Secretariat. This generous financial contribution is yet another example of the strong commitment of the Japanese Government to the reconstruction and development of East Timor.

Thank you.