The United Nations Development Programme in Romania

UNDP operates in Romania through the Country Office in Bucharest. This is coordinated by the Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS (RBEC), which covers 31 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia regions, and by the UNDP Headquarters in New York.

UNDP’s objectives for Romania are outlined in the Country Programme Document (CPD) 2010-2012, adopted by the UNDP Executive Board in September 2009 and is accompanied by its implementation plan - Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) 2010-2012, which was approved by the Romanian Government in December 2010.

Three focus areas build on the foundations of activities implemented under the Country Programme and the Country Programme Action Plan. UNDP has sharpened its programme focus for the period 2010-2012 on:

• Deepening democratic practice and social inclusion
• Capacity building for the promotion and protection of global and regional public goods
• Strengthening Romania’s international development cooperation and aid effectiveness

For the success of its ongoing and future activities in Romania UNDP relies on the close relationship and cooperation with its partners, including the international community, central government, local authorities, civil society organizations and the private sector. UNDP grounds its partnerships on the common visions of Romania’s development goals and priorities.

Yesim Oruc Kaya is the UNDP Resident Representative in Romania since January 2010. Through her coordination, UNDP seeks to ensure the most effective use of public resources, to deliver on the outcomes agreed with the Romanian Government and endorsed by the UNDP Executive Board.

History of UNDP in Romania

Established in 1971, the UNDP Country Office in Bucharest was the first UNDP field office to function in a former Warsaw Pact member state. It wasn't until two decades later that other offices opened in the neighboring countries of the former Socialist bloc.

During almost four decades, UNDP has been a partner of the Romanian government in responding to challenges involved in Romania’s reforms. In the first years of operation, UNDP offered technical assistance, organized training programmes for Romanian experts abroad and helped Romania acquire Western equipment.

After the political changes of 1989, UNDP assumed a more dynamic role and became a partner of the Government of Romania in its new development programmes. Over the past 20 years of activity in Romania, UNDP identified disparities and areas of vulnerability in human development, demonstrated local-level solutions to these challenges, and followed-up by expanding the scale of these solutions and mainstreaming them into governmental programmes and strategies.

UNDP has worked together with its national partners to reduce poverty, protect the environment, fight disease, promote human rights and address the needs of vulnerable social groups. It has helped Romania grasp new opportunities, while alleviating some of the hardships caused by the transition from a centralized-planned economy to a free market economy and accession to the European Union.

UNDP is currently implementing the 2010-2012 Country Programme Action Plan, which provides a collective, coherent and integrated system response to national priorities, including Romania’s Millenium Development Goals, to respond to key challenges of EU-integration.