On 21/11/2010 His Excellency Dr. Ali Sindi, KRG minister of Planning, received a high level UN delegation headed by Miss. Christine McNab (Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General & United Nations Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq). First H.E. the Minister of Planning welcomed the delegation and thanked them for holding the UN Annual Planning Retreat for the first time inside Iraq and for choosing Erbil for such important event. The Annual Retreat will be held on 22/11/2010 in Erbil, in which around 20 UN heads of agency will participate to plan and prioritize the future UN works in Iraq.

Miss. McNab stated that the development process in the Kurdistan Region is moving fast and in the right direction; adding that every time she comes back to Kurdistan she can feel the difference and see the great achievements. Due to this level of development and the good security condition in the Region, the UN decided to hold its Annual Planning Retreat in Erbil. Miss. McNab added that the UN security measures in Kurdistan have been reviewed and now Kurdistan is classified as a Green Zone and a safe area to move around.

H.E. the Minister of Planning, outlined the cost-sharing projects between the KRG and the UN and their importance for the development process of the Region. Stating that while the MoP recognizes the achievements it attempts to identify the shortages to be addressed in cooperation with the UN and the other partners. H.E. the Minister of Planning also highlighted the drafting of the Regional Development Plan, which will be shared with the partners for feedback, and the annual budget to be sent to the Kurdistan Parliament within the next few weeks.

Also the issue of the Iraqi public census and its importance for the development process was discussed. H.E. stated that the KRG’s official position on this matter is to conduct the census on the scheduled date as all the technical preparations are completed and we are all ready to conduct it. However, there are some political factions who want to delay the census through violation of the census law, which will harm the development process in Iraq.

Finally Miss. McNab thanked the Ministry of Planning for its continuous support to the UN agencies. Also thanked the KRG for hosting this year’s Annual Planning Retreat in Erbil.