A high level joint Government and UN delegation led by Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Moctar Ouane, arrived in Kigali over the weekend to learn from the Rwandan experience of UN reforms.

The delegation is composed of high level officials from the Government and the UN in Mali and their tour will centre on the One UN Programme that is being piloted in Rwanda.

"We are honored to receive this important mission here in Rwanda as we’re now coming to an end of our first year of implementation of the One UN Programme,” said UN Resident Coordinator Aurélien Agbènonci in a statement.

"In Rwanda, the commitment of the Government has been crucial to the success of the reform as well as a strong commitment from the entire UN family. I’m particularly delighted about the broad representation of the mission from both Government and UN agencies”, he added.

During the week-long visit, the delegation will meet Ministers and other government officials, including the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning James Musoni, as well as the UN Country team and other stakeholders involved in the reforms.

The expected output of this mission to Rwanda is to share information and collect best practices on the Delivering as One UN Reform process in Rwanda to use these examples for the reform process in Mali.

The eight countries that were selected where the One UN Programme will be piloted include Rwanda, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Tanzania in Africa while others are Albania, Pakistan, Uruguay and Vietnam.

"In an international organization like the United Nations sharing experiences and best practices between countries is crucial. Together we can pave the way for a renewed UN and a better coordinated and government-led UN support”, Agbénonci said of the visit.

The delegation will also visit development projects including the Rwanda Women Network Village of Hope and an ecotourism project in the Volcanoes National Park.

Rwanda was suggested as one of the pilot countries to visit because of its unique opportunity to start the reform process on the same time as the elaboration of the new programming cycle of both the United Nations and the Government which provided a good start for national ownership.

UN Rwanda is currently documenting lessons learned and best practices of the first year of implementation of the One UN Programme in one single End of the Year Report thus providing a unique opportunity to share these experiences with the delegation of Mali.

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