"Our organizations have a closer strategic relationship on the horizon," said Ms. Faremo, UNOPS Executive Director, from Copenhagen, where she welcomed Erik Solheim, Executive Director of UN Environment.

"In light of the work ahead for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we see the importance of extending our well-functioning partnership to include joint project implementation, where we can work together to mobilize additional resources, and implement projects and initiatives that speak to our mandated strengths."

UNOPS currently supports a range of UN Environment projects, primarily through administration support, fund management, and technical and logistics support.

The two organizations have also undertaken technical cooperation – including sustainable construction and procurement projects, as well as ecosystem management, in Latin America, Africa and elsewhere.

Going forward, the two organizations hope to proactively work together to mobilize resources towards the SDGs.

UNOPS partnerships with UN Environment stretches back four years, when a global Memorandum of Understanding was signed to strengthen collaboration between the two organizations in their mandated areas. To date, this has led to 45 projects at the global, regional, and country levels focusing on climate change, resilience, disasters and conflict, chemicals, waste and air quality, and resource efficiency.