Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Burundi
On March 18 and 19, 2026, at the Matergo Hotel in Gitega, the political capital, the first meeting of the Joint Technical Committee of the Framework Plan for Cooperation in Sustainable Development between the Burundian Government and the United Nations was held. This was the 2026 first meeting. This meeting is organized quarterly to prepare for the Ministerial Steering Committee meeting. On the eve of the first day of the meeting, during the screening of a video summarizing some major achievements in 2024, to provide context for the work that would characterize the meeting, the Permanent Secretary in charge of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Mr. Nitunga Sophonie, asked the attendees to take the opportunity to prepare questions that would be asked throughout the session.
The official opening of the first meeting of the Joint Technical Committee of the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework was presided over by Mr. Sophonie Nitunga , Permanent Secretary in charge of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. In his address, Mr. Nitunga thanked the United Nations system for its commitment to Burundi’s sustainable development and stated that this meeting provided an opportune moment to identify successes and challenges in order to achieve improvements for sustainable development. He also reiterated the commitment of the Government of Burundi to continuing the partnership already established with the United Nations system regarding sustainable development cooperation.
The first meeting of the Joint Technical Committee of the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework provided an opportunity to present the evaluation of the follow-up to the recommendations of the December 2024 Steering Committee whose annual report was presented to stakeholders in video format during the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. The year 2024 was marked by challenges, including the cancellation of the Joint Technical Committee and the Steering Committee meetings. This had affected the 2025 Joint Work Plan, which, despite being submitted to the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was neither presented nor signed. It was requested that activities be planned in advance and implemented to ensure the successful progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The achievements during 2025 were presented as support provided across various sectors, namely organizing associations and cooperatives, giving access to human rights, supporting human rights protection, strengthening schools and training programs, protecting children’s rights, protecting women’s rights, organizing government dialogue meetings, promoting employment and resilience, inclusion and social cohesion, political and economic support for self-employment, digitalization, the use of new technologies, and more. The priorities for 2026 can be summarized as continuing and improving existing decentralization initiatives, supporting strengthened governance, and providing support for other ongoing and new projects that contribute to sustainable development.
The area of empowerment was also a key point during the meeting, crucial for accelerating positive and rapid transformation. Openness to other partners is desirable to expand opportunities for young people who need capacity building, given their fundamental role in Sustainable Development. They must have access to proper nutrition to develop the capacity to assimilate information relevant to development. Good health is a priority for all human achievements.