(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)

Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has begun her first visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  The UNDP Administrator is considered to be the third most senior official within the UN System.

The UNDP publishes annually its Human Development Report, which presents Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks for 187 countries and UN-recognized territories. In the latest Human Development Index (2013), Israel ranks 16 in the world.

During her visit to Israel, which will be held on 18-19 February, Helen Clark will meet with President Shimon Peres and Members of Knesset. In addition, she will hold meetings with the COGAT (Coordinator of Activities in the Territories) and senior MFA officials, including the Deputy Director General for the UN and International Organizations and the head of MASHAV (Israel’s agency for international development cooperation), members of academia, government ministries and the private sector.

In addition, she will meet with participants from six African countries taking part in a training program organized by MASHAV in partnership with the UNDP, and will participate in ID² - Israeli Designed International Development, the young entrepreneurs’ conference held in Caesarea, organized by the Schusterman Foundation and sponsored by MASHAV and Tel Aviv University.

The visit represents an additional step in the strengthening of the relationship between Israel and the United Nations, and positions Israel as an important United Nations partner vis a vis the UN agenda aimed at the eradication of poverty, economic development and job creation.

The relationship between the organization and Israel has strengthened in recent years, a fact expressed by Israel's membership of the organization’s board for the first time in 2012, as well as by its involvement in the shaping of the program’s policy and leading internal decisions and processes.

An important aspect of the relationship is the cooperation agreement between MASHAV and UNDP signed in 2008, which includes, among other things, the promotion of joint activities in Africa and joint activities concerning gender and women's empowerment in developing countries. The organization was also a partner of the International Women's Leadership Conference organized by MASHAV in 2013. A group of   businesswomen from Africa is currently in Israel attending a course on agriculture as a business tool for empowering women.