Writing Tanzania's success story: Sustainable development through trade under One UN in Tanzania.

• Author: Milisic, Zlatan
• Position: ONE UN

Who could have predicted what was in store for all of us in 2020?

Throughout my career with the United Nations, 1 have worked in wonderful teams, tackling many critical situations, but COV1D-19 and its aftermath are unprecedented.

Right from the beginning, the pandemic showed its adverse effects on the global economy, with projections of a reduced gross domestic product for the year. Shifts in demand and disruptions in the supply chain also pose logistical challenges. This phenomenon has not spared the African continent, including the East African region.

The situation calls for well-coordinated targeted actions by the international community.

The United Republic of Tanzania has been playing a cohesive role in the region. In 2007, as part of its willingness to continue contributing towards peace and prosperity, it became one of eight countries worldwide to pilot the UN Delivering as One reform.

Since then, the UN in Tanzania has been developing new ways of working with the government to achieve greater impact by being more results oriented, reducing duplication of efforts, and improving coherence and efficiency.

Tanzania Development Vision 2025, Zanzibar Vision 2020 as well as the Sustainable Development Goals are central to the efforts of 23 UN agencies whose work is coordinated from my office.

Agricultural production contributes significantly to the country's economy. Therefore, in our collective pursuit to navigate the COVID-19 storm, resilient and organized agricultural and trade sectors hold fundamental importance for standing tall in the post-pandemic world.

Collaboration can go a long way

A dynamicmemberoftheUnited Nations family, the International Trade Centre (ITC) has been supporting the strengthening of trade capacity in the United Republic of Tanzania. ITC has designed and implemented a series of programmes: its activities range from large projects focusing on regional trade integration in the East African Community (EAC), to targeted actions for building the capacity of remote areas to sustain migration and refugee settlements.

The European Union--East African Community Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP) is a regional development initiative conceived by the EAC Secretariat in partnership with the European Union (EU) and implemented by ITC and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The EU funds the programme.

From its headquarters in Arusha, MARKUP is working to increase exports of agribusiness and...