LocationsTen years of partnership: Türkiye and UNDP shaping regional solutions for a changing world
March 27, 2026
UNDP established a regional hub in Istanbul in 2015. Since then, the partnership with Türkiye has expanded well beyond a traditional host country relationship.
Over the past decade, Türkiye and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN’s development arm, have built a strong partnership across Europe and Central Asia. Together, this cooperation has supported programmes across the region, strengthening institutions and mobilizing resources to respond to major crises and economic challenges.
Since UNDP established its regional functions in Istanbul in 2015, the partnership with Türkiye has expanded well beyond a traditional host country relationship, supporting collaboration on shared development challenges. Today, Istanbul hosts various UNDP teams that work with governments and partners to test new approaches, support reforms and translate development priorities into concrete results.
This cooperation builds on complementary strengths. Türkiye brings diplomatic reach, a dynamic private sector, and strong experience in recovery response and resilience, while UNDP contributes development expertise and a regional network. Together, they have helped build resilience, strengthen institutions, improve crisis response, and advance digital transformation and innovation.
Advancing regional cooperation
From economic transformation and governance reforms to climate risks, countries across Europe and Central Asia face complex and similar challenges. Cooperation between Türkiye and UNDP helps governments and partners address these challenges together, learning from one another.
Regional initiatives support cross-border collaboration and policy reforms. Platforms such as the Istanbul Development Dialogues and Istanbul Innovation Days bring together policymakers, researchers and business leaders to exchange solutions on governance, climate action and economic transformation. Between 2022 and 2025, the Istanbul hub convened more than 80 regional policy dialogues and events, reinforcing Türkiye’s role as a strategic meeting point for regional cooperation.
Other initiatives, such as the Regional Circular Economy Forum organized in 2025 or the ‘Waste to Wealth’ dialogue organized in 2024, convene governments, businesses and partners in Istanbul to advance climate action and sustainable growth.
Türkiye brings diplomatic reach, a dynamic private sector, and strong experience in recovery response and resilience, while UNDP contributes development expertise and a regional network.
The partnership has also provided platforms to test new ways of tackling complex development challenges by bringing together governments, innovators and investors to design practical solutions. Some approaches developed through this collaboration, such as portfolio-based development methods and innovative financing tools, are now used more widely across UNDP’s work.
Regional cooperation is also strengthened through initiatives that support arms control, local economic development and regional stability, including programmes such as the City Experiment Fund, Aid for Trade and Mayors for Economic Growth.
Partnering with the private sector globally and in Türkiye
Türkiye’s strong institutions and dynamic private sector play an important role in expanding development partnerships. The Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development (ICPSD), UNDP’s global centre of excellence, connects private sector capabilities with development solutions in developing and crisis-affected contexts.
Through initiatives such as SDG Investor Maps, which guide investments aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and programmes supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, ICPSD helps mobilize investment and strengthen entrepreneurship.
In Afghanistan, UNDP initiatives supported by ICPSD helped 90,000 small businesses get back on their feet, increasing average revenues by 25 percent and creating new opportunities for women entrepreneurs. The Connecting Business initiative, launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, has mobilized more than US$130 million in private sector contributions for crisis response across 22 countries.
At the country level, cooperation between Türkiye and UNDP supports Türkiye’s own digital and green transition. Partnerships with the private sector are expanding opportunities in digital skills, e-commerce and smart agriculture for rural communities, especially women and young people. Climate actions, including cooperation with the Zero Waste Initiative, promote recycling systems and sustainable use of resources and transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.
Recovery, response and resilience
The strength of the UNDP–Türkiye partnership becomes particularly visible when it comes to recovery and building resilience. UNDP has been working with national and local partners to support livelihoods, municipal services provision, and help businesses adapt their operations, leaving no one behind.
Since 2014, UNDP has mobilized significant resources to support Türkiye’s response to Syrians under temporary protection, helping them gain new skills, access employment opportunities and overcome language barriers; thus, addressing the needs of one of the world’s largest refugee populations.
The UNDP–Türkiye partnership includes collaborating on recovery and building resilience. UNDP supported the government-led programme to "build back better" following devastating earthquakes in 2023.
Following the devastating earthquakes of 2023, UNDP supported the government-led Türkiye Earthquakes Recovery and Reconstruction Assessment (TERRA), which helped define recovery needs and resource mobilization, with a commitment to ‘building back better’. Building on this work and cooperating with a diverse set of donors and partners, UNDP has supported recovery efforts, from debris recycling and livelihood restoration, including women’s economic empowerment, to the rehabilitation of educational infrastructure and the safeguarding of cultural heritage. Among other, by 2025 UNDP grant programmes supported 4,620 small businesses across all earthquake affected provinces, 42% of them women owned. The experiences with the earthquake response reflect a partnership defined not only by solidarity but by the ability to deliver at scale and under pressure, offering lessons of resilience that resonate far beyond Türkiye’s borders.
Looking ahead
As UNDP begins implementing its Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and the Regional Programme for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, partnerships that combine leadership, regional cooperation and development expertise will become even more important. During Türkiye’s upcoming Presidency of the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference, Türkiye and UNDP will further strengthen their cooperation on climate action to advance regionally relevant solutions, while UNDP will continue to support Türkiye’s national efforts towards its green transition.
The experience of the past decade shows what such cooperation can achieve. By working together, Türkiye and UNDP will continue their support to their partners in strengthening their institutions, responding to crises and unlocking new opportunities for sustainable growth.
As development challenges grow more complex and interconnected, partnerships like the one between Türkiye and UNDP will be essential to delivering practical and forward-looking solutions in the decade ahead.
This article was originally published in Hurriyet Daily News.
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