The Ministry of Home Affairs and UNICEF are exploring areas in which they can collaborate on development issues.

Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee recently met with UNICEF Country Representative Suleiman Bramioh to discuss the issue, a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said. Rohee said UNICEF has been cooperating at the level of the Caribbean Community, as well as the national level, particularly with the labour and human services and foreign ministries.

However, he said his ministry’s only engagement with UNICEF deals with the General Register Office, which is responsible for the registration of births, deaths and marriages.

“I think that we should seek to raise this level of cooperation much higher than it presently obtains and I believe that there are good prospects for these two entities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bramioh said sustainable development issues will be high on the agenda as it is a common area of interest between the two entities.

He noted that UNICEF will be working with the ministry to move forward in this regard.

He also added that UNICEF has a mandate and a programme of cooperation with the government with particular focus on women and children.

According to GINA, the meeting initiated following discussions between Rohee and Bramioh at the recent public forum on violence in Schools, organised by the Ministry of Education.