Tunis — Ahmed Gaddeh) - United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of United Nations Office for Project Services Jorge Moreira da Silva said Tunisia has become a "country of huge opportunities" capable of serving as a diplomatic and operational bridge between Europe, Africa and the Arab world, while stressing the importance of strengthening multilateralism in a world facing what he described as a "poly-crisis" context.
Speaking in an interview with TAP News Agency during his visit to the UNOPS office in Tunis, marking 20 years of the organisation's activities in Tunisia, Moreira da Silva highlighted the impact of projects implemented in partnership with Tunisian authorities, particularly in the health sector.
"As an agency focused on project implementation, the relevance of our work is measured by the impact these projects have on people's lives," he said, adding that UNOPS places people at the centre of its action rather than merely counting the number of infrastructures delivered.
He pointed in particular to cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when UNOPS, at the request of the Tunisian government and the World Bank, supported the procurement of medical equipment and commodities aimed both at addressing the immediate effects of the crisis and strengthening the resilience of Tunisia's healthcare system.
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Among the projects cited by the UN official was the procurement and installation of a surgical robot designed to enhance the quality and safety of surgical procedures while reducing patient recovery time.
Moreira da Silva said he had visited the facility earlier in the day and met with surgeons who explained the transformative impact of the technology, especially in facilitating complex surgeries with improved recovery outcomes.
He also underlined the importance of projects linked to the digitalisation of healthcare and the integration of artificial intelligence into health services to improve accessibility and efficiency.
Beyond health, the UNOPS chief referred to cooperation in infrastructure and energy, expressing hope for deeper partnerships with Tunisia in the future.
Addressing growing geopolitical tensions and challenges facing the international system, including the repercussions of the Strait of Hormuz crisis, Moreira da Silva stressed the importance of rebuilding trust in multilateralism through concrete results.
He explained that UNOPS differs from other UN agencies in that it focuses primarily on implementation rather than policy-making, describing the organisation as an "enabler" that helps transform ambitions into tangible outcomes.
He referred to the reform agenda launched by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres under the "UN80" initiative, aimed at making the UN "fit for the future" and more capable of responding effectively to global needs.
"The more we focus on results and align projects with people's needs, the more we rebuild trust," he said, arguing that the current global context should be approached with "realism, reformism and optimism."
The UN official warned that the world is no longer facing isolated crises but rather a proliferation of interconnected conflicts and challenges, including war, climate change, poverty, inequality and forced displacement.
He noted that around 25% of the world's population currently lives under conflict conditions, stressing the need for stronger international solidarity, enhanced multilateral cooperation and greater involvement of the private sector alongside governments and international organisations.
On the relationship between development and political stability, Moreira da Silva said both dimensions must progress simultaneously within what he called the "humanitarian-development-peace nexus."
"There is nothing more important for peace than prevention," he said, while emphasising that humanitarian assistance remains indispensable wherever suffering persists and that development is essential for long-term prosperity and sustainability.
He highlighted four key pillars for sustainable progress: political stability and reform, financing for development, private sector investment and implementation capacity.
Tunisia, he said, represents a positive example of a country increasingly relying on domestic resource mobilisation and multilateral development banks rather than depending heavily on traditional donors.
However, he stressed that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals would require far stronger private sector investment globally.
Moreira da Silva further argued that the capacity to implement projects effectively remains as important as financing and political reform, as it enables countries to translate aspirations into concrete achievements.
Asked whether international organisations suffer from the paradox of their greatest successes remaining largely invisible to the public, the UNOPS chief acknowledged that highly impactful projects are not always the most visible.
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Drawing on field experiences in countries including Sudan, Somalia, Ukraine, Gaza, Mali, Lebanon, Syria and Afghanistan, he said many crises continue despite fading from international headlines.
"We tend to look only at the latest crisis, but the other crises did not disappear," he said, adding that numerous less visible projects continue to have profound effects on the lives of children, women, families and youth in conflict-affected regions.
On Tunisia's regional role, Moreira da Silva praised the country's longstanding support for the multilateral system and the United Nations.
He described Tunisia as one of the few countries capable of interacting simultaneously with Europe, the Mediterranean region, Africa and the Arab world, making it an important platform for dialogue and international cooperation.
The UN official also referred to several meetings held over the past two years with Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Ali Nafti in New York and Tunis, during which he reiterated the importance of Tunisia's support for the United Nations and multilateral cooperation.
