The regular programme of technical cooperation (RPTC) serves to support developing countries, with focus on countries in special situations in their capacity development efforts. Currently, those efforts are geared towards the implementation by Member States of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, and other internationally agreed development goals and the outcomes of the United Nations conferences and summits. 

The sharing of experiences across countries, subregions and regions, South-South cooperation, the use of national expertise from the beneficiary countries to the extent possible and the building of knowledge networks to facilitate continued exchange and assistance and promote sustainability are characteristics of the programme.

Another defining feature of the programme is that it is demand driven, implemented in response to urgent and explicit needs of countries for technical assistance. 

Background

Established in 1946 through the General Assembly resolution 58(I), the Regular Programme of Technical Cooperation (RPTC) aims to provide the United Nations with flexibility to respond to urgent needs in technical assistance of developing countries and countries in special situations when funding from other parts of the United Nations regular budget is not available. Since then, the Programme has evolved and is currently used to support the efforts of developing countries and countries with special needs to achieve internationally agreed development goals. The demand-driven nature of the Programme however remains its strong and distinct feature.

The regular programme of technical cooperation (RPTC) serves to support developing countries, with focus on countries in special situations in their capacity development efforts. Currently, those efforts are geared towards the implementation by Member States of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, and other internationally agreed development goals and the outcomes of the United Nations conferences and summits. 

The sharing of experiences across countries, subregions and regions, South-South cooperation, the use of national expertise from the beneficiary countries to the extent possible and the building of knowledge networks to facilitate continued exchange and assistance and promote sustainability are characteristics of the programme.

Another defining feature of the programme is that it is demand driven, implemented in response to urgent and explicit needs of countries for technical assistance. 

Implementation Modalities at ESCAP:
 

	Short-term Advisory Services		Capacity-building activities and services
	Short-term Advisory Services, included those provided by a pool of regional advisers and senior experts on economic and social development, official statistics on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, environment statistics, etc.		Capacity-building activities and services in line with the overall mandate of ESCAP and its Offer of support at the national level to Asia-Pacific countries.

Regional Advisors

Advisory services ensure the provision of high-level technical expertise, the transfer of knowledge from global and regional entities to Governments on policy-related issues and development strategies and the formulation, assessment or evaluation of projects and programmes.

The core of this component of the programme is built around regional advisors who are speciliasts in both capacity development and in the substantive knowledge of specific subprogrammes.

How to request assistance

• Formal communication to the Executive Secretary requesting ESCAP’s technical assistance support

           [email protected]

• Routed through ESCAP senior management and/or Regional Advisors

• Coordination with relevant United Nations Country Team(s) and Resident Coordinator and relevant subregional office of ESCAP

For more information on RPTC

Proposed Programme plan for 2024 (A/78/6 (Sect.23))

Programme plan for 2023 (A/77/6 (Sect.23))

Programme plan for 2022 (A/76/6 (Sect.23))