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Praise For UNIDO’s Technical Assistance

VIENNA, Nov 4 2014 (IPS) - Ethiopia and Senegal have lauded the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for its “crucial assistance” in enhancing development and progress in Africa.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia said that inclusive and sustainable industrialization, aided by the UNIDO, would help his country develop. He said Ethiopia was looking forward to boosting its economic transformation and that such a partnership model would help implement this vision.

Prime Minister Mahammed Dionne of Senegal also lauded UNIDO’s work in the field of inclusive and sustainable industrialization in Africa. He said economic growth must lead to the eradication of poverty and address the problem of unemployment, adding that inclusive and sustainable industrialization would help implement Senegal’s development plan by providing the collective action needed to make it happen.

The two African leaders were addressing the ‘Second UNIDO forum on partnerships to scale up investment for inclusive and sustainable industrial development’ (ISID) on Nov 4, which brought together about 440 participants from 93 countries.

They included heads of State and government, ministers, representatives of bilateral and multilateral development partners, the United Nations system, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia. (To watch video of the opening, click here.)

“UNIDO is fully committed to supporting the Governments of Ethiopia and Senegal in implementing the two programmes. These pilot Programmes for Country Partnership mark the beginning of a larger, more comprehensive and ambitious approach to how UNIDO undertakes technical cooperation with and for Member States to support their industrialization agenda,” said Director General LI Jong.

“If we want to achieve the scale of development needed, we have to explore the full potential of inclusive and sustainable industrial development. We have to strengthen productive capacities. We must build enterprises. We must reach out to farmers and entrepreneurs, and promote economic diversification and structural transformation based on adding value to the natural resources of these countries.”

Opening the ISID forum, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “the overarching imperative for our planet’s future is sustainable development. We have a vision of a just world where resources are optimized for the good of people. Inclusive and sustainable industrial development can drive success.”

Ban added that among the main areas of action, climate change presents an opening for inclusive and sustainable industrial development. “Smart governments and investors are exploring innovative green technologies that can protect the environment and achieve economic growth. For industrial development to be sustainable it must abandon old models that pollute. Instead, we need sustainable approaches that help communities preserve their resources,” he said.

 
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