UNIS/OUS/RI/021
2 December 2009

MEDIA ADVISORY

UNIDO Least Developed Countries Ministerial Conference Opens in Vienna Tomorrow

VIENNA, 2 December (UN Information Service) - The impact of the economic crisis on the Least Developed Countries' (LDCs) productive capacities and trade prospects will be the focus of a UNIDO Ministerial-level Conference that opens in Vienna tomorrow.

The two-day event will bring together Ministers of Industry and Trade from LDCs, as well as representatives of international organizations and experts in the field.

Participants will focus on issues related to the global recession, including its impact on and implications for industrial development, regional trade and agro-industries. The importance of diversification and technology transfer, as well as building up the industrial competitiveness of LDCs will be on top of the agenda. UNIDO's findings on the global and regional impact of the crisis and its transmission mechanisms into LDCs will be presented, as will the perspectives of LDC ministers on the impact and lessons of the crisis. Special attention will be given to the roles and responses of various UN agencies and development partners in supporting LDCs' efforts to address the crisis.

Journalists are invited to cover the event which opens at 10:00, on Thursday, 3 December, in Board Room A, M Building of the Vienna International Centre, to be followed by a news conference at 11:30 in room M7.

The press conference will feature the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy; the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Panitchpakdi Supachai; UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella; and the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, Cheick Sidi Diarra.

For more information on the Conference, please go to www.unido.org/ldc-conference/2009

For media accreditation, please contact Katrin Schomaker in the UNIDO Public Advocacy and Communication Unit, Tel: (+43-1) 26060-3789, email: k.schomaker@unido.org

 

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For further information, please contact:

George Assaf
Spokesperson, UNIDO
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-3849
Email: g.assaf@unido.org

Website: www.unido.org