For information only - not an official document

UNIS/OUS/106
27 October 2011

Re-issued as received

Tuvalu Becomes New Member of UNIDO

VIENNA, 27 October (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - Tuvalu, a Polynesian island nation in the Pacific Ocean, has become the 174th Member State of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

In a letter addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu, Apisai Ielemia, the Director-General of UNIDO, Kandeh K. Yumkella, wrote that he takes "great pleasure in welcoming Tuvalu as the newest member of our Organization".

"As the United Nations specialized agency which promotes industrial development, UNIDO plays an active role in a wide range of development issues including growth, trade, environment and energy, all of which are increasingly inter-linked," said Yumkella.

"The challenge of dealing with such issues for countries such as Tuvalu gives your accession to our Organization an added relevance particularly as UNIDO provides comprehensive and integrated packages of services in these areas in order to facilitate the development process."

Like other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that are composed of islands and low-lying coastal nations, Tuvalu faces similar barriers to sustainable development, including limited resources, poor economic resilience, and vulnerability to sea level rise and natural disasters.

While small island nations emit less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, their geographic and economic characteristics put them at risk to experience the effects of climate change with more immediacy and severity than anywhere else in the world.

Yumkella added that he was looking forward to Tuvalu playing an active role in the operational and other activities of UNIDO, and expressed hope that a delegation from Tuvalu would come for the fourteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference which will be held from 28 November to 2 December in Vienna.

This year, the overarching theme of the General Conference will be "The new industrial revolution: Making it sustainable". Among other events, the General Conference will feature regional round table discussions, including on "Prosperity for the millions in Asia and the Pacific: green growth and poverty reduction".

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For further information on UNIDO, please contact:

Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email M.Evstafyev[at]unido.org