For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/140
19 April 2012
Re-issued as received
UNIDO and China agree to strengthen cooperation
VIENNA, 19 April (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the People's Republic of China have agreed to expand cooperation in the field of multilateral environmental conventions and other areas of mutual interest.
A letter of intent was signed today by Kandeh K. Yumkella, UNIDO Director-General, and Liang Chen, acting Director-General of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office at China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. The signing was witnessed by Cheng Jingye, Permanent Representative of China to UNIDO.
The two parties agreed to strengthen existing cooperation on implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; to cooperate on the implementation of the forthcoming Mercury Convention; to promote activities in the field of climate change mitigation; and to develop new programmes to reinforce South-South and triangular cooperation in China's environmental protection area.
During the signing ceremony, Yumkella announced that UNIDO planned to boost efforts to further South-South cooperation, noting that, "In recent years, UNIDO's support to China has been overwhelmingly in the environmental field. This can be repeated in other countries." He continued, "UNIDO can help diffuse China's green solutions in the BRICS countries and other countries of the South, with a focus on clean technology and not just renewable energy."
Since 1979, UNIDO has implemented 377 projects in China, with a total budget of USD 297 million.
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For more information, 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
