For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/098
2 September 2011
UNIDO and Germany to Increase Cooperation
BERLIN/VIENNA, 2 September 2011 - The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) agreed to strengthen their cooperation in a variety of fields during a mission by the Director-General of the Organization, Kandeh K. Yumkella, to Berlin that ended on Thursday.
During the two-day trip, Yumkella met with the State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office, Emily Haber, and the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Jürgen Becker, and other senior officials of these ministries and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Meetings were also held with leading officials of the Federation of German Industries and of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Yumkella was accompanied during these meetings by the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to UNIDO, Ambassador Rüdiger Lüdeking.
The discussions with the Federal Foreign Office and the Ministries of the Environment and Economic Cooperation and Development covered UNIDO's cooperation with Germany in such areas as the promotion of energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy to developing countries, as well as the need to promote sustainable industrial development in these countries.
Yumkella also addressed these issues at a round table discussion on climate change and environmental resources organized by the Federal Foreign Office in the context of the 2011 Ambassadors Conference, to which he had been invited to serve as a panelist, and in a meeting with the Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber.
It was agreed that Germany and UNIDO would strengthen their cooperation in these areas, especially in connection with the preparatory process for the Rio+20 summit to be held in 2012, and the broader UN endeavours in these areas being pursued by UN-Energy, the UN system-wide coordination mechanism for energy issues chaired by Yumkella.
The German counterparts expressed strong support for Yumkella's leadership of UN-Energy and his efforts to promote the UN Secretary-General's initiative to assure universal energy access. The UN General Assembly has designated 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.
Another area where an enhanced cooperation was agreed with the German Government was strengthening the local pharmaceutical industries in developing countries. Referring to the ongoing UNIDO-German cooperation in this field, Yumkella said: "The German funding has proven truly catalytic in firmly positioning UNIDO at the interface of industrial development and public health. We have come to be recognized by eminent international actors as a credible player whose wealth of experience with industrial development issues has also made us a worthwhile partner in assisting the pharmaceutical industry's development in our client countries."
In his meetings with the Federation of German Industries, Yumkella agreed with the Managing Director for International Trade and Development, Oliver Wieck, on the importance of promoting the concept of corporate social responsibility in developing countries. It was agreed to explore the potential for increased cooperation between the two organizations in this field.
The German counterparts also expressed their strong appreciation and support for UNIDO's programme for organizational reform and renewal.
Today, Director-General Yumkella is in Düsseldorf to sign a joint declaration with the CEO of the Metro Group, Eckhard Cordes, in the presence of the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz. The declaration will reinforce an agreement signed by the two parties in September 2009 to cooperate in the development of supply and trade capacity building through supplier upgrading, compliance and sustainability activities in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
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For more information, please contact:
Mikhail
Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communication Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email: M.Evstafyev[at]unido.org
