BONN (IDN) – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), based in Vienna, has officially opened an Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Bonn, which hosts nearly 20 UN secretariats, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The office was opened on May 3, nearly six months after the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Gerd Müller, and the UNIDO Director General,LI Yong concluded an agreement in November 2016 on the margins of UNIDO’s 50th Anniversary celebrations at the Vienna International Centre.
The ITPO Germany is part of UNIDO’s ITPO Network that covers Bahrain, China (Beijing and Shanghai), Italy, Japan, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Russia.
It is based at the UN Campus in Bonn, a strategic location with an operating theme, “Shaping a sustainable future”, which UNIDO says is in line with its mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
In a statement during the ITPO opening ceremony, the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller, said: “Shaping economic growth in developing and newly industrialized countries is a new dimension of development cooperation. When it comes to innovative technical solutions, Germany is a pioneer, from energy supply to environmental technology to mobility. With this new office in Bonn, there is now a point of contact for German and foreign business partners to share knowledge and innovations where they ensure sustainable growth and thus future prospects.”
UNIDO Director General LI Yong said: “In collaboration with UNIDO’s global ITPO Network, the ITPO in Bonn will open up opportunities for companies in developing countries to access technology and investment, as well as for investors and technology suppliers in Germany and worldwide, helping them find potential partners and offering unique services to entrepreneurs and business institutions. In addition, ITPO Germany will be perfectly positioned to support the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 9.”
UNIDO expects the ITPO Germany to complement the efforts of the Government of Germany to promote investment and sustainable technology in developing countries and, specifically, will be well-positioned to support the BMZ’s Charter for the Future approved in Juyl 2014. Furthermore, it will help contribute to the implementation of the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa, declared by a UN General Assembly Resolution in 2016.
The roles of investment and sustainable technology are highlighted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and especially in Sustainable Development Goal 9 that seeks to “build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”.
Germany has been a strong supporter of UNIDO since its inception in 1966, and was a founding member when UNIDO became a specialized agency in 1985.
“Throughout this longstanding relationship, the Government of Germany has provided substantial support to UNIDO programmes and projects, mainly through voluntary contributions from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development,” according to UNIDO. [IDN-InDepthNews – 3 May 2017]
Photo credit: Michael Sondermann / Bundesstadt Bonn.
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