Official visit of UNIDO Director General LI Yong to Japan in April 2018

LI Yong, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), will visit Japan from 16 to 18 April to meet with high-level officials from Japanese government agencies, including MOFA, METI, JETRO, and NEDO, to discuss matters related to the close cooperation between UNIDO and Japan and to emphasize the role of UNIDO in achieving the industry-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNIDO is a long-standing partner of the Government of Japan, implementing projects with human security as guiding principle, safeguarding the environment through circular economy approaches and the application of newest technologies, and serving as platform for public-private partnerships and increased participation of the private sector in development.

To achieve Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) and advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal #9 in Africa and elsewhere, UNIDO promotes public private partnerships. Foreign direct investment and technology transfer by the private sector in both investors and recipient countries are key components to realize such partnerships. UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Offices (ITPO) help achieve such partnerships. The office in Japan (UNIDO ITPO Tokyo) supports projects of Japanese companies in developing and emerging countries.

UNIDO’s goal of achieving ISID is explicitly recognized and anchored in the internationally agreed 2030 Agenda. Through SDG 9, the Member States of the United Nations call upon the international community to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation”.

Key messages

1. Following the recent revision of Keidanren’s Charter of Corporate Behavior, which calls upon corporations to proactively support the sustainable development goals (SDGs), companies in Japan start to embrace the SDG philosophy. With SDG 9 at the heart of UNIDO activities, the Director General will share relevant information at the following events in Tokyo.
   Monday 16 April: University of Tokyo – UNIDO Joint Symposium          https://itpo-tokyo.unido.org/en/coming/4153/
   Tuesday 17 April: UNIDO Seminar: Japan-UNIDO Multi-stakeholder Cooperation Dialogue “Partnering to achieve the SDGs”          https://itpo-tokyo.unido.org/en/coming/4164/ 
   Wednesday 18 April: UNIDO Industrial Development Report (IDR) 2018 Launch Event                https://itpo-tokyo.unido.org/en/coming/4149/ 
   This IDR 2018 report is unique as it reviews consumption of manufactured goods or the demand-side of industrial policy for the first time, linking it to the circular economy approach.
2. The promotion of low carbon and climate resilient industrial development is the focus of yet another environmental UNIDO programme supported by Japan in Egypt, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa. Through the Low Carbon Low Emission Clean Energy Technology Transfer (LCET) programme, UNIDO increases access to sustainable energy in partner countries using Japanese low carbon technologies. In the context of the visit of the Director General to Japan in 2016, UNIDO recently signed a contract with Sumitomo Electric on the installation of storage batteries. Similarly, and also with the support of Japan, UNIDO supports geothermal power generation in Africa.
3. In support of countries affected by crises, UNIDO is currently implementing projects in Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Turkey with the generous financial support of Japan. UNIDO provides vocational training and entrepreneurship development, amongst others, to create jobs for youth and support the social stabilization in those countries.
4. UNIDO also promotes partnerships through the innovative Programme for Country Partnership (PCP), building synergies with ongoing government and partner interventions relevant to industrial development. First piloted in Ethiopia, Senegal and Peru, the initiative is expanding to Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and Morocco. In line with the cooperation framework with the World Bank, UNIDO is working with international financial institutions (IFIs) and will further explore programmatic synergies with IFIs, including regional ones, to develop joint operations for a larger portfolio of activities.
5. UNIDO sets a strong focus on Africa, being the poorest continent and the one where industrialization can play a major role to eradicate poverty. In July 2016, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016-2015 as the “Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa” (IDDA III) and calls on UNIDO to lead the implementation of the programme for IDDA III.

About UNIDO
http://www.unido.org
UNIDO is the only specialized agency of the United Nations mandated to promote industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. It was established in 1966 and is headquartered in Vienna.

About TICAD VI
http://www.mofa.go.jp/afr/af2/page3e_000453.html
The Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on 27-28 August 2016. TICAD has led to an important coordination process in support of African development. UNIDO has been a key contributor to TICAD since its first meeting in October 1993, in particular by bringing the private and public sector together.

Contact:
Naoko TOCHIBAYASHI (Ms.), Media Consultant     n.tochibayashi@unido.org   
UNIDO INVESTMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION OFFICE, TOKYO (UNIDO ITPO Tokyo)
UNU HQs Bldg. 8F, 5-53-70, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001
Phone: 03-6433-5520  Fax: 03-6433-5530