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Industrialisation key to diversification, says UNIDO

By Femi Adekoya
02 June 2015   |   11:32 pm
As developing economies grapple with the challenges of diversifying their economies, development experts have advocated a synergy between innovation, industrialization and trade to achieve sustainable development. According to the development experts at ongoing UN Financing for Development negotiations, and organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Permanent Missions of Brazil and Italy,…
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As developing economies grapple with the challenges of diversifying their economies, development experts have advocated a synergy between innovation, industrialization and trade to achieve sustainable development.

According to the development experts at ongoing UN Financing for Development negotiations, and organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Permanent Missions of Brazil and Italy, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), importance of the quality and structure of economic growth in the context of the post-2015 development agenda cannot be ignored.

Indeed, the challenges and opportunities of achieving coherence among industrial, trade and innovation policies at all levels, particularly in the context of the post-2015 development agenda, remained the focus of the discussion.

In a statement obtained by The Guardian, Managing Director, Society for International Development, Stefano Prato, while speaking on developments in Africa said that the post-2015 development agenda should focus on creating a shift in the African economy towards structural transformation.

“While increased trade can help accessing to global markets, in reality developing countries where Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) often constitutes less than 10 per cent of their GDP still have many difficulties in joining the open trade regime. This is why governments of developing countries need to prioritize industrialization and find the right mix between openness and securing policy space”, he added.

Director and Representative of UNIDO to the UN, Paul Maseli, commended the strong focus on wealth creation and economic development issues in the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

He emphasized that UNIDO stands ready to continue to fully support all of its Member States in their corresponding capacity building efforts.

Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi said that “economic diversification through industrialization and innovation is one of the best ways to shield against future crisis and to increase resilience” – in both developing and developed countries.

He also re-confirmed Italy’s strong commitment to inclusive and sustainable industrial development and to a continued partnership with relevant UN agencies, including UNIDO.

Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil, underscored the importance of trade agreements that are beneficial to all parties, and noted the drop in the rate of productivity growth in all regions of the world, which is developing into a global challenge.

Research by the McKinsey Global Institute presented by Susan Lund, Partner, McKinsey Global Institute, confirmed UNIDO’s own findings, featured in the recent Global Connectedness Index, that the economic performance of countries is not only related to participation in trade but connectedness at all levels through knowledge networking.

The Financing for Development and post-2015 development agenda negotiations are scheduled to conclude in July and September this year respectively with the adoption of comprehensive deals that will guide the future of international development cooperation for years to come.

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