RD/COMTD/AFT/9* 
10 November 2023  
 Page: 1/3 
Committee on Trade and Development  
(Aid for Trade)  Original: English  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION  
14 November 2023  
 
 
Comité du commerce et du développement (Aide pour le commerce)  
 
DOCUMENT DE S ÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION  
14 November 2023  
 
 
Comité de Comercio y Desarrollo (Ayuda para el Comercio)  
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION  
14 November 2023  
 
_______________  
  
 
* In Original language only/En langue originale seulement/En el idioma original solamente.  
1 Documents issued in the RD series are not official WTO documents. They usually appear in their 
language of submission and will not be translated systematically into the working languages of the WTO. They 
are intended for use in WTO meeting roo ms and are attributed an unofficial symbol for archiving purposes only.  
Les documents de la série RD ne sont pas des documents officiels de l 'OMC. Ils ne paraissent 
généralement que dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été communiqués et ne seront pas sys tématiquement 
traduits dans les langues de travail de l'OMC. Ils sont destinés aux salles de réunion de l'OMC et une cote non 
officielle leur est attribuée à des fins d'archivage.  
Los documentos de la serie RD no son documentos oficiales de la OMC. Por lo general se distribuyen en 
el idioma en que han sido presentados y no se traduce n sistemáticamente a los idiomas de trabajo de la 
Organización. Se distribuyen para su uso en las salas de reunión de la OMC y se les asigna una signatura no 
oficial a efectos d e archivo únicamente.  RD/COMTD/AFT/9  
 
- 2 - 
 
  WTO Committee on Trade and Development  
59th session on Aid for Trade, 14 November 2023  
 
UNIDO statement,  
delivered by Frank Van Rompaey,  
UNIDO Representative in Geneva  
 
Thank you, Chair.  
 
I would like to provide a short update on UNIDO’s  most recent Aid -for-Trade -related activities as 
they pertain to the priorities of the current work programme, outlining support in enhancing 
countries’ food security, productive capacities and advancing sustainability.  
 
I will start by highlighting our e fforts to support value addition in the cotton sector in West and 
Central Africa - in particular  in the C4 and Cote d’Ivoire.  In the region, the sector contributes 
substantially to food security, as cotton remains a primary source of income for more than 15  million 
people. Earlier this year, UNIDO, ITC and Afreximbank have joined the innovative 
partnership that WTO concluded with FIFA , leveraging football value chains to attract 
investment and connect local economic operators with regional and global markets . The aim is to 
sustainably increase income and economically empower women and youth. This joint initiative is 
now gathering pace and was showcased at the recently held World Cotton Day (WCD) - an event 
hosted by UNIDO, which saw the high -level participati on of several Ministers as well as Heads of 
Agency, notably the WTO Director -General.     
 
A dedicated session at WCD specifically explored the role and types of partnerships that are needed 
to add value to cotton in West and Central Africa so as achieve m eaningful progress and impact at 
scale. At the session, private sector representatives - from global buyers, over investors in textiles 
and garment production, to sports merchandizing companies - confirmed the region’s potential in 
textiles and garments, ou tlined their current engagements and future plans, and stressed their wish 
to collaborate. IFC and Afreximbank, who are already supporting private investment in integrated 
textile and garment production, as well as in industrial parks, also confirmed their  interest in 
collaborating. This interest from the private sector and from DFIs bodes well for the future project. 
We are currently in the preparatory phase and the plan is to develop, with the beneficiary countries 
and interested partners – that is, the p rivate sector, DFIs and traditional donors -, a sizeable 
programme by the next Global Review of Aid for Trade.   
 
With your permission, Chair, I would like to highlight two other initiatives of relevance to the Aid for 
Trade work programme.  
 
First, the rece ntly held inaugural edition of the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum  
– conceived as a solutions platform to advance climate action and sustainable energy for 
development. The Forum showcased innovative technologies to accelerate low -emission, climate -
resilient development - including in food production chains - to protect th e environment and eliminate 
hunger.  
 
With participants from more than 145 countries, the event aimed to foster new partnerships to scale 
up investments and technology transfer to developing countries, especially in Africa, also delivering 
practical inputs to feed into the incoming United Nations Climate Conference COP 28.  
 
Secondly, and still in the same thematic area, the Government of the United Kingdom and UNIDO 
recently launched an ambitious, first -of-a-kind climate finance programme called ‘Accelerate -
to-Demonstrate’ (A2D) Facility , of about £65 million, to accelerate the commercialization of 
innovative clean energy technologies in low - and middle -income countries, with the aim of helping 
them mitigate climate change and meet the Sustainable Development  Goals.  
 
Focused on innovative solutions for energy transitions in critical minerals, clean hydrogen as well as 
clean transport, smart energy, energy efficiency and storage, industrial decarbonization and 
sustainable cooling, the Facility will provide gran t funding to support SMEs, research institutions and 
other organizations to undertake pilot demonstrations, build local capabilities and systems, and 
leverage wider investments to address these key thematic areas that are off -track for meeting 
climate targ ets. RD/COMTD/AFT/9  
 
- 3 - 
 
   
These are only few examples to illustrate that UNIDO increasingly presents itself as a platform for 
both the mobilization of investment and the transfer of technologies – drawing on a varied and 
specialized service offer of technical cooperation portf olio and a wide network of partners.  
 
In concluding my update, I reiterate UNIDO’s  commitment to further contribute to the 
implementation of the Aid for Trade Initiative.  
 
Thank you for your attention.  
 
__________