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Director General’s keynote speech at the
UNIDO Seminar on Sustainable Industrialization,
Tokyo, 14 May 2015
“UNIDO’s new global mandate in the context of the Post-2015
Development Agenda and its operationalization”
Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my sincere pleasure to be here in Tokyo today to address you on UNIDO’s approach toachieving Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) in the Post-2015
development era. I would like to thank Assistant Secretary-General Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi,
the Senior Vice-Rector of UNU, for welcoming us at the United Nations University today.
I would also express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the previous speakers, Mr.
Yuzo GOTO and Mr. Mr. Katsunobu TAKADA, not only for their kind welcome remarks,
but also for the long-standing support of the Government of Japan to UNIDO.
Seeing the audience present at this event, I see many Ambassadors and distinguishedrepresentatives of Embassies in Tokyo, colleagues from Japanese Government ministries,
financial institutions and development agencies, such as JICA, JBIC, NEDO and HIDA, as
well as many partners from private sector companies and academia. I very much lookforward to engaging with you all today.
Japan has long been a trusted and dependable friend of UNIDO, both in terms of its financial
support to the Organization, and in terms of the political support it has offered to our mandateof promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development, or ISID for short. Japan is thelargest contributor to the regular budget of UNIDO, and it has also been a consistent andreliable source of voluntary contributions to finance a variety of our projects and programmes
in many developing countries.
I am particularly pleased to note also that the Japanese Government is calling for poverty
eradication through “quality growth”. Such growth should be inclusive in that the fruits ofgrowth should be shared with society as a whole, leaving no one behind. It should besustainable over generations and in harmony with the environment and climate. And it should
be resilient, thus able to withstand and recover from economic crises, natural disasters orother shocks.
I have just mentioned that UNIDO’s mandate is ISID — inclusive and sustainable industrial
development. So I am very pleased that the concept of “quality growth”, when applied in theindustrial development context, shares so many commonalties with the concept of ISID that
one can say the two are in harmony.
The cooperation between Japan and UNIDO is not limited to project activities. UNIDO has
been an active member and supporter of the Tokyo International Conference on African
Development (TICAD) since October 1993.
UNIDO assisted in the establishment of the Asia-African Investment and Technology
Promotion Centre in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, and served as co-organizer of several AfricaAsia Business Forums.
Several of my predecessors as Directors General of UNIDO have participated personally at
TICAD conferences, and UNIDO co-hosted four side-events at the last conference. We lookforward to working together in support of TICAD VI, which is set to take place next year.

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UNIDO’s global experience in industrial development, acquired over almost five decades,
makes it a key partner for the Government of Japan by supporting Japan’s activities tocontribute to peace and prosperity in the international community. It is needless to say thatthe concept of “human security” is one of the main pillars of Japan’s development
cooperation policy and that UNIDO and Japan cooperate closely in this area. We have
implemented a number of human security projects, but also support promoting the approach
itself. In fact, I only spoke on Monday at an interactive panel discussion on the application ofhuman security in Vienna, which was co-hosted by the UN Human Security Unit and
UNIDO.
We also appreciate greatly the talent and expertise that Japan has provided to UNIDO
through the numerous Japanese staff members we have in our Organization, including Mr.
Taizo Nishikawa, the Deputy to the Director General.
On a similar note, I would also like express my sincere appreciation to Japan for having
provided us with excellent Associate Experts and Junior Professional Officers in the past,
many of whom have become staff members of UNIDO or sister agencies in the United
Nations family.
Finally, I would also like to note with appreciation the close relationship and support of thePermanent Missions of Japan in Vienna and in New York. Ambassador Kitano, thePermanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in Vienna, underlined his interestand support by visiting UNIDO project sites in Ethiopia and Kenya to witness some of ouractivities on the ground. Also the Permanent Mission of Japan in New York has to be thanked
as it is an active and valued member of the informal group of “Friends of ISID”, which has
made an important contribution to embedding the ISID into the new multilateral development
frameworks currently being developed by the world community. We particularly appreciate
the efforts of the Friends of ISID in ensuring that our mandate has been fully incorporated,
together with infrastructure and innovation, as Goal 9 of the proposed Sustainable
Development Goals.
The relationship between UNIDO and Japan continues to flourish, not least through the workof our Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in this very city, establishedback in 1981.
ITPO Tokyo was created to assist developing countries and countries with economies intransition in their efforts to achieve inclusive and sustainable industrial development bypromoting foreign direct investment (FDI) and technology transfer from Japan to thesecountries. The ITPO undertakes a variety of activities to achieve this objective, including adelegate programme through which government officials of developing countries are invited
to Japan; technology transfer programmes to identify and promote the transfer of Japanesetechnologies, especially in the field of energy and environment; as well as seminars, eventsand exhibitions at trade fairs to promote various countries and industrial sectors. In addition,
the ITPO also supports the establishment of business linkages between Japanese and foreigncompanies, inter alia by facilitating overseas business missions by Japanese firms.
The geographical coverage of the ITPO Tokyo extends to the whole developing world.
Recently the office has increased its focus on Africa and least developing countries in othercontinents. Its activities cover many sectors of manufacturing industry, including agro-basedindustries, and environment and energy related industries, as well as the promotion of small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Expectations are growing for Japan’s contribution to these areas, based on the country’s
broad experience in business and technology development and promotion.
The Advisory Programme for Africa is particularly fruitful in this regard, as the ITPO has
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Ethiopia alone, in diverse sectors such as medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, energy,
finance, trading, and infrastructure. Likewise, UNIDO is cooperating with Japanese
Embassies, JETRO and JICA in those countries to exchange information on sector of interest
to Japanese companies in Africa, especially in agro and leather industries, forestry, fisheries,
healthcare, engineering, construction and energy.
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
UNIDO’s global connectedness and Japanese high-tech innovation are a winningcombination, as is evidenced by the results of our cooperation. During the 18 months between
mid-2013 and the end of 2014, ITPO Tokyo realized 15 investment projects totaling USD$430 million, creating over 2,000 jobs. The ITPO is currently implementing projects with aninvestment value of USD $15 million, which are expected to yield almost 600 new jobs.
We can thus see that our relationship is a mutually-reinforcing and beneficial one.
Moreover, Japan’s historical experience of the transformative economic and social effects ofindustrialization dovetail with UNIDO’s mandate of promoting inclusive and sustainableindustrial development, as given to us in the landmark Lima Declaration adopted
unanimously by the Organization’s Member States at our 15th General Conference inDecember 2013.
But the question remains: what is inclusive and sustainable industrial development? What are
its parameters and how do we implement it on the ground? In order to answer thesequestions, we must first provide some historical context to explain the genesis of the ISID
paradigm.
Throughout modern history, industrialization has been the most powerful driver of economic
and social transformation. No country has ever transitioned from a developing country to adeveloped country without having undergone a period of industrialization. This is also
evident in the case of Japan in the late 19th century, and again in the mid-20th century, when
the post-war drive to industrialize helped not only to reconstruct the country, but to propel it
to one of the highest performing world economies in little over two decades. Moreover,industrial production has been proven to provide stable employment, increases in income andlessened inequality throughout modern history.
Thus, it is certainly true that industrial development can bring increased economic
competitiveness and can create shared prosperity. However, all too often, the economic
returns of greater industrial productivity have come at the expense of the environment. The
Industrial Revolution in 18th and 19th century England yielded unparalleled productivity
growth in industry and modernization of infrastructure, but it is undeniable that this was
accompanied by significant levels of environmental degradation and social inequality.
It is vital that the industrialists and entrepreneurs of today learn the lessons of history in thisregard; “business as usual” is simply not an option for the post-2015 era. Today, sustainability
must be the foremost consideration of any industrial development process.
UNIDO strongly emphasizes the sustainability imperative in all of its interactions withprivate sector partners, industrialists and entrepreneurs. Quite simply put, environmentallyfriendly companies are often the most efficient companies, and will last longest inincreasingly competitive global markets. Green industry, favouring production processes
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which reduce emissions, energy input and wastage of resources, not only lessen the impact
on the environment, but also reduce the financial costs of industrial production in the longrun.
In the post-2015 development era, industrial production must be cleaner and greener. UNIDO
bases its sustainability policies and operations upon three pillars:(1) At the policy level we support the development of green industry policies and provide
capacity building and training seminars, working with the UN and other partners. In terms of
multilateral policies, UNIDO is playing a lead role in the “Partnership for Action on Green
Economy” (PAGE) which is a joint response to the Rio+20 Outcome by five UN agencies,
supporting an increasing number of countries in their transition to a green economy.
(2) UNIDO also supports the greening of existing industries, usually in clusters ofenterprises. One especially successful programme in this regard has been UNIDO’s
promotion of resource efficient and cleaner production (RECP) through a dedicated networkof National Cleaner Production Centres. These Centres focus particularly on improving
environmental standards in the areas of water resources, energy and materials use
management.
(3) The Organization also works towards the creation of new green industries, especially inthe domains of waste management, renewable energy, and the establishment of new ecoindustrial parks. Eco-industrial parks are, in particular, a key element of our Program forCountry Partnerships to implement ISID, which I shall elaborate on a little later.
However, we cannot act alone if we wish to achieve less environmental degradation: theinput and commitment of other segments of society, including United Nations sisterorganizations, national governments, private industry, the research community and civilsociety organizations, are vital to achieving the necessary transformation. It is only throughsuch multi-stakeholder partnerships that we can harness the respective strengths of all sectors
to make the breakthrough we need to eradicate poverty.
UNIDO already brings significant experience to bear in convening such diverse partnershipcoalitions. Together with UN Global Compact, UNIDO co-led the private sector engagement
strand of a series of post-2015 consultations on behalf of the whole United Nations system.
Here, industrialists, SMEs, entrepreneurs, public sector representatives, academics and others
provided their views on the modalities for increasing private participation in the future SDG
framework.
Likewise, UNIDO cooperates with the United Nations Environment Programme to convene
the Green Industry Platform. This is a global, high-level, multi-stakeholder partnership andforum to catalyze, mobilize and mainstream action on Green Industry around the world. It
provides a framework to bring governmental, business and civil society leaders together tosecure concrete commitments and action in support of the Green Industry agenda, i.e.
greening the manufacturing process and creating green industries for the production of goods
and services for domestic use or export.
Participants in this network pledge to prioritize a number of concrete and measurable actions
to reduce the environmental footprint of industrial production processes.
UNIDO has concluded a partnership agreement with the Japanese city of Kita-kyushu inorder to promote the concept of eco-cities in developing countries. The eco-town concept isbased on a zero-emissions approach and seeks to utilize, insofar as possible, the waste
generated by domestic and industrial activities as the raw material for other industries. As
part of this innovative sustainability model, the city of Kita-kyushu has adopted a collective
measure for the treatment of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which is based oncomplete waste management and recycling of POPs, including segregation, collection,
treatment and disposal.
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Such cooperation initiatives have borne fruit in the past, both for Japanese investors and forthe target countries. In Nigeria, the cooperation between UNIDO and Kitakyushu has led tothe opening of a car-recycling investment project. Elsewhere, an e-waste project is being
negotiated for Tatarstan, Russian Federation, and eco-town projects are being prepared for
the Visaya province of the Philippines, and for South Africa.
It is through such actions that we can move closer to “the World We Want” by 2030, in close
cooperation with our colleagues across the development community. An ISID approach mustprioritize environmental protection as a matter of urgency if we are to achieve our goals.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Avoiding the sort of environmental degradation that accompanied industrialization in the past
is a must. However, industrial development cannot focus on safeguarding the environment
alone; it must also provide solutions for the billions of poor citizens who continue to languishin undeserved misery today. After all, eliminating poverty is the overriding priority of the
Sustainable Development Agenda that the international community is seeking to construct forthe post-2015 era — the era that will follow the scheduled end of the Millennium
Development Goals this year.
Industrial development is an unparalleled driver of the type of transformative change required
to drive social mobility, through the provision of stable employment, decent jobs andincreased incomes. This has been proven time and time again throughout modern history: in
the United Kingdom in the 18th century, in the USA in the 19th century, and in Japan in the20th century, a focus on industrial development has triggered a dramatic expansion of GDP.
However, we must ensure that the prosperity brought through industrialization is evenly
distributed. There is no doubt that in previous eras industrial progress led to a widening ofsocial inequality, as the works of Charles Dickens demonstrate vividly. Even thoughconsiderable strides have been made in reducing extreme poverty globally in recent years, too
many citizens continue to languish in poverty. This is true of both high and middle-income
and developing countries.
In developed countries, an overdependence on service industries, particularly financial
services, has led to structural weaknesses in many economies, and especially to an increased
vulnerability to exogenous shocks. As a matter of fact, policies that prioritize services overindustry have often reduced opportunities for stable, long-term employment, particularly foryoung people and women.
This has been vividly illustrated by the recent global recession, in which unemployment indeveloped countries has persisted and millions of people depend on precarious, low-paid
employment. Likewise, young people and women have been disproportionately affected byrising unemployment in high income countries. A focus on high technology production,
innovation and scientific industries would yield greater job creation, higher incomes andreduced dependence on the public purse for millions of citizens in the developed world. It is
no coincidence that the countries which took such a policy approach over the past number of
decades have seen the lowest unemployment rates in the western world since the crisis.
Through the Millennium Development Goals framework, significant progress has been madein halving extreme poverty at the global level. At least 700 million people were lifted out of
extreme poverty between 1990 and 2010. Despite this enormous success, one of five persons
in developing regions, particularly in Least Developed Countries, survives on less than $1.25
a day.
Where poverty remains, development gains are difficult to achieve and even harder tosustain. Where poverty and inequality are entrenched, instability and conflict are far more
likely to erupt.
This is why the Post-2015 development agenda not only seeks to complete the unfinishedbusiness of the Millennium Development Goals, but also to pursue a more ambitious,
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universal agenda. Where the MDGs sought to halve extreme poverty, the Sustainable
Development Goals seek to eradicate it entirely.
Friends and Colleagues,
A proactive policy approach is needed to tackle such pressing challenges. UNIDO
implements pro-poor business initiatives through inclusive and sustainable industrial
development, aimed at boosting national capacities for the growth of small and medium
enterprises in developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries. These activities
are implemented predominantly in agro-industrial production, food security, textiles and ruraldevelopment.
Similarly, UNIDO assists a number of states, such as Egypt, Cabo Verde, Namibia, Rwanda,
Tunisia and others across Africa and many other developing regions, with the development ofentrepreneurship curricula, targeted towards young people and women. The role of private
sector partners is especially vital to these programmes, given their know-how and expertise.

Such initiatives are truly a win-win proposition: they allow private companies to broaden
their horizons and gain access to untapped markets and potential recruits, while participants
gain new knowledge, enhanced skills and potential employment. One successful example ofsuch a project is the Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs (LIFE) programme implemented by
UNIDO in cooperation with Hewlett Packard, which has given young people in Tunisia an
opportunity to acquire the skills needed to start their own businesses or find employment inexisting enterprises.
In line with the Government’s strategy to promote private sector development through thecreation of SMEs in vulnerable regions, the project aims to open sustainable employment
opportunities for Tunisian youth in four cities. The project will enhance the capacity ofregional and local business support institutions, training centres, universities and vocational
training institutes to provide instruction in enterprise creation and development and will
provide direct support to targeted enterprises in the four regions. By the time the project iscompleted at the end of this year, it is expected that 800 young men and women will havebeen trained in enterprise creation, 1,000 aspiring entrepreneurs will have attended enterprisepromotion seminars, and 8,400 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs will have been
empowered with information technology tools to increase their business efficiency. Businesscounselling will be offered to 146 “LIFE“ trainees following their training.
Similarly, UNIDO is working together with Komatsu, one of the world’s leading
manufacturers of heavy equipment, and with the support of the Government of Japan, to
promote youth employment in the mining, construction and agriculture sectors of Liberia.
Liberia has a history of 14 years of civil war and is currently experiencing a transition frompost-conflict peace-building toward long-term development. As the use of Liberia’s natural
resources is essential to increase the economic capacity for the country, the mining sector
provides a huge potential for youth employment. To fill the skills gap in the use of modern
machinery and heavy equipment, UNIDO and Komatsu have established a facility to train
equipment operators and maintenance personnel and gain practical skills for immediate
employment opportunities. When Liberia was suddenly hit by the Ebola Virus Disease
outbreak last year, UNIDO promptly re-oriented the project to support Ebola Virus Disease
operations: the hydraulic excavator was used by the project trainers to support theconstruction of an Ebola Treatment Unit in Monrovia.
Yet another project, implemented in cooperation with the retailing company Aeon, aimed atincreasing the availability of safe and sustainable food products in Japan while at the sametime facilitating the access of small-scale producers to international markets.
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Based on successful experiences with similar projects in Egypt, India and the RussianFederation, UNIDO has been implementing a “Sustainable Supplier Development
Programme” in Malaysia with a focus on food safety, quality, productivity, corporate social
responsibility and sustainability, which are stringent market requirements that often make it
difficult for small-scale suppliers to sell their products abroad. By meeting these quality
criteria, Malaysian producers are able to supply high-quality food products to Aeon for salein the Japanese market.
Likewise, UNIDO has partnered with several Japanese companies to promote green
technology solutions, most prominently in the areas of water treatment, mercury waste
recycling, and nanotechnology and industrial coatings, waste water and bottled water
recycling. Such innovations are at the forefront of the battle to advance green industry.
The cooperation in this field was also made visible at the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, the so-called Rio+20 Conference in Brazil, where UNIDO
showcased six Japanese environmental technologies for both the greening of existing
industries and the creation of green industries. Projects such as these are yielding greater
opportunities for broader segments of the population. Thus, such examples show us thatindustrialization can indeed be inclusive, as well as sustainable; it is indeed possible forprosperity to be shared throughout society.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
While intergovernmental negotiations on the Post-2015 development agenda are still in train,
we expect that the present proposal of 17 sustainable development goals submitted by theOpen Working Group will remain broadly intact. The Second Committee of the United
Nations General Assembly has already underlined its support for ISID by ratifying a strong
biennial resolution on industrial development cooperation last autumn. Thus, significant
political capital exists to apply the ISID concept for the development needs of the future.
Distinguished delegates,
In the meantime, UNIDO has been earnestly developing the conceptual framework for
operationalizing ISID, in cooperation with its Member States. This approach is based on
carefully coordinated operations both within UNIDO and with external providers ofdevelopment services, with the aim of enhancing the synergies and overall development
impact of these services. Over the coming years, the new approach—to be implemented
through a series of Programmes for Country Partnerships (PCPs), aligned to national
industrialization plans in programme countries—will run concurrently with UNIDO’s
traditional service delivery modalities while it is tested and fine-tuned through its
implementation in a gradually expanding number of pilot countries. It will eventually form
the basis of the Organization’s entire service delivery, replacing mere technical cooperation
with a more comprehensive and holistic approach to industrial development.
The new partnership approach was developed in close consultation with a large number ofexisting and potential partners and counterparts. Two meetings, the First and Second ISID
Forums, were held with these partners in Vienna in June and November 2014 respectively, toprovide a platform for the joint conceptualization and realization of this new collaborative
approach. The first forum brought together around 300 representatives of government,
industry, academia and the private sector to consider appropriate partnership strategies andpolicies, with a special focus on the potential of special economic zones and industrial
business parks to act as hubs for investment and economic transformation.
The Second ISID Forum in November was attended by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations and the Prime Ministers of Ethiopia and Senegal and saw the launch of the ISID
Programme for Country Partnerships in these two countries. The forum had been preceded byextensive efforts during August and September to examine partnership opportunities andPage 7 of 9

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modalities of cooperation with government counterparts and other local and international
partners in both countries.
The full-scale implementation of these pilot programmes was launched in early 2015.
Participants commended the technical assistance delivery of UNIDO, that had made a
concrete impact on the ground and continued to be a crucial mechanism for enhancing
development and progress.
I have recently visited Ethiopia to meet with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn tomonitor progress of the inaugural PCP, and am pleased with the initial developments. A HighLevel Steering Committee has been established to provide strategic guidance on theimplementation of the PCP, while a National Task Force will coordinate between various
government ministries and the private sector. For one project opportunity, UNIDO will also
undertake a feasibility study, along with the Government of Ethiopia and the European
Investment Bank, concerning a possible Leather City venture in Modjo.
A number of banks and development finance institutions have expressed interest in upscaling
investments under the PCP framework, while the World Bank’s International FinanceCorporation is also investigating funding opportunities for a textile plant under PCP.
Moreover, several UNIDO Member States in the region have enquired about the possibilityof becoming the next PCP pilot countries.
While these are still early days for the PCPs, we are already seeing green shoots of potential
for revolutionizing the industrial base in these countries. I sincerely hope that we will also beable to attract the interest and support of the Government and private sector of Japan for thisexciting and innovative new partnership-based approach to promoting inclusive andsustainable industrial development. Japan has a lot to offer in this regard, and Japan’s private
sector in particular also has the potential to gain significant benefits by partnering with
UNIDO in this effort.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Inclusive and sustainable industrial development is a promising paradigm for deliveringresults across the three dimensions of development policy: economic, environmental andsocial. The PCPs intended to operationalize the ISID concept are already yielding new
infrastructural and industrial projects in the two pilot countries in which we have initiated thisapproach.
But, ladies and gentlemen, let me reiterate that UNIDO cannot promote the necessary
industrial transformation of developing countries on its own. In order to successfully
implement ISID, we will have to draw on the support and respective strengths of all
development practitioners in multi-partner coalitions, including UN Member States andpartners in the private sector, the research community and civil society.
The dynamic role of the private sector in providing trading opportunities, investment,
employment and infrastructural development will be crucial to revitalizing the economies ofdeveloping and developed countries alike. UNIDO already has a long established and strong
relationship with the Japanese Government and business community, and we very muchanticipate the continuance of this partnership in exploring new horizons and projects for
future growth.
Likewise, UNIDO Member States continue to provide the strategic guidance and resources
for the Organization to execute its mandate.
We are glad that the PCP concept has gained such unqualified political support from Member
States at the ISID Forums, and we look forward to cooperating closely with the Governmentof Japan, in particular, to implement such initiatives in future.
However, making the transition from mere technical cooperation to the broader and more
holistic approach engrained in the PCPs will pose significant challenges to the Organization,
especially in terms of mobilization of resources and project execution. We thus hope that
UNIDO Member States and private industry will continue to explore innovative and efficient
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pathways of collaborating with us, and thus lend UNIDO the support needed to achieve theuntapped potential of ISID.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Japan has long been a shining example of the transformative power of industry. Japaneseinnovation and production continue to compete at the very highest level globally. However,there is still considerable potential for growth in emerging markets.
Through the PCPs, UNIDO hopes to achieve economic transformation in countries with ahigh potential for growth and investment. Through its historical experience of structuraltransformation, and through its tradition of dynamic entrepreneurship, Japan has much tooffer these processes.
We thus look forward very much to continued and intensified cooperation with all of thecolleagues present here in the audience today.
It is often said that a good start is half the battle won. The initial steps of the ISID campaign
have been taken and shown to be a success. UNIDO is confident that together with ourpartners, ISID can yield a decisive victory over extreme poverty.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I look forward to hearing the contributions of this distinguished panel;Thank you for your attention.

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