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14 - 20 July
ECOSOC HLS round table calls for broader Trade and Investment initiatives
UN Headquarters, New York, USA, 1 - 3 July, 2002 |
UNIDO Director General Carlos Magariños was among the top member-state officials, heads of
international agencies and other senior UN officials participating in the High Level Segment (1 - 3
July) that started off the four-week, annual session of UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), in New York. The theme of this
year's High Level Segment (HLS) was the role of human resources development (HRD), with particular
focus on the areas of health and education, as an essential factor in the overall development
process. One of the first events of the HLS, the ECOSOC Plenary session, moderated by Jeffrey
Sachs, the Secretary- General's Special Adviser on Millennium goals, concluded the preparatory round
tables held earlier in the year. The UNIDO Director- General (DG) drew the attention of the plenary
to the fact that industry was one of the biggest contributors to human resource capacity building and
that it was naturally an important part of UNIDO's activities. He said that in 2001 alone, UNIDO had
held over 200 group training programmes with some 8,000 participants, of which almost half (3,588)
were from Africa, and nearly one third women (2,494).
UNIDOs involvement in ECOSOC HLS 2002 started in February 2002 at the preparatory Roundtable on Education, where UNIDO's HRD activities were presented in the context of its quality and market access / trade facilitation programmes. The Secretary General's report on human resources development (E/2002/46), the main document before the HLS, reflects the UNIDO inputs. The report notes that in spite of increased commitment to health and education, progress remains uneven and inadequate. While recognising that the challenge of achieving the health, education and development goals set at the Millennium Summit remain considerable, particularly financing those goals, the Secretary General stresses in the report that it is possible to achieve tremendous advances with political leadership and commitment, as demonstrated by some developing countries.
Involvement in ECOSOC HLS 2002 enabled UNIDO to emphasise the role of industrial development in HRD and to make the contribution and position of the organization regarding HRD more visible. The main focus of UNIDO's participation was at the Ministerial Roundtable Breakfast "Capacity Building for Trade and Investment" co-chaired by the UNIDO DG and Denmark's Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carsten Staur. An important aspect of the DG's involvement in the round table was to draw the attention of the participants to the "supply capacity and standards infrastructure gap" in the current international initiatives to build the capacities of developing countries to participate in global trade. The current international dialogue and assistance initiatives are almost exclusively forcused on capacity building related to negotiating and trade information aspects. In the note on the outcome of the meeting, capacity building for trade was recognised to include strengthened ability to gain market access through knowledge of and targeting for opportunities; improved production quality to meet standards required by European and other markets; strengthened competitiveness, etc. Capacity building for investment was recognized to include not only efforts aimed at specific promotional purposes, but broader institutional strengthening, including greater assurance of property rights, improved regulatory systems, enforcement of the rule of law, and a climate of sustainable national security.
Participants of the roundtable urged practical steps to be taken by the WTO, UNCTAD, UNIDO, the World Bank, Regional Banks, the Common Fund for Commodities, and other international organizations to promote trade facilitation measures, including creation of some sort of a clearinghouse in support of better coherence, coordination, and availability of information to benefit developing countries. This could be seen as part of the follow-up to Doha, and it was recommended that the WTO put this on its agenda.
DG Magariños also participated as moderator in the Roundtable on Strengthening institutional capabilities for sustainable development (a contribution to the Johannesburg WSSD) which addressed the issue of a more coherent governance structure for sustainable development at the international, regional and national levels. At the international level, there is a striving for a greater role for ECOSOC and for improved coherence between the UN, the Bretton Woods Institutions and the WTO.
The message introduced by the UNIDO DG at the first Plenary session was developed on the final day of the HLS, in his statement in the general debate. In his concluding words, the Director General focused again on the need for cooperation to achieve development objectives, pointing out that in "promoting human resources development, UNIDO is not working alone. It actively cooperates with other organizations, private sector and research institutions.... UNIDO is open for a constructive partnership in human resource development. Only by working together will we make a difference".
DG Magarinos was able to take advantage of the HLS to hold a number of important meetings. Among
the interlocutors were: Deputy- Secretary- General Louise Frechette; Under-Secretary- General for
Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast; Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and
Inter-Agency Affairs, Patrizio Civili; the Secretary- General's Special Adviser on Gender Issues and
the Advancement of Women, Angela King; UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown; and Professor Jeffrey
Sachs. The DG also reached out to a number of Permanent Representatives from UNIDO non-member
countries to brief them on UNIDOs recent transformation, encouraging them to consider the benefits
UNIDO membership could bring to their countries' development efforts.
Andre Lazykin, Tel
+43-1-26026 3657, Email: A.Lazykin@unido.org
UNIDO and CCA-UNDAF
 |
The Common Country Assessment - UN Development Assistance Framework, (CCA-UNDAF) is the UN methodology for identifying and responding to developing country development needs. It was first introduced in July 1997 as part of Secretary General Kofi Annan's UN reform programme. In May, 2002, the CCA-UNDAF issued new Integrated Guidelines. In addition to encompasing the good practices and lessons learned since the launching of the first CCA-UNDAF "roll out" of May, 1999, the new guidelines respond to national priorities and needs within the framework of the Millennium development goals (MDGs) and the other commitments, goals and targets of the Millennium Declaration, and the declarations and programmes of action adopted at international conferences and summits and through major United Nations conventions. CCA-UNDAF has a higher profile than when first launched. The revised guidelines also reflect General Assembly resolution 56/201 on the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review of the operational activities of the United Nations system, which contained measures to reinforce the effectiveness of the CCA and UNDAF processes and significantly broaden its scope and meaning by promoting its use in the formulation of national policies and strategies, particularly national poverty-reduction strategies.
UNIDO has had a close connection to the CCA-UNDAF process from the time of the 18-country pilot
phase (1997 - 1998) when UNIDO Director-General Carlos Magariños, seconded a senior UNIDO staff
member to UNDGO New York for more than two years (September 1998-November 2000). The UN Development
Group (UNDG), representing all funds and programmes under the Secretary Generals direct authority
and the UNDG Office (UNDGO), were the main management and support structures set up to pilot the UN
reform on development issues, and were responsible inter alia for launching CCA-UNDAF. UNIDO's
involvement at the field level has not been so intense, but those UNIDO field Representatives who
have been involved, in general have good things to say about it. The July Feature Story looks at
CCA-UNDAF and UNIDO's involvement to date. (see July Feature
Story)
Alain Nickels, Tel: +43 1
26026/3037, Email: A.Nickels@unido.org
Ministers from Jordan, Lebanon and Syria at ITPO Seminar
Tokyo, Japan, 2 - 3 July, 2002 at the 3 country seminar: Lebanon's Minister of Economy and Trade, Basil Fuleihan (see gallery) |
Ministers from Jordan, Lebanon and Syria attended the UNIDO Investment Technology Promotion Office, ITPO Tokyo - JETRO, Three Country Investment Seminar in Tokyo on 3 July, 2002. A visit of His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan to Tokyo, coinciding with the ITPO-JETRO Seminar added dimension to the event. The King attended a JETRO side-event "Three Country Exhibition Jordan, Lebanon, Syria' on 2 July. Jordan's delegation was led by Minister of Industry and Trade, Salah Eddin M. Al-Bashir and Jordan Investment Board (JIB), Director- General, Ms. Reem Badran; Lebanon's, by Minister of Economy and Trade, Basil Fuleihan, and Lebanon Investment Development Authority (IDAL), Chairman, Samih Barbir; and Syria's, by Minister of Economy and International Trade, Ghassan El-Rifai. Ministers from Jordan and Lebanon were able to take advantage of their time in Tokyo to visit the ITPO. Tokyo ITPO Head, Hideo Nakanishi, representing ITPO Tokyo, was among the guests at a luncheon hosted by King Abdullah, along with the ITPO delegate from Jordan, Mr. Gammoh and other ITPO staff.
All three visiting ministers, accompanying officials and businessmen attended each others seminar sessions throughout the day. Some 100 participants attended the seminar, which concentrated on delivering the latest economic and investment news of each country to the Japanese business community. The main message of the seminar was that while each country offers its own opportunities, for the Japanese investor, the three countries can be viewed as complementing each other, with Jordan and Syria boasting more industrial activity, and Lebanon stressing more on the services industries, including trading, banking, advertising, etc. Tourism in each country was also highlighted as major attraction for foreigners. The seminar was successful in putting forth a consolidated image of the region to potential investors.
The 2 July visit to ITPO Tokyo of the Lebanese delegation, comprising Minister Fuleihan, IDAL Chairman, Barbir and other officials, discussed further cooperation in relation to a seminar and business meetings that took place in Tokyo 2001. The possibility of ITPO Tokyo hosting a delegate from Lebanon in 2002/2003 was part of these discussions. Expectations regarding the establishment of a UNIDO Investment Promotion Unit (IPU) in Beirut (within IDAL) were also discussed.
The visit of Jordan's Minister Al-Bashir and JIB Director- General Badran on 3 July discussed the outcome of the ongoing delegate programme at ITPO Tokyo for Jordan (Mr. Issa Gammoh 20 May 7 July). Jordan's delegation requested further cooperation from UNIDO Tokyo to promote information on large scale projects to the Japanese business community, such as a gas pipeline from Egypt to Jordan and Magnesium Metal Mining. Both delegations praised the activities of UNIDO, and the involvement of the UNIDO Regional Office in Lebanon under UNIDO Representative Giuseppi Papuli, (which also oversees Jordan and Syria), and the activities of UNIDO's IPU in Amman under Monica Carco (see story this issue).
As Minister Syrian Minister of Economy and International Trade, Ghassan El Rifai, was not able to
visit the ITPO, discussions on UNIDO projects in Syria were held instead on the sideline of the
investment seminar. The Minister mentioned that he had personally welcomed a delegation from UNIDO HQ
a few weeks ago.
UNIDO ITPO Tokyo: Email:
itpo.tokyo@unido.org
Stone Conference in Amman
Amman, Jordan, 7 - 9 July, 2002 Jordan Investment Board - JOSTONE Cooperazione Italiana - UNIDO |
A conference on The Dimension Stone Sector in Jordan held in Amman, Jordan, 7 - 9 July
discussed a report commissioned by UNIDO's Investment Promotion Unit (IPU) Amman, to identify
problems and constraints faced by the sector and establish a basis for future technical assistance.
The conference is part of an IPU programme, financed by Italy and launched in January, 2002, in
coordination with the Jordan Investment Board, the Jordan Stone and Tile Exporters Association
(JOSTONE), the Jordan Export Development and Commercial Centres Corporation and the Jordan US
Business Partnership. The conference was chaired by Director- General of the Jordan Investment Board,
Ms. Reem Badran, who had just returned from a three-country (Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) investment
seminar at UNIDO's Investment Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) Tokyo (see story
this issue). Private sector participation in the conference included seven Italian companies
including Sten the biggest Italian trader in stone in addition to quarrying and machinery
companies. The conference programme included a two-day technical tour of quarrries and processing
sites (see agenda
for panel presentations and tour information).
While acknowledging the high export potential of the Kingdom's stone sector, the report indicates there is substantial work ahead if the dimension stone sector in Jordan is to become internationally competitive. On the positive side, in addition the high quality of the raw material, the sector benefits from a very good infrastructure": modern roads, a well-equipped port where containers of all sizes and raw blocks can be easily handled, and cheap transport fees between Amman and Aqaba.
Negatives for the sector include a shortage of water, which is indispensable in the processing of stone. Larger companies have responded by installing recycling systems, but these often operate less efficiently that they should. As for quarrying, the report said that with the exception of the most developed quarries in the Hallabat and Karaky areas, (see map) most quarries have very irregular and "poor" production in terms of quality, selection of blocks and shapes and dimension of blocks compared to international standards and market needs.
On legislation, the report noted that until today no specific legislation exists, governing quarrying stone blocks. Another hindrance the sector faces is difficulty in obtaining licences. Omar Abdeen, general manager of National Construction Industries Company, said he has been waiting for three years to get a licence to quarry. He called for modernising the licencing system and reducing mining fees quarrying companies pay. These fees have been increased by up to 200 per cent per tonne of exported stone, according to Abdeen, who is also a member of JOSTONE. The reports recommendations covered: Quarrying and raw materials inventory; Processing and plants; Manaement and organization; Market and Marketing; and Raw materials. The need for training was prominent in all recommendations. (see story)
The UNIDO's IPU has been sponsoring a technical and financial assistance plan for the sector since October 2001, when it was identified as having export potential, said Monica Carco, who heads the IPU. A total of US id="ucfLayout02" onload="try { OnBodyLoad(); } catch(e) { }; afterload();" million has been allocated to the project, by the Italian government, for UNIDO's activities. A soft loan of million is also linked to the activities. After extending financial and technical aid to the sector, the programme will focus on other recommendations of the analysis, and help attract foreign investors to the sector.
Around 600 companies operate in the sector and recruit some 3.300 employees. Their combined gross production output was valued at JD32.4 million in 2000, the study quoted the Department of Statistics as saying. Nearly 90 per cent of these companies are small artisan entities involved in the extraction and the processing (manual, and or semi-manual) of building stone mainly used locally for cladding and other architectural purposes. Twelve companies process and trade inside the country, and only 5-6 companies are large enough to operate in the export market. Around 70-75 per cent of stone produced is sold locally and the remainder is exported to the regional market, mainly the Gulf area and Palestine.
Only two kinds of stones travertine and limestone have recently been exported to the US market and some spot orders have been concluded with Canada and Australia. However, there are no exports of finished products to Europe, in spite of the high demand there and in the Far East. The UNIDO report acknowledges the difficulty of selling such products in European states "due to their strong tradition in stone processing, their consolidated know-how, the existence of a huge industry and the availability of varieties of stones imported from all over the world". However, a change of trend is visible. and "Due to the increasing awareness of the potentialities of the local raw materials on the export markets, some local entrepreneurs have recently began to re-organise and implement the processing layouts and the structure of their companies, paying more attention to the re-organization of the marketing departments".
IPU Jordan intends to build on those initiatives and assist the sector where it can to make the
best out of that trend.
Monica Carac, IPU Jordan,
Tel. +962 6 5531081, ext. 412, E-mail: itpo.amman@unido.org
Cleaner Technology Promotion
Part VI - Profile of Cleaner Production in India (continued) This week we conclude the profile of Cleaner Production - related institutions in India that resulted from the project's evaluation of potential partners with three institutions operating at the state level: the Ahmadabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA); the Karnataka Cleaner Production Centre (KCPC); and Energy Economy & Environmental Consultants (3EC).The Ahmadabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) is a quasi- governmental institution. Similar institutions exist for other sectors. Its headquarters are in Ahmadabad and it has a fairly active environmental department working together with the Gujarat Cleaner Production Centre (GCPC). It has a good laboratory and has offered many workshops as well as information dissemination, training and consulting services. The association has agreements with USAID, the World Bank, Australia and the Netherlands. Formerly, the associations approach was basically end-of-pipe but now it also focuses on cleaner production and cleaner technologies. The association manages a new Greening Supply Management Chain project of USAIDs in which various suppliers downstream have been identified. A technology assessment was undertaken for five selected industries, identifying cleaner technology options and performing a technology gap analysis.
In Karnataka, there is the Karnataka Cleaner Production Centre (KCPC), located in Bangalore. It has been operational for three years but is only now moving on to the stage of practical implementation. In total, five industrial units are in the process of receiving a cleaner production assessment. The basic focus of the Centre has been on training and promoting cleaner production through key resource persons and companies, thus working more on a promotional and awareness level.
The private consulting company 3EC, specialized on energy, ecology and efficiency is also located in Karnataka. It has performed cleaner production assessments for the KCPC within the World Bank cleaner production project. It has also undertaken various projects in the energy field including co-generation of energy and has staff specialized in the field of energy efficiency and project engineering. 3EC has close working relations with the KCPC.
That concludes the profile of Indian Cleaner Production- related institutions that was established
when the Project was evaluating possible partners. From the interactions that took place during the
evaluation, it became clear that domestic stakeholders in cleaner production, including the
Government of India and various State governments, have a great interest in upgrading the capacities
of various institutions in the country to promote adoption by industry of higher- investment cleaner
technologies. It also became clear that the local stakeholders do not believe that they have
the necessary capacities to initiate the process of aggressively promoting adoption such kinds of
investment. For this reason the Government of India requested UNIDOs assistance in this field. There
is particular interest in the involvement of UNIDO in these efforts because of the long experience
UNIDO has in India with cleaner production, both through the National Cleaner Production Centre of
India (a member of the UNIDO/UNEP global network of NCPCs) as well as the new Regional CPCs, and
through other projects.
...to be continued. OTHER PARTS OF THE SERIES
Ned Clarence-Smith, Tel:
+43 1 26026/5079, E-mail: E.Clarence-Smith@unido.org
COMING SOON
Arusha, Tanzania, 15 - 19 July 2002IPEN (International POPs Elimination Network) - UNIDO Conference for Skillshare to NGOs working on POPs: Hosted by the AGENDA for Environment and Responsible Development, the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) is a worldwide network of over 350 NGOs active in POPs issues. For the Africa region over 130 NGOs have subscribed. The Conference will address issues related to the role of NGOs implementing the POPs Convention. Participation is invited particularly by NGOs that provide support in cleaner production and sustainable use of pesticides, policy implementation and media and communication strategies, community monitoring and toxic loading, as well as aid to community and information dissemination. UNIDO will provide assistance to NGOs in order to develop and implement the National Implementation Plans in countries where UNIDO is involved. Support to the Conference includes participation of the African NCPCs, preparation of promotional material and finalizing the proceedings of the Conference. Other regional conferences will be planned for similar promotion for NGOs to get involved in the implementation of the POPs Convention. A registration form is available at the IPEN site.
Mohamed Eisa, Tel. (+431)
26026-4261, E-mail: M.Eisa@unido.org
 |
Post- Senegal (see story) NEPAD follow-up by International Organizations and business associations covers the calendar and the globe for the remainder of 2002. (details) |
Send your comments to the editor: K.Timmins@unido.org
