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27 June 3 July 2004
CONTENTS:
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First EC-UNIDO direct development funding |
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UNIDO Industrial Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange (SPX) Beijing |
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COMING SOON |
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OTHER INDUSTRY NEWSLETTERS |
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Current Feature |
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PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSIONS of UNIDOScope |
First EC-UNIDO direct development funding
Islamabad, Pakistan, 8 June, 2004
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Head of Delegation of the European Commission (EC) in
Pakistan, Ilkka Uusitalo and UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan, Onder Yucer (representing
UNIDO), signed an agreement in Islamabad on 8 June 2004 on the European Commission 2.2 million Euro
funding for the UNIDO Standards Metrology Quality / SPS component of a five million Euro EC
Trade- Related Capacity Building Programme in Pakistan. It is the first EC-funded programme
for which funds have been signed over directly to UNIDO. On previous occasions EC funds have been
signed over to a third party which then contracts UNIDO as the implementing agency. The procedure for
EC funding of UNIDO programmes was streamlined by the October 2003 signing by EU Commissioner for
Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Poul Nielson and UNIDO Director-General Carlos Magariños
of the Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement, affectionately known as "the FAFA" (see UNIDOScope 26 October - 1 November 2003).
The five million Euro Trade- Related Capacity Building Programme will provide support in two main areas: trade and capacity building on WTO issues (both in the private and in the public sector); and standards, quality and SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) requirements. The UNIDO Standards Metrology Quality / SPS component is in line with the Toolbox of Instrumentsframework for the facilitation of trade in the fields of standardization and conformity as laid out in the EC communiqué to the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, 2002 (Ref:G/TBT/W/173/Add.1). The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are handling the "WTO issues" component.
The EC-UNIDO funding ceremony was attended by Mr. Zahid Aziz, Chief Expert Advisory Cell, Mr. Abdul Rasheed Khan, DG Pakistan National Accreditation Council, Mr Abdul Hafeez Chaudhry, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production, and Mr S. Irtaqa Ahmad Zaidi, Economic Consultant, Ministry of Commerce.
Stressing the importance of donor coordination in international development, Ambassador Uusitalo pointed to this partnership of EU with UNIDO, ITC and WIPO for the development of the industrial sector in Pakistan as a good example of a joint sharing of technical competencies and resources. UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Yucer said that the combining of core competencies of the partner agencies to address WTO agreement issues represented a new model for Multi Agency cooperation. He also thanked EU for forming this coalition of partners in moving the competitiveness of industry forward.
The ITC/WIPO Trade and capacity building on WTO issues component comprises three areas: Technical assistance in implementation of WTO obligations, such as TRIPS (Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights) and safeguards; and awareness and capacity building on current trade negotiations (notably WTO Doha Development Agreement issues of particular relevance to EU-Pakistan trade relations). The main target audiences are government officials, the private sector and civil society organizations. The third area is a dedicated training and research center on WTO and international trade.
The UNIDO Standards, Metrology, Quality / SPS component covers four main areas. The first area is accreditation rules / regulations: to harmonize international and Pakistani standards, including technical assistance to upgrade product quality and further develop the national accreditation system, ensuring compliance with international regulations / standards, cooperation in the field of adaptation of procedures and dissemination of new standards. The second area is laboratories: to provide technical assistance and support for Pakistani testing facilities (to have internationally recognized accredited laboratories). The third area will build capacities and provide assistance to industry to deal with certification requirements, such as SA 8000 , ISO 9000 , ISO 14000 and HACCP . The fourth and final area of the Standards, Metrology, Quality / SPS component is training and capacity building on WTO and EU SPS requirements for officials and the private sector.
The closer working relationship developed between the European Commission and UNIDO during the formulation of the trade capacity building programme in Pakistan has already shown dividends in UNIDO involvement in a similar programme in Bangladesh.
In June, 2003, after examining the EU Country Framework for Bangladesh, UNIDO Trade Capacity specialist Lalith Goonatilake proposed to EU Bangladesh, that the Pakistan EU - UNIDO experience could be repeated in Bangladesh. Dialogue with the EU delegation was continued to fine tune the strategy and to seek the involvement of other donors, particularly the development cooperation agencies: DFID (UK); NORAD (Norway); SIDA (Sweden); and CIDA (Canada), on joint funding.
Following meetings in Bangladesh in March 2004, an EU - UNIDO programme with a budget between Euro
1 - 8 million has been proposed. There is a strong possibility that DFID and CIDA will join the EU
Programme and contribute an additional Euro 7.5 million and 3 million respectively for UNIDO
implementation. Negotiations are underway with NORAD and SIDA regarding their possible participation
as well.
Lalith Goonatilake, Tel
+43-1-26026 / 3859, Email: L.Goonatilake@unido.org
UNIDO Industrial Subcontracting and Partnership EXchange
in Beijing
Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, 2 - 6 June 2004
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High-level representatives of the Beijing Government and some 60 small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) participated in the inauguration of UNIDO SPX Beijing, China's second Industrial Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange, on 31 May 2004, in Beijing.
China's first SPX, SPX Chonqing was inaugurated just six weeks earlier, on 15 April (see UNIDOScope 2 - 8 May). Chongqing is located on the upper reaches of the
Yangtze River, straddling the region which connects the middle and western parts of China. These two
SPXs could turn out to be the beginning of a National network of SPXs if it can be shown that SPXs
would help to bridge the East and West Provinces. Chairman of the Beijing Science and Technology
Commission, Ma Lin, and the new head of UNIDO's SPX Programme, Patrick Gilabert performed the
unveiling ceremony.
The host of the Beijing SPX is the Beijing Productivity Centre. The China Association of Productivity Centers, working under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is a network of 1070 Centers. Seventy of these centres, including the Beijing Productivity Centre have received Model Centre Awards and are ISO 9001 certified. Needless to say, the Beijing Productivity Center is a good place for a National SPX network to start.
The idea of setting up an SPX in China was first discussed with the China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE), at the International Forum for SME Development in China, in November, 2001.
Following the inauguration ceremony, a debriefing session took place at CICETE, chaired by Mr. Deng Zhihui, Director, Programming & Planning Division, together with Mr. Zhou Taidong, Programme Officer, Mr. Ma Jian, National Programme Coordinator and Mr. Ralf Bredel, Programme Officer, UNIDO Beijing. CICETE Director, Deng Zhihui expressed his satisfaction with the progress being made by UNIDO in the field of supply chain development and investment promotion. He emphasized the structural economic and social imbalance between the East and West, North and South of China and expressed the hope that the establishment of more SPXs, the development of a UNIDO supply chain network in China and the assistance of more Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) could help the country to reduce this economic and social imbalance. Head of UNIDO's Investment Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) UK in China, Fabienne Rond, said that a close cooperation will be developed between ITPO UK and the SPX - Beijing Centre.
After the inauguration of SPX Beijing, Deputy Director of the CICETE, Sun Tongquan and two senior staff accompanied UNIDO SPX specialist Gilabert to the 3rd Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Medium and Small Enterprises Technology Conference (METC) and Fair in Qingdao, China. UNIDO was invited to participate in the day-long Forum on Innovation & Development of SMEs at the APEC event to present its SPX Programme. After the APEC Forum, the Deputy Director of Qingdao Municipal Economic Committee, the Director of the Qingdao Overseas Economic and Technology Exchange Center and representatives of Papua New Guinea said they would like to join the SPX Programme.
These requests at the APEC Forum bring the number of new SPXs proposed for 2004 - 2005 to
seventeen, joining those already on the drawing board for: Bangladesh; Viet Nam; Doha; Guinea;
Nigeria; Togo; Benin; Cameroon; Bulgria; Croatia; Poland; Romania; Ukraine; El-Salvador; and
Nicaragua. The UNIDO SPX network currently comprises 57 SPXs in 32 Countries.
Patrick Gilabert, Tel:
+43-1 26026 / 6414, E-mail: P.Gilabert@unido.org
Send your comments to the editor: K.Timmins@unido.org