Regional Brief
UNIDO in the region
Africa remains one of the focus areas of UNIDO’s work. Since 60% of UNIDO projects are in Africa, the organization will focus more attention on defining programmes for Africa as it relates to the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Union (AU).
In 2006, UNIDO Director-General Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella visited South Africa and signed a host country agreement between UNIDO and the Republic of South Africa. Immediately thereafter, a regional UNIDO office was launched in Pretoria to serve 10 of the 14 Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries, namely : Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The agreement was signed on behalf of South Africa by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mandisi Mpahlwa. Other attendees included representatives from Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The South African office is the 22nd UNIDO office in Africa. The UNIDO regional office in South Africa has several ongoing projects and pipeline projects in 10 SADC countries and supports them to:
- reduce poverty by creating jobs through industrial development
- build trade capacity to ensure the production of goods suitable for the local and export markets
- implement efficient use of energy resources and good environmental practices
The South African office operates on two levels to achieve the three objectives stated above:
- on-the-ground practical technical assistance to countries in the region
- global forum participation and co-operation with other international organizations, including other UN agencies as part of the "One UN” initiative, keeping countries in touch with global developments
The UNIDO regional office has been established to assist in meeting national objectives and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Key elements of the South African office:
- a team of experts with unmatched experience
- access to a vast resource of existing programmes, knowledge, skills, information, and technology
- expertise from an international network of experts
- access to ongoing research, new technology and best-practice modules
- updates on UNIDO and other events of importance to countries in the region
- linkages with other UN agencies and international agencies, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Standards Organization (ISO) to ensure coherent strategies and to minimize overlap of interventions
- a range of structured services to support your country’s development
