The government of Austria, together with the European Union Delegations to the International Organizations in Vienna, hosted an event to highlight the importance of UNIDO membership under the title: “UNIDO: Membership matters! Progress by innovation”.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by Peter Huber, Ambassador and Director General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria, as well as by Stephan Klement, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the International Organizations in Vienna. Both highlighted their respective long histories of successful partnership with UNIDO, and the importance of industrialization for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Director General of UNIDO, Gerd Müller, was invited to deliver the keynote speech, which focused on UNIDO’s transformative agenda and emphasized that the Organization is better placed to tackle current, as well as future global challenges.
A panel discussion saw the participation of Barbara Zvokelj, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to UNIDO; María Elizabeth Bogosian, Ambassador, Alternate Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Uruguay to UNIDO; and Nader Imani, Vice President for Global Education of the technical education equipment and services company, Festo Dedactic. The discussion focused on the benefits of partnering with UNIDO from different perspectives.
The question-and-answer session saw active contributions by representatives of several Permanent Missions from both industrializing, middle-income and industrialized countries, which highlighted their positive experiences from working with UNIDO through the Organization’s various partnership modalities. A recurring topic, emphasized by a number of speakers, was UNIDO’s unique role in fostering partnerships with the private sector. Moreover, UNIDO’s comprehensive and holistic approach to inclusive and sustainable industrial development, which includes economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, was highlighted as of particular importance.