Industrial Development Board, twenty-ninth session

Satement by H.E. Benoît Ouattara, Minister of Trade, Enterprise Promotion and Handicrafts, Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso's Minister of Trade, Enterprise Promotion and Handicrafts, Benoît Ouattara said that UNIDO's reforms would be futile if the necessary financing was not forthcoming. His delegation welcomed the information on progress made in mobilizing financial resources. In allocating its available resources for the biennium 2004-2005, the Organization would continue to give priority to three areas, among them the integrated programmes. Burkina Faso was well aware of the impact that industrialization could have as an engine for promoting sustainable development and combating poverty.

His delegation welcomed UNIDO's efforts to enhance such cooperation by supporting the Asia-Africa Technology Centre with a view to promoting investment and technology transfer from Asia to Africa. He stressed how important South-South cooperation was in bringing together countries and regions with similar situations and objectives. Concerning cooperation between UNIDO and Burkina Faso, his delegation welcomed the approval of phase II of the integrated programme for his country. The activities planned took into account the Strategic Framework for Poverty Reduction and national and regional industrial development policy.

The programme would make Burkina Faso's handicrafts and industrial sector more competitive, strengthen institutional support for the sector and help create jobs. It would complement the Government's efforts and initiatives of other agencies aimed at implementing the Strategic Framework for Poverty Reduction. Those efforts should also be seen in the perspective of efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and the goals of NEPAD. In that connection, he expressed appreciation to the Director- General and to the donor countries Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg. He stressed the importance of recipient country contribution towards pilot projects as an expression of their commitment to the programmes.