Agenda item 1 Opening of the session
(High–level segment/eminent speakers)

Austria (Foreign Minister)

• Underlined the importance to develop a strong private sector.
• Emphasized the importance of capacity building and investment promotion.
• Trade and development are important; developing countries should have a fair share of trade,
• Attracting FDI is crucial,
• The WTO – UNIDO agreement signed in Cancun is a major step for the Organization.
• Stressed the importance of UNIDO’s activities in support of energy efficiency and renewable energy, including participation in GFSE and REEP.
• Needed to reduce the cost of renewable energy sources.
• Underlined the importance o f the Cleaner production programme towards industrial development and sustainability.
• Needs for more donors to the CP programme
• Support to the information technology and biotechnology programmes of UNIDO

Timor-Leste (President)

• Funds should be allocated to improve storage/processing and distribution of agricultural commodities.
• Assistance needed to increase production of agricultural commodities that could be produced locally.
• Focus should be on encouraging SMEs in agro–industries (food processing, building materials, etc.
• Need FDI to compensate the lack of employment,
• In globalization, trade and competitiveness are crucial to enter in the international market
• Hoped that UNIDO would contribute to poverty reduction by helping to build up the private sector for job creation and improved living conditions.
• Are preparing the 2020 Development Vision

Madagascar (President)

• 80% of population is dependant on agriculture.
• Need to focus on development of an integrated value chain for agro-products and promotion of commercial agriculture.
• Assistance required in storage, handling, processing and distribution.
• Measures required to promote foreign investment in food production/ fisheries and animal production and processing.
• Need for promotion of agro-based SMEs.
• Creation of SMEs would foster the growth of the private sector.
• Marketing strategy needed to attract investment
• LDCs need Foreign Direct Investment to escape from their poverty trap;
• Madagascar wants to attract FDI,
• Investment should be integrated into the value chain of agro-industries, mining and tourism,
• Madagascar wishes to develop a good public/private partnership,
• Africa needs to improve its business climate, technology transfer capacities and train new generations of entrepreneurs,
• Partnership, technology transfer and investment are important for Africa.
• Exhorted technology transfer and investment through a more effective UNIDO representation on the ground.

Sierra Leone (Vice-President)

• 6% growth recorded in the agro-sector.
• Wants to sign IP, where there is an agro-component and emphasis on post-crisis assistance to enable development of the private sector, to help the country emerge from its current post-conflict economic standstill.
• Need to transform natural resources into tradable goods
• Hoped that, with the support of UNIDO, private-sector led manufacturing would advance the economy.

United Republic of Tanzania (Prime Minister)

• All SMEs are agro-based.
• All agro-commodities currently sold as primary raw materials.
• Assistance required to process produce and market value-added agro-products.
• Past UNIDO assistance in area of fruits and vegetables generated an increase in fruit processing and production.
• Additional resources need to be made available to UNIDO to increase assistance for reduction of post-harvest fruit losses.
• Starting SMEs and developing the private sector played a critical role in the country’s economic development, with entrepreneurial culture a key element in achieving this goal.
• Called for establishment of a network of credit for SMEs.
• Cited UNIDO’s long-standing TC assistance to SMEs in Tanzania, in particular to women entrepreneurs, as a success story. The relation between MDGs and international trade is inevitable,
• International trade and FDI contributes to reduce poverty,
• Removal of trade barriers contributes to poverty eradication,
• Support the WTO-UNIDO agreement signed in Cancun,
• Developing countries should strengthen their supply side and increase their market shares,
• FDI should be attracted into Africa, but not so much has been happening so far,
• There are some conditional prerequisites to attract FDI,
• UNIDO help poor nations to produce with added value and sell in the international markets, such as processed coffee instead of green coffee
• Called on donor countries to ensure the continuation of this and other programmes by making available necessary resources.

Panama (Vice President)

• Industrial sector has been drastically reduced. thousand of jobs has been lost.
• Future industrial development need better technical export to use technologies,
• Regions compete to attract FDI, Asian countries are good examples in setting appropriate policies,
• There is a need for coherent and integrated industrial development policies
• Panama needs national policies with greater importance on R&D, quality and metrology to increase exportable goods,
• Thanks UNIDO to assist Panama in technical assistance in the field of market access for Central American countries,
• Need to strengthen national structures for quality and metrology,
• Global market offers great opportunities.
• To achieve industrial development, exports needed to be increased from the agro-sector.
• Need to improve entrepreneurial management/ quality assurance in the agro-industrial sector.
• Pointed out that SME development played an important role in advancement industrial development.
• Requested UNIDO to enhance entrepreneurial and managerial skills, in particular in agro-industries, to fight poverty and strengthen the private sector.

Indonesia (Governor)

• Private sector is the locomotive of economic development
• Indnesia appreciates the signing of the Country Service Framework.
• More UNIDO's assistance for industrial development needed

Chile (Governor)

• Upcoming global biotechnology forum in Chile was important as biotechnology opened opportunities in forestry and agriculture.
• Supported growth of the private sector through upgrading entrepreneurial skills, which will built up a competitive business society.
• There is a link between the increase of standard of living and science and technology,
• In the 21st century, many free trade agreements will be signed but the importance is in the innovation put in the goods,
• It is scientific progress that is important,
• Great opportunities will be available through the opening of international market.

Turkey (Minister)

• Noted improvement in technical cooperation delivery.
• Commended UNIDO’s pioneering work in promoting hydrogen energy technologies.
• Announced the recent establishment of the International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies.
• Wanted to strengthen and expand areas of technical cooperation with UNIDO.
• Commended existing relationship with UNIDO in area of food safety study tours organized in Turkey and supported by the Turkish Government.
• Turkey had long supported private sector development.
• Ongoing Turkish-funded regional programme promoting SMEs in NIS countries has led to concrete results, with business centres already established in Bishkek and Tashkent, with one in Baku, Azerbaijan, upcoming.
• Stressed the importance of field representation as component of technical cooperation delivery and favoured decentralization.
• It will continue to support the UNIDO Centre for Regional Cooperation in Turkey

Mr. R Ricupero (Secretary-General, UNCTAD)

• Stressed the need to build supply-side capacity in developing countries.
• The international community is not willing to deal with trade and development; it is not a favorable atmosphere,
• UNIDO is twin sister of UNCTAD because they were born with the same problematic.
• UNCTAD XI will address how to improve the coherence of development on one side, and finance and trade on the other,
• Should develop mechanism to promote finance and trade,
• FDI does not go to highly indebt countries, they need ODA and Trade. But trade is one side of the coin; the other is the supply capacity,
• Peace and development are indivisible,
• Pope VI: development is another name for peace.

Mr. J Sachs (Earth Institute Columbia University/Director)

• UNCTAD and UNIDO were created in 1960s to point development at the center of the agenda,
• The MDGs can be done but will not be met on the basis of business as usual,
• Three pillars to meet the MDGs: (1) development of policies within the countries, (2) international system that can promote export and provide market access, (3) increase public investment in basic infrastructure and social.
• Emphasized the importance of laying down the infrastructure for investment in nutrition and health care in developing countries.