Your Excellency, Minister of Trade Dr. Zulkifli Hasan

Your Excellency, Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia,

Your Excellency, Minister of Industry Dr. Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita,

Distinguished delegates, Ladies and gentlemen,

The past years show clearly just how interconnected we really are. We face a triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and population explosion. It is clear: We need greater solidarity. We need stronger multilateral cooperation. We need to rethink our concepts of progress and growth. And we must act now!

The pandemic, climate change, the food crisis, the energy crisis - they hit the poorest the hardest. Industrialized countries invested trillions in support of their economy. But developing countries do not have this option. Moreover, developing countries have hardly any access to the financial markets. In addition to an economic crisis, there is a dramatic debt crisis. I say again, we must act now. We need to act more quickly, and more decisively. For example, in giving aid and help to Pakistan in dealing with the catastrophic situation there now.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

UNIDO is the industrial development agency of the United Nations. Most of the G20 member states are UNIDO members. We work on your behalf, and in your interest. I strongly encourage those states who are not members to join us. We need your support. As the new director general, I am reforming UNIDO: less bureaucracy, more effectiveness, and stronger cooperation with the private sector. Our priorities are:

First: to create a world without hunger, and that IS possible. Globally, we have the technologies, we have the knowledge necessary. What we still need is the decisive political will. By investing 100 billion dollars a year by 2030 in agricultural infrastructure, then in a decade we can create a world without hunger.

Secondly: limiting climate change is possible with investments in the further development of renewable energies, but also in the decarbonization of industry AND by using new technologies to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuels: Carbon Capture and Carbon Storage. Green Hydrogen will be central to decarbonization and greening industry and trade. UNIDO is engaged here with Global Programme for Green Hydrogen in Industry, and our Green Hydrogen platform at COP27 in Egypt.

Third: trade is also a key element to achieve our common goals.  But is must be fair and sustainable trade! The exploitation of people and nature in global supply chains MUST be stopped. UNIDO, together with the WTO and the ILO works on standards for fair wages, for ending child labour in the textile industry, on plantations and in mines – and on binding ecological standards.

The G20 must lead the way. You must drive collective action on fair trade, common standards, and environmental sustainability. Worldwide, I am very glad to see initiatives that link sustainable industry with trade - such as our host country’s Making Indonesia 4.0 Strategy. The next G20 presidencies, all from emerging economies, are doing the same: India has a Green Hydrogen Roadmap to produce 5 million tons a year by 2030. Brazil is now promoting the Low Carbon Circular Economy concept. And UNIDO is supporting South Africa’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

UNIDO is here as your partner for the implementation of technology and knowledge transfer and for investment partnerships projects. We are here to create win-win situations between industrialized and developing countries. Together, we can turn our global responsibility into more global action for the benefit of all. In the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, we can indeed change the world and make it a better place.