Tokyo, 9 July 2024 – UNIDO’s Director General Gerd Müller visited Japan to express the appreciation for the long-standing relationship between UNIDO and Japan and to further strengthen cooperation to deliver high-impact projects for partner countries in areas such as industrial decarbonization, clean energy, food security, digital transformation, and circular economy.

Director General met with the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Saito Ken, and stated his appreciation for the solid support of UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Tokyo for over 40 years as well as recent large-scale contributions, which are funding two new major initiatives for the recovery in Ukraine and for sustainable development in countries of the Global South. A joint declaration was signed to strengthen collaboration through the successful implementation of the projects.

Director General Müller thanked Minister Saito Ken for the great partnership and for the new quality of cooperation that has been developed, underlining that “Japan, at the top in terms of voluntary funding for UNIDO’s projects, is an especially important partner for UNIDO, for Ukraine and for the Global South. Our joint work also underlines the importance of private sector involvement for sustainable development. Through the new large-scale programmes, we will work with Japanese companies to transfer innovations and low-carbon technologies to the Ukraine and countries of the Global South. Together, we will support the development of micro, small and medium-sized businesses, and the creation of good jobs in important sectors such as agribusiness, circular economy, clean energy, critical minerals, or healthcare.”

Yuko Yasunaga, Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director of UNIDO, and Fumio Adachi, Head of ITPO Tokyo, who supported and accompanied the Director General during this mission, will lead the implementation of these significant programmes.

Director General Müller also met with the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Hosaka Yasushi, to express gratitude for the Government of Japan’s continuous support for UNIDO’s technical cooperation projects. They discussed opportunities for increasing cooperation to support partner countries in the Global South and the forthcoming 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to be held in 2025 in Yokohama, and organized under Japan’s leadership. Müller highlighted the strong cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and underscored the importance of Japan’s continued contributions over the years, in particular for supplementary budget-funded UNIDO projects, which have been critical to building resilience and supporting the most vulnerable particularly in crisis-affected countries.

Director General also met with the Chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Ishiguro Norihiko, to confer on how to jointly promote investment and technology transfer from Japan, particularly to Ukraine and the countries of the Global South. JETRO will partner with UNIDO to implement the two new major programmes, facilitating technology transfer with Japanese companies, while UNIDO will facilitate the building of skilled workforces via vocational training in recipient countries.

During his visit, the Director General also met with high-ranking Japanese experts in the field of sustainable development, Nakamura Michiharu and Kawai Maki. The prominent scientists both served as members of the United Nations Group of Ten High-level Representatives of Civil Society, Private Sector and Scientific Community to Promote Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs. They were also joined by Yukari  Takamura, Professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives of the University of Tokyo and Fujita Kaori, Executive Director of a Japanese company specializing in water treatment technology. The working dinner provided an opportunity to discuss solutions to support developing countries in achieving the SDGs from the perspective of academia and the private sector.

Moreover, Director Müller met with Inoguchi Kuniko, Member of Parliament, House of Councillors of Japan, to exchange views on international affairs and the expected functions of Japan within  the UN system and visited UNIDO’s ITPO Tokyo to meet with staff there. ITPO Tokyo is the oldest ITPO of UNIDO, established in 1981.