Vienna, 7 July 2021 – Titled “Partnering for inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID): New challenges and opportunities for the UNIDO-Japan cooperation”, the UNIDO-Japan cooperation week – an online event co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) from 29 June to 7 July 2021 – elaborated on how the UNIDO-Japan cooperation can help developing and emerging countries further advance inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) and build back better after COVID.

“Sustaining and promoting ISID during and after COVID-19 is the biggest challenge for UNIDO and its Member States”, said H.E. Ambassador Takeshi Hikihara. “Japan wishes to contribute to this endeavour as one of the major donor countries to UNIDO’s technical cooperation”.

The event opened with a first webinar on “Accelerating Circular Economy and Carbon Neutrality for ISID and a Green Recovery”, which harnessed specialized energy and environment knowledge and expertise to elaborate on ways in which UNIDO and Japan could support partner countries in adopting, and subsequently capitalizing on circular economy principles. A second webinar on “Joining forces for industrial skills development” followed, which recognized the importance of advancing and upgrading industrial skills in response to the ever-changing industrial landscape in developing countries and economies in transition.

“When it comes to industrial or economic development, UNIDO has the expertise to set strategies and promote projects with a long-term view”, said Ms. Kako Kurasawa, Vice President, Sustainability Promotion Division, and General Manager, Komatsu Ltd. “For example, to develop a community support programme, UNIDO will conduct a needs assessment and will engage with local stakeholders to bring impact into communities”.

A third webinar on “Investment and Technology Transfer under COVID-19” highlighted the many synergies between Japan’s private sector and private and public entities in beneficiary countries by showcasing specific projects, such as clean water manufacturing in Uzbekistan or the provision of medical waste incinerators in Madagascar and Senegal.

“The pandemic has highlighted the importance of inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and of institutions such as UNIDO”, said Ms. Mineko Ohta, Director of the Technical Cooperation Division, Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan. “We very much appreciate our close interactions with UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Tokyo, which has been crucial for the promotion of foreign direct investment and technology transfer from Japan”.

More than 600 persons in total took part in the virtual events, which emphasized the importance of multilateral cooperation as exemplified by UNIDO’s outstanding partnership with the Government of Japan.

“ISID needs to be driven by partnerships in development cooperation”, said UNIDO Director General LI Yong. “By applying the UNIDO partnership approach to Japanese-funded projects, we bring different stakeholders together to jointly improve livelihoods, protect the environment, and address climate change”.

The UNIDO-Japan cooperation week was complemented by a social media promotional campaign that highlighted key cooperation areas including human security, investment and technology transfer, COVID-19 response, TICAD and IDDAIII processes, industrial skills development, strengthening of value chains, as well as climate action and marine plastics.

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Monika Eichberger

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