ACP forges ties with UNIDO

The ACP group and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Brussels on 24 March. It signals an ACP drive to forge new links with organisations other than the European Union (EU). Secretary General of the ACP group, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas and Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) said that future cooperation between the two bodies would accelerate sustainable industrial development of ACP countries and regions.

“Our respective institutions will build on each other’s comparative advantage in order to make specific contributions to this sustainable industrial development, building on ACP countries’ and regions’ national and regional development strategies”, said Dr.Chambas in a statement.

Under the agreement, the organisations will jointly look at how to strengthen agro-industries and other competitive enterprises in ACP States as well as environmentally friendly industries. Dr. Yumkella also met in Brussels with Vice President of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani, who is European Commissioner for Industry and Enterprise. Commissioner Tajani mooted the idea of holding an AU-EU-UNIDO trilateral High Level Conference at the beginning of 2012 to develop a joint cooperation strategy.

The European Commissioner and UNIDO head agreed that "new wealth" from natural resources, such as oil, must be intelligently used to promote a sustainable industrial development in Africa and on the need for diversification of the economic sector  including traditional activities such as agro-business   to increase trade in ACP value-added goods. They also flagged increased EU and Africa cooperation in education and skills development and transfers of industrial know-how.

Debra Percival