PRESS BRIEFING BY NEW YORK DIRECTOR OF UNIDO

18 November 1996

Press Briefing

19961118 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

At a Headquarters briefing this afternoon, Enrique Aguilar, Director of the New York Liaison Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) told correspondents that, at its 30th anniversary, the organization was alive and well in spite of the withdrawal of the United States, effective 31 December.

He welcomed the opportunity to review UNIDO's efforts to meet the challenges facing the developing countries, particularly in Africa, as they strove to build and develop their industries. The UNIDO, he said, was very active in all parts of the developing world, as well as in countries where the economy was in transition.

He reminded correspondents that UNIDO was created by the General Assembly in 1966. In commemorating the date of that resolution, the organization's original mandate -- central to which was the promotion of industrial development and encouragement of the mobilization of financial resources -- remained valid.

While the conditions of the world economy had changed profoundly and a number of developing countries had achieved remarkable progress, he went on, the majority of developing countries continued to face difficulties in attaining their industrial development objectives. "The process of globalization has also affected many developing countries, particularly the African economies", he said.

Mr. Aguilar pointed out that the developing countries' share in world production had grown from 17 per cent in 1980 to 20 per cent in 1995; it was less than 9 per cent when UNIDO was established. On the other hand, Africa's overall performance continued to lag behind other regions in the developing world. To redress that, in 1975 the international community set a target of 25 per cent of industrial output share by the year 2000 for the developing countries. Noting that Africa's share of world industrial production was less than 1 per cent, UNIDO was hopeful that the target would be met.

He further stated that within the overall framework of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa and the Special Initiative on Africa, 12 African heads of State and Government, with the support of UNIDO, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Organization for Africa Unity (OAU) had launched the Alliance for Africa's Industrialization on October 23 in Cote d'Ivoire. The initiative was to foster and cement partnerships between the public and private sectors within

Africa, and between Africa and the rest of the world for the industrial development of the region. He said that on Wednesday (20 November), the General Assembly would celebrate Africa's Industrialization Day to draw the attention of the world to the imperative of industrial development in Africa and to the continuing role of UNIDO as a specialized agency of the United Nations system in that field.

Asked about the contribution of the United States to UNIDO, he said that the United States assessed contribution to the regular budget was 25 per cent, about $27 million a year. Unfortunately, he noted, it had made no payments whatsoever to the organization since 1994. As it came to its last year of membership, it was in arrears of "approximately $66-67 million", Mr Aguilar said. The implication of the withdrawal was that UNIDO's regular budget was being reduced by 25 per cent. He said that the organization, within three and half years, had significantly reduced its staff from 1300 to around 800. He was confident, however, that beginning from 1997, notwithstanding the non- participation of the United States, the organization would have a more assured budget, and a more predictable financial situation. Answering further questions, he said UNIDO had a sectoral responsibility: industry. It contributed as a part of the United Nations system by focusing on those areas of industrial development more relevant to the third world population. The linkage between industry and agriculture was one of the important things. Many programmes of UNIDO in Africa had been able to contribute to employment-creation through the promotion of micro, medium and small enterprises. It focused on specific needs such as food processing and the agro-industrial sector where a large proportion made up the labour force. He called for increased awareness on the part of the international community to the Alliance for African Industrialization initiative on industry, by which those countries recognised their own important contribution, and those of their public and the private sectors in that regard. The UNIDO, he said, had been successful in the area of mobilizing additional resources. He cited an example from an investment promotion forum in Tanzania two weeks ago attended by about 260 foreign investors, where approximately $786 million of joint ventures and investment were negotiated and letters of intention were signed. He added that the Alliance for Africa's Industrialization contemplates the need for strategies that address the low industrial output and the domestic value added, with special attention to the issues of employment- creation, poverty-reduction and food security. Also important was how to increase international commitment to industrial development and the promotion of sustainable growth. The UNIDO had a recent joint agreement with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to address the needs of the least developed countries in this area, working on it within the Alliance for African Industrialisation.

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