Tuesday, 07 March 2017
VIENNA, 7 March 2017 – The United
Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Supreme Council of
Science, Research and Technology (SCSRT) of the Islamic Republic of Iran signed
a revised joint declaration to strengthen their cooperation in several new
areas.
Taizo Nishikawa, Deputy to the UNIDO
Director General, and Vahid Ahmadi, Secretary General of SCSRT, signed the
declaration to develop joint initiatives in the fields of science development;
technology and innovation zones; professional training, PhD and fellowship
programmes; South-South cooperation; and the promotion of businesses’
participation in global trade through trade capacity building, quality policy
and infrastructure development.
“Our joint declaration with SCSRT
will further promote cooperation between UNIDO and Iran. UNIDO is successfully
implementing projects of its 2017-2021 Iran country programme with a focus on
industrial policy, job creation and environmental protection,” said Taizo
Nishikawa at the signing ceremony.
Vahid Ahmadi commended the effective
cooperation between UNIDO and his council.
“The SCSRT will fulfil the joint
declaration by collaborating with UNIDO in the areas of science, technology and
innovation zones; South-South cooperation; and trade capacity building, which
will include the elaboration of halal food standards and establishing a
certification and accreditation laboratory,” he said.
UNIDO Director General LI Yong
signed a country programme framework for 2017-2021 with the Government of Iran
in Vienna during UNIDO’s 50th anniversary week last November. Designed to
promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Iran, the
programme aligns with the priorities of the Iran’s 2016-2021 national
development plan and with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework
(UNDAF).
The country programme focuses on
assisting the Government of Iran in elaborating sector-specific industrial policies;
stimulating job creation; strengthening enterprise competitiveness, market
access and export; establishing networks for knowledge sharing and building
partnerships at the regional and international level; and promoting
environmentally sustainable industrial development.
Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine
and Trade, UNIDO and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) agreed in 2016
to develop a road map for systemic interventions towards a low-carbon
transformation in the Iranian industrial sector.
UNIDO plays a key role in
modernizing Iran’s energy and manufacturing sectors and developing policies to
create jobs, promote industrial development and support environmental
conservation.