India Statement delivered under Agenda item 3_Annual Report General Debate

50thSession of Industrial Development Board of UNIDO

India’sStatement on Agenda Item No 3: Annual Report of the Director General

[To be delivered by Ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar]

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Thank you Mr President,

2.       My delegation warmly welcomes your assumption of the Chair of the 50th Session of the Industrial Development Board. We congratulate the other members of the Bureau and assure you of our full cooperation in the work of the Board. We deeply appreciate the contribution of the outgoing President of the Board, Ambassador Dominika Krois and her Bureau. The Director General and the Secretariat deserve our gratitude for their efforts in preparation and organization of this Session.

3.       We associate ourselves with the statement made by the distinguished Ambassador of Morocco on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and would like to add the following points from our national perspective.

Mr President,

4.       We are living in challenging times. The world is simultaneously grappling with climate change, geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food, fertilizer and energy prices, and the long-term ill-effects of the pandemic. At such a time, it is imperative that the international community come together and become more innovative in overcoming these common challenges and return to our focus on 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. We believe that UNIDO as an agency tasked with promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrial development has a significant role to play in that.

5.       We have keenly followed the initiatives taken by Director General Mr Gerd Muller in his first year as the head of the organization.We have also listened carefully to the Director General’s thoughtful remarks today morning.We applaud him for his vision and ambition for the future of UNIDO and how the organization addresses  some of the most pressing issues of the day. We are hopeful that a leaner, less hierarchical but action oriented UNIDO will be more efficient and effective in timely execution of its technical cooperation programmes. We urge UNIDO to also consider the suggestions made by Independent Oversight Advisory Committee in the reorganization exercise.We remain open to consideringthe need for a degree of budgetary flexibility to enable the organization to make necessary adjustments in its expenditure in a dynamic environment.

6.       We note with appreciation the DG’s efforts to project the Organisations role be it at the G-20 Summit in Indonesia or the COP-27 in Egypt and the African Union Summit on Industrialisation and Economic Diversification in Niger. We also applaud Director General’s efforts to establish UNIDO’s leadership in promoting Green Hydrogen as a fuel for our future and for the future of the planet.

Mr President,

7.       India is fully in sync with the UNIDO’s new motto-Progress by Innovation. We appreciate the attention given to the subjects of digital transformation, sustainable energy, climate technology partnerships, SME competitiveness, SDG innovation and economic transformation in the renewed structure of UNIDO. India has made rapid progress in many of these areas. India’s whole-of-society approach to development combines community participation with cutting-edge technology. Indian women play a central role in many of these initiatives, from health workers at community clinics, to scientific research and technology. India’s youth is leading innovation and a solution provider to the problems whether local or global.

8.       India has vast experience of large-scale delivery of socio-economic services by leveraging digital technologies in a cost-effective manner. We stand ready to share our experiences as well as these technologies with the developing world as open-source platforms under South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation.

Mr President,

9. At therecent G20 Summit at Bali, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi shared the theme of India's G-20 Chairmanship for the coming year-– "One Earth, One Family, One Future” which fully encapsulates our commitment to the international community. Our ancient wisdom of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ i.e. the world is one family, is our guide.Our investment today must be holistic, sustainable, inclusive, and contribute to a better future tomorrow for all. Investment in effective and just global partnerships that work for all and deliver global public goodsin an equitable manner is a prerequisite to fulfill this vision.

10.     India, as a founding member of UNIDO, believes that UNIDO’s specialized knowledge and expertise makes it uniquely placed to contribute to the achievement of SDGs. UNIDO provides a specialized platform for knowledge and technology transfer and we therefore look forward to further strengthening of the India-UNIDO Partnership that contributes to promotion and implementation of ISID globally.

I thank you, Mr President.

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