Delegates of the 18th session of the General Conference (GC) of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido) are set to arrive in Abu Dhabi on November 2 for five days of discussions around the future of manufacturing. 

 

The General Conference, Unido’s supreme policymaking organ, convenes every two years to determine the guidelines and policies of the organisation and approve its budget and working programmes. 

 

Since becoming a specialised agency, the Unido General Conference was hosted away from its Vienna Headquarters only three times: in Bangkok, Thailand (1987); in Yaoundé, Cameroon (1993); in Lima, Peru (2013); and now in Abu Dhabi, a statement said. 

 

The session will be held under the theme of ‘Industry 2030 – Innovate. Connect. Transform our Future’. Throughout the five-day proceedings, a series of high-level side events will accompany the main agenda of the conference focusing on six themes: Youth and Entrepreneurship, Gender, Industry 4.0, Sustainable Energy, Industrial Parks and Circular Economy. These will run alongside discussions around policies that facilitate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

 

The holding of the conference in Abu Dhabi is an acknowledgement of the role the UAE is playing in shaping the future of manufacturing through initiatives such as the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit. It is also a recognition of the success of the UAE in establishing a sophisticated industrial base in unprecedented time, said the statement. 

 

Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, UAE, said: “The UAE has achieved a level of industrial development that is unique in the Middle East, enabling it to become a reliable industrial partner in the region for major international industrial companies. As we continue to build a strategy of mechanisms that raise the industrial sector's contribution to GDP and boost economic growth, I look forward to welcoming delegates from all over the world so that we can exchange knowledge and collaborate in order to advance global prosperity through industrial innovation.”

 

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification roadmap – Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030 – set out a goal for the non-oil sector to raise its contribution to GDP from 41% in 2005 to 64% by 2030, and the development of the industrial sector is specifically recognised for its vast potential to contribute to this goal. 

 

As a result, the UAE’s industrial sector is thriving. It currently contributes to around 9% of the UAE’s GDP and industrial activity increased by 4.8% in 2017 alone. Consequently, the UAE advanced 13 spots in eight years on UNIDO’s Industrial Competitiveness Index, which measures the performance of 150 countries around the world. The UAE ranked 41st on the Index in 2018, compared to 54th in 2010. 

 

Hundreds of participants will gather for the event, including heads of state, ministers, senior representatives of other United Nations’ organizations, and prominent leaders from the private sector, civil society and academia.

 

Saif Mohammed Al Hajeri, chairman of the Department of Economic Development (DED), added: “Hosting the Unido General Conference supports the UAE's efforts to establish itself as a global platform and open laboratory for new applications driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It provides a unique opportunity to showcase our success in developing an advanced manufacturing base in a short time-span and will highlight how the UAE has made the adoption of 4IR technologies central to its economic development through initiatives such as the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

 

LI Yong, director general of Unido, commented: “We highly appreciate the generous offer of the Government of the United Arab Emirates to host the 18th session of the Unido General Conference in Abu Dhabi. I look forward to further strengthening our ties, especially since Unido and the UAE share the commitment to take a transformational approach towards shaping the future of manufacturing and jointly co-chair the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS)”. – TradeArabia News Service