Mission to Japan
TOKYO, 14 May 2015 – Director General Li today met the Ambassadors of the African Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo. The event was attended by Afeworki Haile Estifanos, Ambassador of Eritrea and Dean of African Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo; Joao Miguel Vahekeni, Ambassador of Angola; Boniface Lezona, Chargé d’Affaires a.i of Congo; Tekle Rike Markos, Ambassador of Ethiopia; Belmiro Jose Malate, Ambassador of Mozambique; and Cheikh Niang, Ambassador of Senegal.
TOKYO, 13 May 2015 – During his official visit to Japan, Director General Li met with Yoshihiro Seki, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy Trade and Industry.
TOKYO, 13 May 2015 – During his official visit to Japan, Director General Li met with Yasuhide Nakayama, State Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Mission to Poland
Director General LI Yong visited Poland on 6 May 2015 to position UNIDO as a key provider of ISID services in addressing development challenges and to discuss strategic aspects of cooperation and partnerships between UNIDO and Poland.
WARSAW, 6 May 2015 – Director General Li met Marcin Korolec, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Climate Policy. He thanked Korolec for his valuable contribution to the UNIDO Green Industry Platform as a member of the advisory board and his participation in several Vienna Energy forums, including the upcoming VEF 2015, which will take place from 18 to 20 June 2015. Korolec underlined that Poland is ready to share its experiences with other countries through UNIDO platforms.
WARSAW, 6 May 2015 – Director General Li met with Janusz Piechocinski, Minister of Economy and Deputy Prime Minister of Poland. Piechocinski briefed the Director General on recent economic achievements of Poland as well as on the strategy and lessons learned in the process of industrial transformation. He called on UNIDO to become a knowledge hub for experience sharing on recent global industrial development trends. The Minister further underlined the important convergence of industrial development and energy supply and demand.
WARSAW, 6 May 2015 – Director General Li met with Andrzej Arendarski, President of Chamber of Commerce of Poland. Arendarski expressed his interest in participating in the UNIDO Country Partnership Programme.
WARSAW, 6 May 2015 – The Director General with Teresa Kubas-Hul, Vice President of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.
WARSAW, 6 May 2015 – The Director General spoke at the seminar organized for Polish companies “Clear understanding of public procurement in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) – business opportunities for Polish entrepreneurs” hosted by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. In his speech, the DG mentioned that expertise and leadership of the Polish private sector can be leveraged in a partnership with UNIDO for the benefit of technical cooperation projects both in the region and globally. He further reiterated that Poland is an important partner for UNIDO and expressed confidence that the seminar contributes to strengthening cooperation with Polish private sector, thus making an important contribution to moving the industrial development agenda forward.
WARSAW, 6 May 2015 – During his visit to Poland, the Director General met Grzegorz Schetyna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland. They highlighted the well-established partnership between Poland and UNIDO.
Mission to Turkmenistan
Director General Li visited Turkmenistan from 4 to 5 May 2015 to hold bilateral meetings with high-level officials to promote and position UNIDO as a key provider of ISID services in the country. It was the first official visit of a UNIDO Director General to the country, which presented an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about UNIDO and its work. Li engaged in a fruitful exchange of views and insights with high-level Government officials and academia on ways to strengthen cooperation.
ASHGABAT, 4 May 2015 – The Director General also visited the Technology Park, Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan. During the discussions with the administrative and academic representatives, the Director General noted that the park is multidisciplinary, combining scientific-research and education institutions and other facilities, and underlined that ensuring the link between knowledge and economy is at the heart of innovation-based economic growth.
ASHGABAT, 4 May 2015 – Director General Li delivered a speech while visiting the International University of Humanities and Development in Turkmenistan.
ASHGABAT, 4 May 2015 – Director General Li met Rashid Merdov, Deputy Chairperson of Cabinet of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
ASHGABAT, 4 May 2015 – Director General Li held a meeting with Batyr Ereshov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers for Industry, Textile and Carpet Industry.
ASHGABAT, 4 May 2015 – Director General Li held a meeting with Babageldi Annabayramov, Minister of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan.
Mission to Azerbaijan
The Director General visited Azerbaijan from 2 to 3 May 2015 to participate in the 48th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank. During his visit, the Director General held bilateral meetings with high-level officials to review the cooperation between UNIDO and the Government of Azerbaijan, and to explore avenues for developing further joint activities.
BAKU, 2 May 2015 – Director General Li held a meeting with Takehiko Nakao, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He introduced the encouraging progress made on incorporating ISID into the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and the implementation of UNIDO’s first two pilot Programmes for Country Partnerships (PCPs) in Ethiopia and Senegal. Nakao expressed great interest in partnering with UNIDO based on a strong foundation laid out recently.
BAKU, 2 May 2015 – Director General Li met with ZHANG Wencai (third from right), Vice-President (Operations 1) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), responsible for operations in the South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department.
BAKU, 2 May 2015 – Director General Li held a meeting with Akim Badalov, Director of the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources of Azerbaijan. The Director General welcomed the fact that Azerbaijan pays priority attention to improving the economic structure through diversification and development of the non-oil industry, aiming to expand opportunities to use alternative and renewable energy sources. Akim said Azerbaijan strives to develop the agrarian sector and seeks to strengthen food security and to improve the foreign trade and investment structure, as spelled out in the overarching national development strategy “Azerbaijan- 2020: Look into the Future”.
BAKU, 2 May 2015 – Director General Li held a meeting with Huseyngulu Baghirov, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan. The discussions focused on strategic aspects of cooperation and partnerships between UNIDO and the governmental institutions in such areas as development of high-tech industrial parks, economic diversification and development of the non-oil sector, environment and energy, SMEs development and others. They both expressed hope that the “Framework Programme on Cooperation (FPC) between UNIDO and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2014-2018)”, signed in 2014 and approved by the President of Azerbaijan in 2015, will further help expand bilateral technical cooperation in the thematic areas prioritized by the Government.
BAKU, 2 May 2015 – Director General Li met with Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan and Niyazi Safarov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry. They discussed the strategic aspects of cooperation and partnerships between UNIDO and the Ministry of Economy and Industry. Li pointed out that the visit presents an excellent opportunity to explore ways of strengthening cooperation. He expressed appreciation for the constructive cooperation with the Government of Azerbaijan and for the collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Industry, which has resulted in a number of technical cooperation projects in areas such as trade capacity building, resource efficient and cleaner production, chemical management and industrial parks. The Minister underlined that Azerbaijan pays great attention to the diversification and development of the non-oil industry, and that it strives to expand opportunities to use alternative and renewable energy sources and seeks to strengthen food security and improve the foreign trade and investment structure.
Mission to Paris
PARIS, 30 APRIL – Laurent Fabius, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, hosted a luncheon for the members of the UN Chief Executives Board (CEB). Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre left) and Foreign Minister Fabius (centre right) pose for a group photo with the members of the CEB on 30 April 2015. Director General of UNIDO, LI Yong, is in top row, second from left. UN Photo/Mark Garten
Mission to Belarus
MINSK, 23 April 2015 – Director General Li met with Igor Kachanovski, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus.
MINSK, 23 April 2015 – Director General Li met with Dmitry Krutoy, Deputy Minister of Economy of Belarus.
MINSK, 23 April 2015 – Director General Li visited the exhibition at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and exchanged conversations with the scientists.
MINSK, 23 April 2015 – Director General Li delivered an opening statement at the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries (MICs).
MINSK, 22 April 2015 – Director General Li attended the opening of the 21st International Exhibition on Telecommunications, Information and Banking Technologies (TIBO) held in Minsk. He met with the Prime Minister of Belarus, Andrei Kobyakov, who proposed that UNIDO develops an interregional project to support the formation of partnerships and schemes for interaction between middle income countries (MICs) in order to assist them in overcoming middle income trap. He said that his country was ready to take a lead among middle-income countries, when it comes to promoting innovative industries and technologies and in hosting international fora events in cooperation with UNIDO in thematic areas of relevance for MICs. From left to right: Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Andrey Kobyakov, Prime Minister of Belarus; Director General Li; and Sergei Popkov, Minister of Communications and Informatization of Belarus.
Conference on Accountability and Learning
VIENNA, 21 April 2015 – Director General Li attended an event on “Accountability and Learning: Getting to Results and Impact – The Use of Evaluation in Evidence-Based Policy Making” held at the Hofburg Conference Centre in Vienna. He participated in the high-level panel discussion together with representatives from the Austrian Development Cooperation Department of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa; the Ambassador of Canada to Austria and Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna; and the International Centre for Human Development of India.
On mission to Kuwait
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – During his official visit to Kuwait, the Director General met Rola Dashti, former Minister of Planning and Development.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – During his official visit to Kuwait, the Director General visited the Women Economic Empowerment Center.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – During his official visit to Kuwait, the Director General met with Mohammad M. Al-Zuhair, Executive Chairman of the Board at the National Fund for SMEs Development.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – During his official visit to Kuwait, the Director General met with the Public Authority of Industry.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – The Director General met with Salman Sabah Salem Al Sabah, Minister of State for Youth Affairs of Kuwait.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – The Director General met Ali Alghanem, President of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – Director General Li met Mohamed Abdullah Al Mubarak Al Sabeh, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of Kuwait.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – Director General Li met Abdulwahab A. Al-Bader, Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
KUWAIT CITY, 14 April 2015 – The Director General met with Anas Khalid Al-Saleh, Minister of Finance of Kuwait.
On mission to Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, 13 April 2015 – Director General LI Yong met with Tawfiq Al Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Saudi Arabia.
JEDDAH, 12 April 2015 – Director General LI Yong and Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, President of the Islamic Development Bank today signed a joint declaration to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
On mission to the Republic of Korea
SEOUL/INCHEON, 10 April 2015 – During his official visit to the Republic of Korea, the Director General held a meeting with Jae-hong KIM, President and CEO of the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.
SEOUL/INCHEON, 10 April 2015 – During his official visit to the Republic of Korea, the Director General met Ju-Young LEE, Member of National Assembly.
SEOUL/INCHEON, 10 April 2015 – During his official visit to the Republic of Korea, the Director General met with WU Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
SEOUL/INCHEON, 9 April 2015 – During his official visit to the Republic of Korea, the Director General also met with representatives of the private sector, among them are Sang-uk Lee, Chairperson of Auto Eco and Hyo-soon Song, Chief Executive Officer of Eco Energy Holdings.
SEOUL/INCHEON, 9 April 2015 – During his official visit to the Republic of Korea, the Director General held a meeting with Do-hoon Kim, President of Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET).
SEOUL/INCHEON, 9 April 2015 – During his official visit to the Republic of Korea, the Director General attended the Development Cooperation Forum High-Level Symposium on “Development cooperation for people and planet: what will it take”. He participated as a panellist in an interactive panel discussion on “Towards more coherent support for a post-2015 development agenda”.
SEOUL/INCHEON, 9 April 2015 – The Director General met YUN Byung-se, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.
SEOUL/INCHEON, 8 April 2015 – The Director General met Héla Cheikhrouhou, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
SEOUL/INCHEON, 8 April 2015 – UNIDO Director General attended a meeting with Young-mok KIM, President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
REPUBLIC OF KOREA, 8 April 2015 – Director General Li met with Moon-soon CHOI, Governor of Gangwon Province, Republic of Korea.