arab region FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: A.Morssy@unido.org
DURING VISIT TO SUDAN, UNIDO DG UNDERLINES IMPORTANCE OF INVESTMENT During his visit to Khartoum, Sudan, in April 2012, Director-General Yumkella confirmed UNIDO’s willingness to help Sudan make development projects attractive to investors and financial institutions.
AJMAN SECOND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE IN THE UAE Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, the Ajman 2nd International Environment Conference took place from 4-6 June 2012 in the Emirate of Ajman, the United Arab Emirates. The conference, which had the theme, “An innovative approach to sustainability”, brought together decision-makers, regulators, the private sector, professionals, youth and intellectuals to implement the most innovative and practical solutions for common challenges facing sustainable development. UNIDO was represented by Azza Morssy, Chief of the Arab programme, who participated in the opening panel discussion and gave a keynote address on the subject of green growth, innovation and sustainable development. Her address focused on UNIDO’s efforts to overcome barriers to green growth and, in particular, the organization’s green industry initiative and its support for innovation and innovation-related activities.
Talks with government ministers focused on the need to strengthen industrial, agro-industrial and other related businesses, with the aim of generating jobs and filling the vacuum left by the loss of 75 per cent of national revenue as a consequence of the separation of the Republic of South Sudan. UNIDO’s assistance was requested in the realization of a number of new projects concerning, amongst others, leather products, food processing, the prevention and elimination of aflatoxins from the food supply, and the establishment of renewable energy sources. In response to these requests, the Director-General stressed that the solution is to attract investment. He confirmed UNIDO’s willingness to carry out feasibility studies and to help package the proposed projects to make them attractive to investors, as well as to promote the opportunities to investors and financial institutions. The Director-General also met with Abdulaziz Al Khalaf, CEO of the Arab Bank for Economic Development of Africa (BADEA), which has its headquarters in Khartoum. During this meeting, the Director-General expressed his appreciation of BADEA’s continuing support for UNIDO and the Arab Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship and Investment Training.
HELPING COOPERATIVES IN LEBANON’S BEKAA VALLEY In July, UNIDO and its partners in Lebanon delivered new equipment worth some € 78,000 to two cooperatives in the Bekaa Valley. The Zadat El Khayrat cooperative in Bednayel, and the Cooperative Association for Beekeepers in Baalbeck, received the equipment as part of the Community Empowerment and Livelihoods Enhancement Project (CELEP) funded by the Italian Government, and implemented by UNIDO in partnership with the Italian non-governmental organization, the Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria. The CELEP project has been developed to empower conflict-affected communities in Lebanon through the revitalization of their productive capacities. It will stimulate selected agro-processing enterprises and other economic activities in the south and north of Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley. The project has so far upgraded 32 small and medium-sized agro enterprises, which has benefitted approximately 950 households. Receiving the equipment, Hamad Jaafar, the president of the Cooperative Association for Beekeepers in Baalbeck, said that the wax foundation sheet machine, the first of its kind in the Bekaa Valley, will help enhance the quality and bring down the cost of production of honey. Raghida El Masri, president of the Cooperative Association of Zadat El Khayrat in Bednayel, said that the new equipment will help producers of essential oil and jam products, and in doing so will create jobs and empower women in the region.
UNIDO TIMES | JANUARY 2013
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