MINSK, 10 December (BelTA) - A cooperation framework between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) was signed at the UNIDO headquarters in Vienna on 20 December, BelTA from the Permanent Mission of Belarus to international organizations in Vienna.
The new cooperation framework with UNIDO supersedes the program that has been in place since 2013. It determines the areas for further expansion of interaction and joint work of Belarus with UNIDO in accordance with the priorities of social and economic development of the country. The new framework is designed for five years and can be extended for the next period.
The document was signed by Belarus' Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Andrei Dapkiunas and UNIDO Director General Li Yong.
It is symbolic that the document was signed on the day when 40 years ago in New York Belarus put its signature under the UNIDO Constitution and became one of the founders of this UN specialized agency.
Throughout this time Belarus has consistently supported UNIDO's leading role in promoting the inclusive and sustainable industrial development worldwide. The country has used the expertise and capabilities of the organization to improve the competitiveness of its products and make it more environmental friendly, assimilated modern technologies and standards.
In recent years, Belarus has implemented large joint projects to upgrade enterprises manufacturing spare parts for automotive sector, to support agriculture and food processing companies. A striking example of the fruitful cooperation is the successful implementation of technical assistance project “Circular economy and new growth opportunities” carried out by the National Center for Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production jointly with UNIDO and with the participation of international donors and regional partners.
This year Belarus also signed a new technical cooperation project with UNIDO to harness the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies for smart manufacturing with a total budget of $1 million. The project will be launched soon and will be the first practical project of the new cooperation framework with UNIDO.
