Statement by H.E. Mr. Masahiro Fukukawa, Ambassador of Japan in Peru and Head of the Japanese Delegation to the 15th Session of the General Conference of UNIDO, at the Plenary Meeting

Thank you, Madame President,

First of all, I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations on your election as President of the General Conference. I am confident that under your leadership, this Conference will turn out to be a great success.

I would also like to express Japan's appreciation to the Government of Peru for hosting this historical event. We are aware that extensive preparatory work has been done in cooperation with the UNIDO Secretariat and appreciate the warm hospitality extended to us by the Government and people of Peru.

This year marks the 140th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Peru and Japan, which is the longest relationship connecting Latin America and Asia. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan visited here in April, Japan-Peru Business Council - CEPEJA took place in Lima with attendance of President Ollanta Humala, and the commemorative ceremonies were held at the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Congress in August. It is a great pleasure for me to represent Japan at this UNIDO General Conference in Lima in such a memorable year.

Overall Perception

Madame President,

Japan wishes to express its appreciation and support to Director General Li Yong for his management of the Organization since he took office. We congratulate the Director General and his staff on their active role in improvement of the overall performance of the Organization.

We are all well aware of the current evolving global environment as regards development, and the challenges which Member States face, not only financially, but also in social and political terms. We welcome DG Li’s proactive yet considered approach to addressing development challenges. We also commend UNIDO’s timely initiative to hold the Industrial Development Forum to discuss such challenges under the very relevant title “UNIDO: Towards partnership for a new industrial revolution for inclusive and sustainable growth”.

Japan believes that defining UNIDO’s role in this changing environment and identifying UNIDO’s comparative strengths are of great importance. In this context, we welcome the Lima Declaration, which was skillfully drafted under the strong leadership of Peru and which Member States adopted by consensus. We also appreciate the work of the informal working group on the future, including programmes and resources of UNIDO over the last biennium and welcome the outcome document of the Group. We believe that the concept of inclusive and sustainable industrial development will guide the Organization in the coming years. Japan has supported UNIDO actively as its largest donor, sharing more than 19 per cent of the assessed contribution with 14.6 millions of Euros in 2013, and will continue working closely with UNIDO in order to provide necessary support, especially to sectors which are the key to long-term inclusive and sustainable growth, for countries and people that have the greatest needs.

Energy and Environment

Madame President,

Japan takes note of the Director General’s report on the implementation of UNIDO activities in the field of energy and environment (GC.15/5 and GC.15/6). We support UNIDO’s efforts in assisting developing countries to secure resource-efficient low-carbon growth for sustainable industrial development and have initiated a number of projects with the Organization in this area.

In the framework of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) V in June 2013, the “TICAD Strategy for Low-Carbon Growth and Climate Resilient Development” was discussed and UNIDO provided valuable input. In line with this strategy, we are cooperating with UNIDO to implement projects in some African countries. Japan is also promoting an “East Asia Low Carbon Growth Partnership” with Asian countries in close cooperation with UNIDO.

I would furthermore like to highlight Japan’s recent contribution of 5.6 million US Dollars to promote and disseminate low carbon technologies with the aim of assisting developing countries.

The agreement signed between UNIDO and the Japanese city of Kitakyushu, promoting the transfer of environmental technology and recycling know-how to developing countries at the local government level, is a worthy example of a partnership that will bring long-term benefits to all actors involved. We appreciate UNIDO’s active engagement as a co-organiser at the International Conference on Future of Cities held in Kitakyushu in October 2013.

Agri-Business, Trade Capacity Building and Job Creation

Madame President,

In the current global economic landscape with recurring food crises and high demand for various agricultural commodities, agro-industries and agribusiness appear to be reliable engines of inclusive and sustainable growth. As pointed out in the Director General’s report on UNIDO’s activities related to agribusiness, trade and job creation (GC.15/7), converting resource-based comparative advantages into competitiveness through value-addition to primary commodities is essential to promote sustainable sources of income and employment through productive capacities. Japan supports this approach, which we believe, demonstrates the comparative advantage of UNIDO as a specialized agency.

We also believe that capacity-building and the empowerment of people are vital for inclusive and sustainable industrial development, especially when focused on supporting socially vulnerable groups such as youth and women. The human security perspective adds an important dimension to efforts towards this goal. Providing both individual persons and communities with opportunities to secure their future with their own productive capacities is the aim of UNIDO projects funded by Japan in the area of agri-business.

Japan has funded 16 UNIDO-related projects through the Human Security Fund worth a total of approximately 34 million US Dollars. Japan has also contributed over 20 million US Dollars since 2010 to vocational training projects, a majority of which focus on Africa.

I would also like to touch upon, taking this opportunity, the bilateral cooperation between Japan and Peru. In order to contribute to "economic development with social inclusion" which the Government of Peru is striving for, we have agreed and implemented a variety of cooperation projects, including enhancement and empowerment of human resources, agro-industrial development, construction of socio-economic infrastructure, such as water supply, sewage and irrigation, etc.

Since the beginning of President Ollanta Humala’s administration, we have agreed on 6 large scale projects of ODA Loans, amounting to 343 million US Dollars. 2 grant aid projects which financed the construction of Peru-Japan Friendship National Institute of Rehabilitation and the New Macara International Bridge over the frontier between Peru and Ecuador completed last year. We have also signed the Exchange Notes for 4 new grant aid projects which will contribute to disaster prevention and environmental countermeasure. Concerning Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and Senior Volunteers, we have doubled the number of volunteers in these 2 years so as to enlarge and strengthen our technical cooperation with Peru.

Towards a More Efficient and Effective Organization

Madame President,

We take note of the delivery of technical cooperation activities, which reached the level of 138.5 million US dollars at the third quarter of 2013 as reported by the Director General (GC.15/11). Japan believes that UNIDO is well-advised to focus its efforts foremost on illustrating the impact achieved through its technical cooperation activities. Open demonstration of the significant outcomes of technical cooperation projects is of utmost importance to promote the funding of new activities, which needs to be prioritized.

Strengthening the partnership with other international organizations, including financial institutions, and the private sector brings a new opportunity to UNIDO. It is important for the Organization, at the same time, not only to work on expanding the partnership, but also to increase its coordination with all relevant actors, to complement its activities each other and to avoid the duplications or fragmentation of its assistance.

As for the Programme of Organizational Change and Renewal, we acknowledge the hard work that the Organization has put into this Programme. The information that has been shared so far indicates that the successful implementation of the programme will bear tangible results in the form of better monitoring, transparency and increased efficiency. We request the Secretariat to keep Member States informed on the status of implementation.

Japan has accepted the budget 2014-15 as recommended by the Industrial Development Board, acknowledging the Organization’s valuable activities while adhering to the principle that withdrawal of any Member State should not be covered by increasing contributions from the remaining Member States. We encourage the Director General to actively pursue additional efficiency gains and cost-savings. We also urge him to communicate with the International Civil Service Commission to take into consideration the financial situation of UNIDO and that of its Member States during its comprehensive review, underlining the importance of the financial outcome of this review for UNIDO.

With regard to the financial situation of UNIDO, although the collection rate of assessed contributions was 84.7 per cent as of the end of September 2013, this remains below the level achieved in the previous year. For the sake of financial stability, and to ensure the smooth continuation of UNIDO’s activities, the Government of Japan urges Member States to pay their allocated assessed contributions immediately and strongly encourages the Secretariat to make continued efforts to increase the collection rate of assessed contributions.

Conclusion

Madame President,

I would like to conclude by reaffirming Japan’s ongoing commitment to the Organization and its activities. We trust that DG Li will lead the way towards making UNIDO a strong, well-focused and effective organization in order to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Thank you.