Panel Exhibition “Japan-UNIDO Cooperation: Partnering for Africa’s future”
2019/3/25
From 25th to 29th of March, 2019, in the Rotunda of the Vienna International Center (VIC）, a panel exhibition co-organized by Japan and UNIDO, titled “Japan-UNIDO Cooperation: Partnering for Africa’s future”, can be visited.
The exhibition is a partner project of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), which is to be held this August in Yokohama. The exhibition is composed of 24 panels displaying the close and long-standing cooperation between Japan and UNIDO on the industrial development of African countries.
An opening ceremony took place on March 25th, with nearly 100 participants from Permanent Missions and international organizations based in Vienna. Ambassador Kitano, Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, declared the event open. In his remarks, he underscored that Japan has been an active partner for Africa in its industrial development, including through the TICAD process, placing high importance on Africa’s “ownership” and international “partnership” as basic principles of their cooperation. He also emphasized that the tripartite collaboration between Japan, UNIDO and African countries has produced tangible outcomes in areas such as “Human Security”, “Climate Change and Renewable Energy” and “Investment and Technology Transfer”. Ambassador Kitano concluded his speech with the message “Africa’s industrial Development is our common goal, and common future”, expressing his hope that the event will spark discussions towards achieving this goal.
H.E. Ambassador Vivian Okeke of Nigeria, representing the African Group, conveyed her deep appreciation for Japan’s commitment to Africa’s development. She also expressed her expectations that this exhibition “would provide a good opportunity for the technical experts and practitioners to find new innovative projects for the rapid industrialization of the continent”.
Mr. Li Yong, Director-General of UNIDO, spoke of his willingness to further cooperate with Japan toward TICAD7 during his video message, and pointed out the synergies between the TICAD process and the “Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA3)”. Mr. Hiroshi Kuniyoshi, Deputy to the Director-General, explained that Japan is in the current Sakura (cherry blossom) season, which “symbolizes the spring and the beginning of growth. “In the same way”, he said, “we believe that Japan-UNIDO cooperation will bloom and bear precious fruits.”
On the margins of the event, further Japan-related meetings took place, such as a Member State Briefing on the activities of UNIDO-ITPO Tokyo (25 March), a Roundtable discussion on technology transfer with special focus on the Japan-funded “Low-Carbon Low-Emission Clean Energy Technology Transfer (LCET)” programme (25 March), and information sessions between Japanese private companies and UNIDO project managers. These events brought forward the wide range of cooperation between Japan and UNIDO.
[Links]
UNIDO Press Release
https://www.unido.org/news/partnering-africas-future-exhibition-unido-japan-cooperation
TICAD7 Webpage
https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/ticad/ticad7/index.html
TICAD7Partner Projects
https://www.mofa.go.jp/afr/af2/page25e_000282.html
The exhibition is a partner project of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), which is to be held this August in Yokohama. The exhibition is composed of 24 panels displaying the close and long-standing cooperation between Japan and UNIDO on the industrial development of African countries.
An opening ceremony took place on March 25th, with nearly 100 participants from Permanent Missions and international organizations based in Vienna. Ambassador Kitano, Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, declared the event open. In his remarks, he underscored that Japan has been an active partner for Africa in its industrial development, including through the TICAD process, placing high importance on Africa’s “ownership” and international “partnership” as basic principles of their cooperation. He also emphasized that the tripartite collaboration between Japan, UNIDO and African countries has produced tangible outcomes in areas such as “Human Security”, “Climate Change and Renewable Energy” and “Investment and Technology Transfer”. Ambassador Kitano concluded his speech with the message “Africa’s industrial Development is our common goal, and common future”, expressing his hope that the event will spark discussions towards achieving this goal.
H.E. Ambassador Vivian Okeke of Nigeria, representing the African Group, conveyed her deep appreciation for Japan’s commitment to Africa’s development. She also expressed her expectations that this exhibition “would provide a good opportunity for the technical experts and practitioners to find new innovative projects for the rapid industrialization of the continent”.
Mr. Li Yong, Director-General of UNIDO, spoke of his willingness to further cooperate with Japan toward TICAD7 during his video message, and pointed out the synergies between the TICAD process and the “Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA3)”. Mr. Hiroshi Kuniyoshi, Deputy to the Director-General, explained that Japan is in the current Sakura (cherry blossom) season, which “symbolizes the spring and the beginning of growth. “In the same way”, he said, “we believe that Japan-UNIDO cooperation will bloom and bear precious fruits.”
On the margins of the event, further Japan-related meetings took place, such as a Member State Briefing on the activities of UNIDO-ITPO Tokyo (25 March), a Roundtable discussion on technology transfer with special focus on the Japan-funded “Low-Carbon Low-Emission Clean Energy Technology Transfer (LCET)” programme (25 March), and information sessions between Japanese private companies and UNIDO project managers. These events brought forward the wide range of cooperation between Japan and UNIDO.
[Links]
UNIDO Press Release
https://www.unido.org/news/partnering-africas-future-exhibition-unido-japan-cooperation
TICAD7 Webpage
https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/ticad/ticad7/index.html
TICAD7Partner Projects
https://www.mofa.go.jp/afr/af2/page25e_000282.html
