UNIDO 50th Anniversary!
April 15, 2016
On 17 November 1966, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) was established as a special organ of the United Nations General Assembly to assist, promote and accelerate the industrialization of developing countries, with a particular emphasis on manufacturing. At UNIDO’s second General Conference, held in 1975 in Lima, Peru, a declaration was adopted in which, for the first time, industrial development objectives were quantified internationally.
In 1985, the organization was converted into a specialized agency of the United Nations, working with the United Nations through the coordinating machinery of the United Nations Economic and Social Council at the intergovernmental level, and through the United Nations Chief Executives Board for coordination at the inter-secretariat level.
At the Organization’s fifteenth General Conference in 2013, a second Lima Declaration was adopted giving UNIDO a new mission: to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in developing countries and economies in transition.
The enormous potential of ISID to deliver the multi-dimensional aspirations of development has been recognized by all members of the United Nations, which in September 2015 adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including SDG-9: “Build Resilient Infrastructure, Promote Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization and Foster Innovation”.
As UNIDO celebrates its 50th anniversary, under the leadership of the current Director General, LI Yong, it remains fully committed to use its vast experience and technical expertise to assist countries to use industrial development to achieve poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulates UNIDO on its 50th Anniversary:
