Shaping the Industrial Future through Investment and Technology: UNIDO Held a Key ITP Network Session at the 21st General Conference in Riyadh
November 28, 2025
From 23 to 27 November, UNIDO held its 21st General Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of participants, including heads of state and government, ministers, representatives of UN agencies, major business and civil society groups, as well as experts from research institutes and other academic institutions, attended the event.
As part of the conference, ITPO Russia assembled and brought to Saudi Arabia a delegation of Russian and Eurasian technology companies and partner institutions representing the areas and solutions presented at the session and throughout the conference week. The delegation included the Yunitskiy Group of Companies (uTerra Initiative), the Financial and Business Association of Eurasian Cooperation (FBA EAC), and the RUDN University Engineering Academy. Representatives of these organizations were present on the platform throughout the General Conference, participating in plenary sessions, thematic tracks, expert dialogues, and business meetings, presenting solutions at booths and in B2B matchmaking sessions within the ITPO network, and establishing direct project contacts with international investors and industrial partners.
On one day of the 21st UNIDO General Conference in Riyadh, a strategic session, „Shaping the Industrial Future: Investment and Technology Promotion as Drivers of Transformation,“ was held. It served as a platform for dialogue on how investment, technology transfer, and international alliances accelerate sustainable industrialization and create new partnership models between countries.
The session focused on SDG 9 priorities, the climate agenda, and the technological transition to Industry 4.0, including decarbonization, energy transformation, circular production models, digitalization, AI for industrial monitoring and agribusiness, technology ecosystems, and B2B matchmaking for launching new investment projects.
In the networking section, participants engaged with the ITPO Network and Saudi Arabia’s industrial partners—from corporations to tech-savvy SMEs—to discuss innovation localization, pilot projects, and technology transfer between network countries.
The event also brought together representatives from all offices of UNIDO’s ITPO/ITP Network — a global network of investment and technology promotion offices. This year, the heads of all active ITPOs, including offices in Moscow, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Berlin, Italy, Bahrain, and other regions, spoke in a single session. Participants presented not only their institutional mandates but also industrial solutions with proven effectiveness, ready for piloting, scaling, and implementation in developing and emerging economies.
Igor Kozhin, Head of the ITPO Russia Office, spoke at the session, emphasizing the role of a global practice base, joint platforms, and industrial cooperation between countries in the Global South and BRICS+ as a response to the demand from industry, universities, and small tech businesses for access to proven AI solutions and investment models.
„The ITPO Network’s anniversary year and the new industrial logic require deeper practical cooperation, not just the discussion of theoretical concepts. We are ready to strengthen partnerships in piloting, technology localization, and the entry of tech companies into new markets,“ noted Igor Kozhin.
„We will work with a strengthened mandate and increased resources. This will allow us to expand our interaction with Russia’s regional industrial ecosystems and support companies in entering international markets,“ Kozhin emphasized, presenting the updated work framework for ITPO Russia.
„Today’s session demonstrates the relevance of the ITPO network as a mechanism for linking technologies, solutions, and partners across regions,“ he added.
The ITPO Russia keynote address and presentation highlighted examples of industrial and technological solutions that address key industrial challenges. Igor Kozhin introduced the BRICS+ AI Success Hub Platform, a new international platform launched by SBER with the participation of UNIDO, which aggregates verified industrial AI case studies from BRICS+ countries in manufacturing, energy, and agribusiness. He also encouraged session participants to post their cases and explore best practices for joint project development.
„ITPO Russia and the UNIDO network of offices remain committed to the mission of inclusive and sustainable industrial development. We are ready to move from dialogue to implementation: through technology pilots, knowledge transfer, and long-term industrial cooperation,“ Igor Kozhin concluded.
