Report: Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on LDCs ...

Printed in Austria10-54875—October 2010—300

UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONVienna International Centre, P.O. Box 300, 1400 Vienna, AustriaTelephone: (+43-1) 26026-0, Fax: (+43-1) 26926-69E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.unido.org

UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

ReportImpact of the Global Economic Crisis on LDCs’ Productive Capacities and Trade Prospects: Threats and Opportunities

UN-OHRLLS

Least Developed Countries Ministerial ConferenceVienna, Austria 2009

Report

Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on LDCs’ Productive Capacities and

Trade Prospects: Threats and Opportunities


UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONVienna, 2010

iii

Contents

Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Plan of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Ministerial Declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Summary of the Conference sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Session 1 . Opening remarks and interactive session . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Opening remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Interactive session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Session 2 . Analysing the impact and implications of the global economic crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

2a . The global and regional dimensions . . . . . . . . . . 23

2b . Sectoral dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Part one —Technology transfer and agro industries . . 25

Part two—Industrial competitiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Session 3 . Policy options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Session 4 . Partners’ roles in support of LDCs industrial development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Session 5 . Adoption of the Plan of Action and closing ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Annex 1 . UNIDO/UN-OHRLLS 2009 LDCs’ Ministerial Conference: Final Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Annex 2 . Conference Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Annex 3 . List of Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

List of Abbreviations

ADB. . . . . . . . . .Asian.Development. Bank

AfDB. . . . . . . . . .African.Development. Bank

AfT. . . . . . . . . . .Aid. for. Trade

AU. . . . . . . . . . .African.Union

BPoA . . . . . . . . . The.Brussels. Programme. of.Action. for. LDCs

CFC . . . . . . . . . .Common. Fund. for. Commodities

CIPI. . . . . . . . . . .Competitive. Industrial. Performance. Index

DDA. . . . . . . . . .Doha.Development.Agenda

DF. . . . . . . . . . . .Duty. Free

DFQF . . . . . . . . .Duty. Free. and.Quota. Free

DTIS. . . . . . . . . .Diagnostic. Trade. Integration. Study

ECOWAS . . . . . . Economic.Community. for. West.African. States

EGM. . . . . . . . . . Expert.Group.Meeting

EIF . . . . . . . . . . . Enhanced. Integrated. Framework

EPA. . . . . . . . . . . Economic. Partnership. Agreement

EU . . . . . . . . . . . European.Union

FAO . . . . . . . . . .United.Nations. Food. and.Agriculture.Organization

FDI. . . . . . . . . . . Foreign.Direct. Investments

G-77. . . . . . . . . .Group.of. 77

GDP. . . . . . . . . .Gross.Domestic. Product

HACCP. . . . . . . .Hazard.Analysis.Critical.Control. Point

IF . . . . . . . . . . . . Integrated. Framework

ITC. . . . . . . . . . . International. Trade. Centre

LDC . . . . . . . . . . Least.Developed.Country

MA. . . . . . . . . . .Market.Access

MDGs. . . . . . . . .Millennium.Development.Goals

MSME. . . . . . . . .Micro,. Small.And.Medium.Enterprises

MTS. . . . . . . . . .Multilateral. Trading. System

MVA. . . . . . . . . .Manufacturing. Value.Added

ODA. . . . . . . . . .Official.Development.Assistance

OECD. . . . . . . . .Organization. for. Economic.Cooperation. and.Development

PCF. . . . . . . . . . . .Programme.Coordination.and.Field.Operations.Division.(UNIDO)

PPP. . . . . . . . . . . Private-public. partnership

PTC. . . . . . . . . . . .Programme. Development. and. Technical. Co-operation. Division.(UNIDO)

SMEs . . . . . . . . . Small. and.Medium.Scale. Enterprises

SPP. . . . . . . . . . . Special. Programmes. Group. (UNIDO)

v

SPS. . . . . . . . . . . Sanitary. and. Phytosanitary.Measures

SSC. . . . . . . . . . . South-South.Cooperation

TBT. . . . . . . . . . . Technical. Barriers. to. Trade

TCB . . . . . . . . . . Trade. Capacity-Building. Programme. (UNIDO)

TF. . . . . . . . . . . . Trust. Fund

Trade. SWAP. . . . Trade. Sector-Wide.Approach. (Cambodia)

TRTA. . . . . . . . . . Trade-Related. Technical.Assistance

UCSSIC. . . . . . . .UNIDO.Centre. for. South-South. Industrial.Cooperation

UN. . . . . . . . . . .United.Nations

UNCTAD. . . . . . .United.Nations. Conference.on. Trade. and.Development

UNDP. . . . . . . . .United.Nations.Development. Programme

UNIDO. . . . . . . .United.Nations. Industrial.Development.Organization

UN-OHRLLS. . . . . .UN.Office.of. the.High.Representative. for. the.Least.Developed.Countries,. Landlocked. Developing. Countries. and. Small. Island.Developing. States

WB. . . . . . . . . . .World. Bank

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1

Executive summary

The LDC Ministerial Conference took place in Vienna on 3 and 4 December 2009. This was the third in a series of conferences organized by UNIDO, this time in collaboration with UN-OHRLLS, and was attended by 43 of the world’s 49 Least Developed Countries, as well as by many regional organizations, United Nations agencies and bilateral and multilateral donors. The theme of the 2009 conference was the “Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on LDCs’ Productive Capacities and Trade Prospects: Threats and Opportunities” and a main objective was to draft a plan of action to help the LDCs in their efforts to emerge from the crisis and move towards a more sustainable path to industrial development. The conference also had a major role as the first step in preparations for the UN LDC IV conference to be held in Turkey in 2011.

Proceedings were divided into five sessions, the first being devoted to welcoming statements and interactive dialogue with the floor and the last to closing statements and the adoption of the plan of action and ministerial declaration. Session two analysed the impact and implications of the global economic crisis on LDCs at global, regional and sectoral levels; session three looked at possible policy options; and session four reviewed the role of partners in support of LDCs’ industrial development. Each session comprised technical presentations, followed by panel debate and questions and comments from the floor.

The main body of this report contains more comprehensive details of the individual sessions. The following is a summary of the main issues raised and of the response from both the expert panels and the conference participants.

The macro-economic situation of the LDCs

Despite the very severe global crisis, macro-economic data pointed to the fact that LDC economies had continued to record positive growth rates, with an average 6.5 per cent annual increase in GDP between 2003 and 2007. Nonetheless, individual performance had been uneven with the highest growth in extractive industries in LDCs exporting minerals and petroleum. This underlined the need for diversification of the industrial and export sectors away from dependence on basic commodities. As recently as 2006, 92 per cent of all exports from African LDCs were primary commodities, including fuel. In Asia, only 44 per cent of exports from LDCs were primary commodities. And, although the share of LDCs’ participation in world trade stood at only 1 per cent in 2008, this was double the 0.5 per cent share at the beginning of the millennium. Diversification was needed also in the range of trading partners

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and export markets and in energy sources. Moreover, on the minus side, the global crisis had seen a contraction in investment inflows, in workers’ remittances and in tourist receipts. This, in turn, had led to cuts in government spending with reductions in public investment, health, education and infrastructure.

Trade

Whilst trade was the primary stimulus package to drive LDCs forward, they could only integrate into regional and global markets when they produced goods of interest to those markets. Regional markets were an important step forward and Asia, for example, exported some 50 per cent of its trade within the Asian region. On the other hand, intra-regional trade in Africa, where countries were highly dependent on exports of basic commodities, stood at only 9 per cent. In this respect, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) currently being negotiated with the European Union might help promote greater regional integration. Similarly, LDCs participating in the Enhanced Integrated Frame-work pilot programmes would also receive substantial technical support to improve the quality of their tradable products.

Sectoral performance

Discussion on economic diversification pointed unequivocally to the need for LDCs to add value to their basic products. Uganda provided a good example of this as it had moved from exports of fresh and frozen fish to the manufacture and export of fish fingers. Although many sectors, outside of basic commodities, had been hit by the crisis, the latest statistical data pointed to the beginnings of a recovery in the textile, garment and tobacco sectors although some individual countries had been badly affected. Bangladesh, for example, which had had a thriving garment sector prior to the global crisis had suffered a sharp contraction in export orders. On the other hand, Senegal’s textile sector was showing signs of recovery, helped by a shift into the use of biomass energy generated from groundnut shells.

Agri-business

Since agriculture would remain the predominant sector of the economy in many LDCs for many years to come, it was natural that moves to diversification and to industrial development should focus on promoting agri-business. This area offered huge potential for LDCs in terms of competitiveness. For example, raw cotton which was sold at a price of 100 units more than doubled in value to 200 units when transformed to yarn, with printed and dyed fabric priced at 400 units and made-up and garments being sold at 880 units. Countries should move up the value chain adding value and increasing productivity at each stage.

Technology

If adding value was the way forward for the manufacturing sector, an indispen-sable part of the equation was technology transfer. The LDCs did not necessarily

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have to make large capital investments in innovation but they did need to adopt and to learn to use new technology, adapting it to their particular needs where necessary. Moreover, being an LDC did not mean that second or third rate technology would do. Being competitive meant adopting and learning to use the best technology. This, in turn, called for a skilled and educated labour force meaning that more government funding should be put into this area where human resources were were failing to respond adequately to needs.

Competitiveness

There was a recognition that, currently, those LDCs who were managing to compete in international markets were often doing so on the grounds of low labour costs. This should not be a long term option as it would lead to a down-ward spiral in price cutting to gain competitiveness. However, whilst increased use of technology was a major component of acquiring competitiveness, it often meant moving into more capital intensive manufacturing operations—and this was mutually exclusive with the policy objective of employment creation.

Industrial policy

The reinsertion of industrial policy onto the global economic agenda was becoming a reality after several decades of isolation. For LDCs, this was of particular importance since the growing recognition of the need to diversify their economies called for major structural changes. This time around, however, the changes should not be wholly led by government but rather in equal partnership with the private sector. This was the direction of the New Industrial Policy. Moreover, there was a clear move away from the dogmatic policies of the past towards a pragmatic and realistic approach.

Development partners

The LDC IV conference in Turkey would mark the end of the third decade of support for LDCs’ development. However, whilst ODA had risen—up from US$13.5 billion in 2001 to US$32 billion in 2007—there had been a gradual shift of aid away from productive sectors and into social areas like health and education. The developed countries’ aid allocation still fell short of the Brussels target range of 0.15 per cent to 0.2 per cent of GDP. It was hoped that productive capacity-building would feature more strongly on the agenda and in the plan of action of LDC IV. Resource mobilization, including domestic resources, remained a major priority and the new agenda item—of growing importance—was climate change and how LDCs could tackle this problem with support from their development partners.

Plan of Action and Ministerial Declaration

The conference ended with the adoption of a Plan of Action and Ministerial Declaration which placed productive capacity at the centre of the LDC development agenda. It was intended that the key elements of the Plan should

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be reflected in the outcome of the various international deliberations leading up to the UN LDC IV Conference in Turkey in 2011, such as the MDG summit in 2010.


5

Introduction

The third Least Developed Countries Ministerial Conference was jointly organized by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs (UN-OHRLLS) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and was held at UNIDO headquarters in Vienna on 3 and 4 December 2009.

This conference was the third of such LDC Ministerial Conferences and was one of the major preparatory events leading up to the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to be held in Turkey in 2011. Its principal focus was on productive sector capacity-building.

The theme of the Vienna conference was the “Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on LDCs’ Productive Capacities and Trade Prospects: Threats and Opportunities”. The first conference in Vienna in 2007 had focused on the Aid for Trade (AfT) Agenda; in 2008, the conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia, had looked at ways of strengthening UNIDO’s cooperation with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) which had launched eight joint pilot programmes together with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Trade Centre (ITC). This third conference was taking place in the penultimate year of the decade for the Brussels Programme of Action (2001-2010).

In view of the ongoing global economic crisis, which had started in 2008, it was imperative that this conference should concentrate on the impact of the crisis, debate the way forward and consider lessons already learned in preparation for UN LDC IV.

A total of five sessions were organized over the two days and the meeting concluded by issuing a Ministerial Declaration and a Plan of Action which was subsequently endorsed by the 13th UNIDO General Conference also held in Vienna from 5 to 11 December 2009.

The opening session of the conference comprised a series of welcoming statements and was followed by an interactive session between a panel of experts and the floor. A further three sessions were held, each involving substantive presentations, panel discussions and questions and comments from the floor, as follows:

Session 2: Analysing the Impact and Implications of the Global Economic Crisis

Session 3: Policy OptionsSession 4: Partners’ roles in support of LDCs’ Industrial Developments


The fifth and final session of the conference concerned itself with a ministerial declaration, the adoption of the plan of action and the closing ceremony.

Forty-three of the world’s 49 LDCs were represented at the Conference, which was also attended by a large number of development cooperation partners and regional economic commissions (see annex 2).

This report contains an Executive Summary, the Plan of Action endorsed by the Conference, together with the Ministerial Declaration and a summary of the technical presentations, the panel debates and the questions and comments from the floor. The annexes to this document provide details of the final agenda, a list of the background documents prepared for the Conference, the presentations and case studies (where hard copies were made available), and the list of participants.

LDCs’ Ministerial Conference,3-4 December 2009, Vienna, Austria


7

Plan of Action

Introduction

1. The global economic crisis that emanated from the financial institutions of the North in 2007/8, quickly developed into a global recession with far-reaching impact. While a great deal has been written and said about the effect of the crisis on more developed countries and the need for greater regulation of the financial sector, its implications on the productive sectors of the world’s 49 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are far less clear.

2. The group of Countries designated as Least Developed Countries by the United Nations constitute the most disadvantaged and vulnerable countries in the world. Characteristics of LDCs include high levels of poverty, structural and resource weaknesses, and acute susceptibility to external economic factors, climate change and disasters. Of the total of 49 countries currently categorized as LDCs, 33 are located in Africa, 15 in Asia and the Pacific and one in the Americas.

3. Since the late 1960s, the United Nations system has paid increasing attention to the specific needs of LDCs. The first United Nations Conference on LDCs was held in Paris in 1981, resulting in a comprehensive Substantial New Programme of Action (SNPA) for the 1980s for the LDCs. The SNPA was subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 36/194 of 17 December 1981. This was followed by the Second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCII) in Paris in 1990 leading to the Paris Declaration and the Programme of Action for the LDCs. Subsequently, the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCIII) was held in Brussels, hosted by the European Union, from 14 to 20 May 2001, resulting in the Brussels Programme of Action.

4. As the decade for the Brussels Programme of Action draws to a close, we have witnessed an unprecedented period of economic growth among LDCs based primarily on a boom in the terms of trade for primary commodities over the period 2000-2007. However, this trend was uneven and came to an abrupt end in 2008, when the world experienced an exceptional increase in primary commodity prices for both food and energy. The situation rapidly resulted in high inflation rates and growing concern over food shortages globally, followed by a sudden collapse in commodity prices. Furthermore the ongoing global and financial crisis threatens to reverse the gains made in recent years.

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5. Among the LDCs, the focus was on imported food and energy prices, and the vulnerability of the general population to price-induced food shortages. The susceptibility of imported food supplies to external factors set alarm bells ringing among the populations of many poorer nations exhibiting inadequate levels of affordable and local food production.

6. The experience of the last decade and the current global recession points to the need for greater economic resilience among LDCs. Partners are agreed that the answer to building such resilience is in greater economic diversification, and moving away from dependence on (a) food imports and non-renewable resources and (b) the export of a narrow range of primary commodities.

7. In the context of the above and lessons learned, LDCs should focus on industrialization and modernization, particularly in the following key sectors and drivers of diversification:

(a) Agro-industries;

(b) Innovation, technology transfer and productivity;

(c) Private sector development and investment;

(d) Industrial Infrastructure;

(e) Policy space, governance and institution-building.

I. Objectives

8. This Plan of Action has the overall aim of enhancing productive capacities for economic development among LDCs.

9. More concretely, the objective is to achieve economic diversification among LDCs in order to enhance food security and productive capacities and to reduce vulnerability to external shocks.

10. With the lessons from the crisis in mind, United Nations agencies and development partners will increasingly concentrate their efforts on supporting economic diversification among LDCs as the overall theme of their future agenda and work with LDCs.

11. Within the above framework, this Plan of Action helps define a road map among various partners in the build up to LDC-IV in 2011, and to identify concrete solutions to the problem of diversification over the next decade.

II. Approach

12. In their efforts to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, United Nations agencies and development partners must adopt pragmatic, flexible, and locally and regionally pertinent approaches to issues such as development


policy, trade regimes, the role of the state and the policy space for LDC decision-makers.

13. Special attention will be paid to identifying public-private partnership opportunities and best practices in all sectors, as well as institutional capacities and related issues.

14. Intellectual property rights as they relate to industry should be used to support the development of LDCs.

15. Without losing focus on productive capacities and economic diversification, the policy review will include pertinent analyses of trade issues in all sectors under study as deemed necessary.

16. Where necessary, and without prejudice, United Nations agencies and development partners will prepare policy advice and recommendations on which local, regional and global practices, institutions or agreements are in need of reform and how.

17. In all their efforts under this Plan of Action, United Nations agencies will pay special attention to ensuring synergies, coordination and comple-mentarities with regards to their assistance programmes for LDCs.

18. The policy proposals will include a review of the potential role of trans-national corporations in various sectors with particular attention to specific approaches and solutions to the transfer of know-how and technology.

19. While LDCs are the least polluting countries globally, the policies and programmes will pay particular attention, where appropriate, to green industries and green and renewable technologies as promising sectors for economic renewal and modernization.

20. United Nations agencies and development partners will mobilize and provide appropriate technical and adequate financial assistance for LDCs to cope with the adverse environmental impacts of climate change.

21. In addition, there will be special consideration of the growing role of South-South Cooperation and its rising potential in all sectors identified. In addition special support will be given to regional integration processes.

22. United Nations agencies and partners will partner with key academic and research and development institutions with proven track records in the focus areas outlined above as well as with relevant regional economic commissions and interested donors.

23. The proposals will also address resource constraint issues and various scenarios for private and public fundraising in identified sectors with focus on local, regional and global possibilities for LDCs.


III. Policy and strategies

24. United Nations agencies and development partners will scale up their policy and research inputs in support of LDCs in the period leading up to LDC-IV expected to be held in Turkey in mid-2011. This will be concentrated on the five priority areas as key drivers of diversification for LDCs:

(a) Agro-industries;

(b) Innovation, technology transfer and productivity;

(c) Private sector development and investment;

(d) Industrial infrastructure;

(e) Policy space, governance and institution-building.

25. In these five priority areas, particular attention will be paid to human resource development with specialized skills for absorption of appropriate technologies and know-how.

26. The time available is sufficient for in-depth analysis in the five thematic areas, starting from regional studies in 2010, and leading to a global publication by mid-2011 for distribution at LDC-IV.

27. Agro-industries. Agriculture is the pivotal sector in the LDCs, as it underpins food security, foreign exchange earnings, industrial and rural development, and employment generation. Existing and new research will be compiled into succinct and pertinent policy and strategy proposals for various regions and LDC groupings.

28. Innovation, technology transfer and productivity. Technology manage-ment and acquisition together with low productivity remain among the biggest obstacles to economic development and diversification among LDCs. While some developing countries have made major strides in recent decades, LDCs on the whole remain locked in low technology and low productivity. The United Nations agencies and partners will bring together a wide array of research and studies to develop clear and appropriate response strategies for various LDCs.

29. Private sector development and investment. In a climate of financial crisis and severe competition, access to investment resources for further growth of a more diversified range of small, medium and large enterprises is severely hampered. Nevertheless, there are clear success stories among many developing countries in recent decades. The policy and strategy proposals of development partners must be further coordinated and strengthened in order to identify clear-cut solutions, factors of resilience and innovative approaches that can help discover local, regional and wider resources and solutions (inter alia, through the use of systems such as BOT), and reduce over-dependence on FDI for stimulating local business


development and investments. Attention will be paid to promoting public-private partnerships. In addition, the important role of the informal sector must be recognized, and mechanisms established to develop them further and to graduate to formal SMEs. LDCs and partners will join efforts to highlight strategic responses and promising sectors.

30. Industrialinfrastructure.Despite important advances in several countries, the development of industrial infrastructure remains a strong challenge for most LDCs. Tied in closely with the challenges of technology dependence, investment generation and high costs of unsustainable energy resources, LDCs and partners will work together to highlight success stories, and innovative and practical solutions in the areas of infrastructure development such as water and transport and energy generation.

31. Policyspace,governanceandinstitutionbuilding. The experience of the LDCs and various development cooperation partners over the past few decades clearly points to the need for a new development paradigm. In the lead up to LDC-IV, LDCs and partners will work together to carve out the contours of a new approach that is pragmatic and flexible, with emphasis on locally and regionally pertinent approaches to issues such as development policy, trade regimes, governance, and policy space for LDC decision-makers.

IV. Programmes

32. In line with the above objectives and approach, LDCs and development partners will launch a concerted effort to scale up their technical coopera-tion efforts geared toward the enhancement of productive sectors.

33. These will build on existing interagency and multi-sectoral mechanisms and approaches of various parties, for example through the Enhanced Integrated Framework mechanism and the Aid for Trade agenda.

34. Direct synergies will be created between the research work outlined above and demonstration/pilot projects, best practices with demonstrated results providing an opportunity to combine theory and practice, and to revisit the issues by the MDGs’ target year of 2015. This will provide a useful opportunity for a second round of stock-taking and lesson-learning within five years.

35. LDCs and development partners will aim to obtain greater allocation of national and partners’ resources for productive capacity-building programmes, including a fundraising strategy

36. One of the key programmatic areas of concentration will be the integration of diversification and allocation of necessary resources in national and subregional policies and strategies of LDCs and their development partners alike.


V. Follow-up mechanism

37. The Secretariat will submit six-monthly progress reports to the Conference Bureau (the Conference Chair, Vice Chair and Rapporteur) in the period leading up to LDC-IV in Turkey.


13

Ministerial Declaration

We the Ministers of Industry representing the governments of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Participating in the UNIDO-UN-OHR-LLS Conference on the “Impact of the Economic Crisis on LDCs’ Productive Capacities and Trade Prospects: Threats and Opportunities”,

Gathered here in Vienna in December 2009, in the penultimate year of the Brussels Programme of Action for LDCs for the decade 2001-2010,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations and the principles set out in the Millennium Declaration and the Brussels Declaration and their recognition of the shared responsibility to uphold dignity and a decent standard of living for all humanity,

Reiterating productive capacity-building and the need for economic diversification and balanced trade as top priorities for LDCs’ wealth generation and economic development in line with Commitments 4, 5 and 7 of the Brussels Programme of Action related to productive capacity-building, trade and mobilizing financial resources,

Determined to reinvigorate national, regional and international partnerships and efforts in support of balanced and sustainable economic development within an open, stable and objective policy space,

Recognizing that despite relative successes in terms of economic growth among LDCs since the turn of the new Millennium, the LDCs remain largely marginalized and excessively dependent on the export of primary commodities and the import of food products, and the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources,

Mindful that the goals of the Brussels Programme of Action are unlikely to be met by the end of the decade due to long-standing structural impediments coupled with the alarming impact and implications of the current global economic and financial crises for the development prospects, food security and energy security of LDCs,

Concerned that the current global economic and financial crises threaten to reverse the gains made by LDCs in recent years,

Having adopted a Plan of Action for LDCs in anticipation of the forthcoming United Nations LDC-IV Conference to be convened in Turkey in 2011, as called for by the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 63/227 of 19 December 2008,

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Recalling the Sixth LDC Trade Ministers’ Meeting held from 14 to 16 October 2009 in Dar es Salam, and the Ezulwini Declaration adopted in Swaziland in October 2009, regarding landlocked developing countries.

Declare that:

1. We remain firmly committed to the principles and aims of the Millennium Declaration and the Brussels Declaration and its Programme of Action for LDCs for the decade 2001-2010,

2. We believe that the prosperity of all nations and peoples are inter-connected and inter-dependent, and that the current global recession has reaffirmed the need for international solidarity for the mutual benefit of all humanity,

3. We recognize that the primary responsibility for development in LDCs rests with the LDCs themselves, but that international partnership and cooperation is important in this endeavour including with the private sector and civil society,

4. We are convinced that effective development must be based on sustained economic diversification and growth based on nationally owned industriali-zation and modernization of the economy, enhancing productive capacity-building strategies, raising quality and standards, transfer of technology, improved competitiveness, and the allocation of adequate national resources for building productive capacities,

5. We pledge our support to green industrialization of LDCs in providing necessary infrastructure for energy, transport, water and other activities, with assistance from development partners,

6. We are particularly concerned that total global aid commitments earmarked for productive sectors stood at only $7.5 billion in 2007 against a total global aid flow of $121 billion, representing a mere 6 per cent of the total,

7. We believe that an appropriate balance needs to be struck between the role of the state and the private sector in each country context, and that the relative positions of these should be determined locally rather than through external prescriptions and conditionalities,

8. We commit ourselves to seizing the opportunity provided by the upcoming LDC-IV in Turkey in 2011 to proactively work towards redirecting national and international development cooperation efforts and resources towards economic diversification and the development of productive capacities in LDCs, through technology transfer, human resource development, infrastructure development, private sector development, intensifying intra-regional trade and South-South cooperation, research and development, and strengthening leading sectors.

9. We call on all United Nations agencies and development partners concerned with support to LDCs’ industrialization and modernization by enhancing productive capacities to redouble their programmatic efforts in this area

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and document relevant policy lessons, including stock-taking exercises in some LDCs and sharing of best practices, in the period leading up to LDC-IV starting from the national and regional to the global levels, and urge our development partners to allocate more of their aid contributions toward productive activities in LDCs, and

10. We further call for an early and ambitious conclusion of the WTO Doha Round of Negotiations, which will ensure beneficial integration of LDC in the multilateral trading system.

Adopted on 4 December 2009, Vienna

H.E. Mr. Ahmadou Abdoulaye DIALLOMinister of Industry, Investments and Commerce, Mali

Vice-Chair of the 2009 LDCs’ Ministerial Conference

Summary of the Conference sessions

19

Session 1.

Opening remarks and interactive session

Opening remarks

Mr .. Kandeh. K .. Yumkella,. UNIDO. Director-General,. H .E .. Mr .. Cham. Prasidh,.Senior. Minister. and. Minister. of. Commerce. of. Cambodia;. H .E .. Mr .. Eugenio.María. Curia,. Chairman. of. the. G-77. Vienna. Chapter. and. Ambassador. and.Permanent. Representative. of. Argentina;. H .E .. Mr .. Dilip. Barua,. Minister. of..Industries,. Bangladesh .;.

Reflecting on the impact of the global economic crisis, the welcoming remarks focused on the need for LDCs to work towards the diversification of their economies and to move away from trade in commodities and raw materials. LDCs would continue to be marginalized until they were able to build up productive capacities, benefit from the transfer of technology and improve their infrastructure. There needed to be a common search for strategies and solutions.

UNCTAD and UN-OHRLLS had already prepared some action-orientated reports in this direction. This conference would pave the way towards UN LDC IV to be held in Turkey in 2011. Actions which should be discussed should focus on building productive capacities, foreign direct investment (FDI), building infrastructure and bridging the digital divide. A mere Plan of Action in itself was not enough.

The Conference should also be briefed on recent important events, such as the WTO Ministerial Conference which had taken place only two days previously, from 1 to 2 December 2009, the recently published 2009 LDC report prepared by UNCTAD, the UN-OHRLLS report on the impact of the global crisis and a series of reports which UNIDO had prepared for this third LDC conference.

The Conference elected its Officers as follows:

Chairperson. H .E ..Mr ..Dilip. Barua,.Minister. of. Industries,. Bangladesh

Vice-Chairperson. .H .E .. Mr .. Ahmadou. Abdoulaye. Diallo,. Minister. of. Industry,..Investment. and.Commerce,.Mali

Rapporteur. .Mr .. C .C .. Kachiza,. Director. of. Industry,. Ministry. of. Industry.and. Trade,. Malawi

and proceeded to adopt the draft agenda (see annex 1).

“We.are. convinced..that. commodity. trade..

alone. will. not. do. it .. There.must. be. value. addition. so..

that.we.move.up. the..technological. value. chain. to.

become. credible. players. in.global.markets”

Kandeh K . Yumkella, Director-General, UNIDO

“It. should. be. our. collective.effort. to. create. an..

inter.national. development..partnership. which. helps. us.to. increase. our. productive.

capacity” .

H .E . Mr . Dilip Barua, Chairperson of the LDC

Group in Geneva, Minister of Industries, Bangladesh

20� LEAST�DEVELOPED�COUNTRIES�MINISTERIAL�CONFERENCE,�VIENNA,�AUSTRIA�2009 SESSION�1� 21

Interactive session

Chairperson:. .H .E ..Mr ..Cham.Prasidh,. Senior.Minister. and.Minister.of.Com-merce,.Cambodia

Panelists:. .Mr .. Pascal. Lamy,. Director-General,. World. Trade. Organization.(WTO);. Mr .. Cheick. Sidi. Diarra,. High. Representative,. United.Nations.Office.of.the.High.Representative.for.the.LDCs,.LLDCs.and. SIDs. (UN-OHRLLS);. Mr .. Kandeh. K .. Yumkella,. Director-.General. United. Nations. Industrial. Development. Organization.(UNIDO)

The panelists were unanimous in pointing to the importance of economic diversification to enable the LDCs to cope with the global economic crisis and they recognized the negative impact so far experienced. Beyond the immediate impact on exports of primary commodities, LDCs had seen a contraction in investment inflows, in workers’ remittances and in tourist receipts. This, in turn, had led to cuts in government spending with reductions in public investment, health, education and infrastructure.

Nonetheless, trade was the stimulus package available to developing countries. This conference would provide an opportunity to consider ways of assisting countries in their accession to the rules-based multilateral trading system. Already, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) was changing realities on the ground. The LDCs were using the projects being rolled out and donors needed to deliver on their pledges.

Diversification was needed not only in the range of manufactured goods produced in LDCs but also in the range of trading partners, markets and sources of energy. Countries needed to be competitive and to remain competitive if they were to achieve sustained industrial development. As recently as 2006, 92 per cent of all exports from African LDCs were primary commodities, including fuel. In Asia, only 44 per cent of exports from LDCs were primary commodities. And, although the share of LDCs’ participation in world trade stood at only 1 per cent in 2008, this was double the 0.5 per cent share at the beginning of the millennium.

Boosting regional trade was another important aspect in improving the economic performance of the LDCs. Trade opportunities within regions should be fully exploited. In this respect, Asia was showing the way in connectivity with 50 per cent of its trade flows concentrated within the region, whereas in Africa the corresponding share was only 9 per cent. It was clear, however, that so long as so many African LDCs’ exports were essentially primary commodities, then their markets would remain outside the continent. In this respect, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) currently being negotiated with the European Union should help promote greater regional integration.

“The. LDCs. suffer. from. .structural.weaknesses.which.render. them.particularly. .vulnerable. to. external. shocks”

Cheick Sidi Diarra, High Representative UN-OHRLLS

“Unlike. others,. LDCs.have. .not. been. able. to. provide. .huge.financial. packages. .to. their. ailing. industries”

Pascal Lamy, Director-General, WTO

”Only.when. you. are. doing.well.on.overall. economic. .development. can. you.make.social. goals. achievable”

Panitchpakdi Supachai, Secretary-General, UNCTAD


From UNCTAD’s perspective, there were four vital themes which LDCs must address:

• Food

• Trade

• Trade facilitation; and• Debt

It was very difficult for LDCs to develop without food production and capacity-building in the farm sector. National strategies were needed on food production with more resources going into productive capacity-building. Currently, not only were the funds going into social causes contracting but also money going into agriculture. LDC IV should target food security as a priority. In the field of trade facilitation, measures such as improved management and harmonization of road transport systems, waterway management, information and communications technology and telecommunications should be prioritized. In terms of the debt problem, references to “recovery” were more applicable to developed countries where governments had socialized the losses and privatized the gains. Meanwhile, LDCs were faced with newly accumulated debts and declining FDI.

The clear consensus on priority issues among the discussants was mirrored by the growing cooperation between the WTO, UNCTAD, UN-OHRLLS and UNIDO. They could work together in areas such as value addition, supply chain development and technology integration into the value chain.

“We.export.wood.but.we. can’t.even.produce.basic. goods.

such. as. schools. supplies”

H .E . Mr Simon Mboso Kiamputu, Minister of Industry,

Democratic Republic of Congo

23

Session 2.

Analysing the impact and implications of the global economic crisis

The second session was designed to delve more deeply into the impact and implications of the global crisis for LDCs with the objective of stimulating policy discussions in the following session. It was divided into two parts: the first looked at global and regional implications and the second at the sectoral dimensions. Each part comprised technical presentations by the UNIDO Secretariat and by individual LDCs. Panels of experts then commented on the presentations and the issued and comments and questions were invited from the floor.

2a. The global and regional dimensions

Presenter:. .Mr ..A ..Alcorta,.Director,.Research.and.Statistics.Branch,.UNIDO

Chairperson:. .H .E ..Mr ..Ahmadou.Abdoulaye.Diallo,.Minister.of.Industry,.Invest-ment.and.Trade,.Mali

Panelists:. .H .E ..Mr ..Cham.Prasidh,.Minister.of.Trade,.Cambodia;.H .E ..Mr ..Simon. Mboso. Kiamputu,. Minister. of. Industry,. Democratic.Republic.of.Congo;.H .E ..Mr ..Nam.Viyaketh,.Minister.of.Industry.and. Trade,. Lao. People’s.Democratic. Republic

Moderator:. .Mr .. Frederick. Nixson,. Professor. of. Development. Economics,.Manchester.University,.U .K .

UNIDO’s Research and Statistics Branch had carried out research on the latest statistical data on emerging trends in the global economy following the financial crisis. Perhaps contrary to many expectations, this analysis pointed to the fact that, whilst LDCs had suffered from a contraction in exports of goods and services and, in particular, from a large fall in commodity prices, they had been less affected in the short term than non-LDCs.

For example, the large contraction in financial flows had hit them less since they were not benefiting from large inflows of investment in the first place. Whilst FDI in the form of Mergers and Acquisitions (M & A) had contracted sharply, other forms of investment had been less severely hit. However, one area of international finance where LDCs were experiencing serious problems was the very sharp contraction in the volume of trade finance. Greenfield investment was holding up much better than M & A and this was the type of investment which LDCs could seek. Nonetheless, remittances from overseas’ workers, a financial inflow of great importance to the LDCs, had been seriously hit and it was quite possible that, in the short term, there would be a contraction


“There.has. been. very. .little. discussion.of. the. role. of.industrial. development. in. the.multilateral. institutions. over.the. last. 20. years. or. so—with.the. exception.of.UNIDO”

Frederick Nixson, Professor of Development Economics, Manchester University

“Market. access. is. one. thing.but. the.other. important.thing. is. supply. capacity ..Aid.for. Trade. and. the. Enhanced.Integrated. Framework. are. the.vehicles. that.make.us. able. to.diversify”

H .E . Mr . Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister and Minister of Commerce, Cambodia

in Official Development Assistance (ODA) as public expenditure in developed countries was cut back.

At the sectoral level, manufacturing had, of course, been affected but, in most cases, there had not been negative growth but rather a slowing down; and the slowing down was greater in developing countries as a whole than in the LDC group. In fact, the statistics were showing signs of a recovery in the first quarter of 2009. Subsectors such as garments, textiles and tobacco products had shown a dip in growth but were now picking up. In the garment subsector, the market share of some LDCs had actually increased, most probably because they were offering lower prices based on lower wages. Another encouraging sign was that demand was holding up in LDCs’ domestic markets which were being boosted by the substantial growth in urban populations. However, the stark fact remained that some 80 per cent of the population in LDCs were living below the poverty line.

In considering how they should face up to the economic crisis in the short run, LDCs might wish to consider the opportunities that were opening up in terms of energy efficiency and in areas such as eco-labelling where it was increasingly clear that consumers in the developed countries were ready to pay more for eco-friendly products. In the longer term, LDCs could look at sectors such as leather and shoes. The unit price of exports in this sector manufactured in industrialized countries was US$25, whereas the unit price from developing countries was just US$5. There was huge potential for LDCs to add value to existing basic products. Just one example came from Uganda, where substantial value added was being achieved by a move away from fresh and frozen fish exports to fish fingers.

Ensuing panel discussion pointed to the paradigm shift now taking place in development economics. Many central issues which had been hotly debated by development economists in the 1950s and 1960s were being raised once more. However, the global environment was different to that of half a century ago. Trade liberalization, the WTO, and global financial markets were all key players in 2009. The language of development economics had changed, with debate on “governance” rather than “the role of the state” and there was a difference between these two concepts.

The manufacturing sector had become obscured over the last 25 years, particu-larly with the emphasis on the Washington Consensus, but there were signs that the tide was now turning with the focus turning to productive capacity and manufacturing. The global crisis had, of course, had an impact on the LDCs but there were wide variations.

This assertion was illustrated by comment on the case of Cambodia where garments accounted for 90 per cent of exports and, in the face of the global crisis, sectoral growth had contracted from plus 8 per cent to minus 2.75 per cent. Tourism receipts were also seriously down, as was FDI. Fortunately, one major pillar of the economy—agriculture—was holding up better than the rest. Yet even where a sector was holding up and even if it benefited from Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) access to markets in developed countries, there still remained technical barriers to trade, such as the standards set for Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) products.


The panel noted that a deterrent to FDI was the lack of skilled manpower in LDCs. This often meant that foreign investors were attracted in to set up labour-intensive industries using cheap unskilled labour. Cambodia lacked the skilled labour to attract sophisticated activities such as micro chip manufacture and, ultimately, this meant a “race to the bottom”.

The Democratic Republic of Congo was another LDC which had been severely hit, mainly because of its dependence on exports of basic commodities, predominantly mineral products, crude oil and wood. In addition to the phenomena of falling exports, falling imports and FDI, the downturn in workers’ remittances was particularly sharp. In the domestic economy, at least 300,000 jobs had been cut because of the global crisis—and 300,000 workers meant 3 million people who were suffering, since one worker supported on average 10 other people. Social tensions had risen, with strikes and demonstra-tions having broken out. In the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, one area in which UNIDO was particularly well equipped to offer support was the move to reintegrate the informal sector into the formal sector. This would go some way towards offsetting the downturn in fiscal and customs receipts which had brought about cuts in public expenditure.

Session 2b. Sectoral dimensions

Part one. Technology transfer and agro-industries

Presenters:. .Mr .. Sergio. Miranda. da. Cruz,. Director,. Agri-Business. Develop-ment.Branch,.UNIDO;.H .E ..Mr ..Dilip.Barua,.Minister.of.Industries,.Bangladesh

Chairperson:. .H .E .. Mr .. Ahmadou. Abdoulaye. Diallo,. Minister. of. Industry,..Investment.and.Trade,.Mali

Panelists:. .H .E .. Mr .. Roger. Dovonou,. Minister. of. Industry,. Benin;..H .E ..Ms ..Miata.Beysolow,.Minister.of.Trade.and.Industry,.Liberia;.The. Rev .. Fr .. Simon. Lokodo,. Minister. of. State. for. Industry. and.Technology,.Uganda;.Mr ..Abdullah.Abdul.Walie.Noman,.Deputy.Assistant,. Industrial. Development. and. Investment,. Ministry. of.Industry. and.Trade,.Yemen.

As the Conference moved on to a review of the impact of the global crisis at sectoral level in LDCs, the focus was primarily on agriculture and agro-industry. The effects had not been even and varied very much according to subsector. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the clothing and textile sectors had been hit by the decline in the number of contracts from international suppliers. Food and beverages, which had, of course, a very low elasticity of demand, were holding up although the LDCs, in particular, had been hit by the rising cost of food imports. This pointed to the clear need for greater diversification in LDC economies, not only in order to boost presence in inter-national markets but also on domestic markets. And with greater diversification

“Most. LDCs. are. better. at.adopting. new. technologies.than. in. putting. them. into.

widespread.use”

Sergio Miranda da Cruz, Director, Agri-Business

Development Branch, UNIDO


should come greater value addition to the basic commodities currently being exported. A step-by-step approach should be taken, looking at each link in the chain and enhancing productivities at each stage of production.

Looking beyond the immediate crisis, there were structural issues which the LDCs should—and could—overcome. Technology was a sine qua non for integration into regional and global markets. Improved use of technology—through adoption and adaptation—would strengthen productive capacity but there was a need for strong technology management to ensure the diffusion of new technologies. At the same time, there must be an improvement in the enabling environment with improved policy making, infrastructure, infrastructure services and competitive enterprises.

A case study on Bangladesh’s experience in technology issues provided empirical evidence in support of the broader technical presentation. Bangladesh was employing more than 2.5 million women in its garment sector and more than 10 million people were employed directly or indirectly in garment manufacture. The country had set up a National Metrology Institute using state-of-the-art technology and had built laboratories to check the quality of its products. An Institute of Fashion had been established using Computer Aided Design (CAD) equipment. Yet there was still much to be done, and a step-by-step approach should be taken, looking at each link in the chain and enhancing productivity at each stage of production. Moreover, Bangladesh still needed to formulate appropriate policies and to make the necessary investment if it was to become really competitive in world markets.

Ensuing panel debate and comments and questions from the floor reflected the clear recognition, on the part of LDCs, of the unequivocal importance of technology if their industries were to achieve success. There was also awareness that technology transfer would not be achieved overnight. It would only take place if the appropriate human capital and capacity to absorb knowledge was available, supported by sound vocational and educational training and this would take many years. Factors such as climatic conditions and location were also important considerations. Some technologies would need to be modified taking into account these variables.

Yet care was vital when moving into appropriate technologies since this term should not be confused with the second and third rate technologies which countries were sometimes encouraged to adopt. If developing countries wanted to compete on international markets, then the best technology available must be used. Research and Development (R & D) centres needed to be established at national or—at the very least—regional levels.

Part two. Industrial competitiveness

Chairperson:. . .H .E ..Mr ..Ahmadou.Abdoulaye.Diallo,.Minister.of.Industry,.Invest-ment.and.Trade,.Mali

Presenters:. .Mr ..M .L ..Dhaoui,.Officer-in-Charge,.Industrial.Policy.and.Private.Sector.Development.Branch,.UNIDO;.Mr ..Ibrahim.Basse,.Director.

“We.need. to. formulate. a.technology. transfer. policy. as.an. integral. part. of. our. indust-rial. and. agricultural. policies”

H .E . Ms . Miata Beysolow, Min-ister of Trade and Industry, Liberia

“Technology. transfer. and. .industrial. development. are. .so. intertwined. for. the. very. .reason. that. it. is. technology.transfer.which. leads. to. .industrial. development”

H .E . Mr . Simon Lokodo, Minister of State for Industry and Technology, Uganda


of.Industry,.Ministry.of.Mines,.Industry.and.Food.Transformation.of.Agricultural. Products. and.SMEs,. Senegal

Panelists:. .H .E ..Mr ..Rajendra.Mahto,.Minister.of.Commerce.and.Supplies,.Nepal;.H .E ..Mr ..Abdirahman.Jama.Abdalla,.Minister.of. Industry,.Somalia;. H .E .. Ms .. Mary. Michael. Nagu,. Minister. of. Industry,..Trade. and. Marketing,. United. Republic. of. Tanzania;. Mr .. Guy-Amédée. Ajanohoun,. Commissaire. chargé. du. Département. du..Développement. de. l’Entreprise,. des. Télécommunications. et. de.l’Énergie,. Union. Économique. et. Monétaire. Ouest-Africaine.(UEMOA);. Mr .. William. van. der. Geest,. Acting. Director,. Division.of.Market.Development,.ITC;.Mr ..Rotimi.Nihinlola,.Group.Head,.Corporate.Development,. Ecobank.Group

Moderator:. .Mr ..Mansour.Cama,.UNIDO.Goodwill.Ambassador

The role of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in LDCs was of prime importance and, as already seen, improved transfer, use and adaptation of technology were vital if SMEs were to help their countries grow and move beyond SME status. However, just as important was the question of the competitiveness of LDCs’ economies. Competitiveness was a very broad term which had been defined in economic circles in various different ways. For example, the World Economic Forum regularly published a Global Competitive-ness Report and Index, ranking nearly all the countries in the world according to its measurement criteria. The World Bank published Ease of Doing Business Reports, also containing rankings, based, for example, on the length of time taken to register and set up a company.

UNIDO had defined competitiveness as “The capacity of countries to increase their industrial presence in domestic and international markets, while developing industrial structures in sectors and activities with higher value added and technological content. Competing through innovation and learning may result in countries obtaining greater and more sustainable industrial revenue”. The Organization’s Competitive Industrial Performance Index (CIPI) identified four principal dimensions of competitiveness: Industrial Capacity; Export Capacity; Industrial Intensity; and Export Quality. LDCs lag behind other countries in most categories and measurements. Their quest for competitiveness was frustrated by legal and regulatory obstacles, poor institutional infrastructure, weak governance, shortage of skilled labour, inadequate infrastructure, lack of access to markets, and high costs of factors of production.

Senegal presented its practical experience in improving competitiveness. Three factors had proved of great importance: public-private partnerships; good governance; and facing up to the double challenge of achieving competitiveness whilst, at the same time, preserving the country’s industrial base. Technical assistance from UNIDO in the framework of its Industrial Upgrading programme had been of key importance. Forty-nine enterprises had been helped to review and upgrade their production equipment and methods and also to upgrade their management tools.

“SMEs. are. the.driving. force.behind. industrial. development.

in. nearly. all. countries”.

Lamine Dhaoui, O-i-C, Industrial Policy and Private Sector Development Branch,

UNIDO

“A. few. years. ago,. our. textile.industry.was. on. the.floor ..Today,. we. are. reviving. it.

through. the.use.of. bio-mass.energy.manufactured. from.

groundnut. shells”

Ibrahim Basse, Director of Industry, Ministry of Mines,

Industry and Food Transformation of Agricultural

Products and SMEs, Senegal


Energy efficiency and cleaner production were also important factors if competitiveness was to be achieved. For example, Senegal was now able to use groundnut shells as bio-mass, thus saving on energy costs and adding further value to its groundnut production which would total two million tons in 2009. This cheaper form of energy was helping the textile sector which was now on the road to recovery. Another tool being promoted by Senegal to improve the competitiveness of its industries was the establishment of industrial competitiveness poles at regional level. This helped to decentralize industrial activity with research centres and training also moved to regional level, thus creating greater synergies.

Nepal felt that, whilst there had been much talk of the global economic crisis during the last two years, there had been little talk about its impact on LDCs and their productive sectors. Measures must be developed to cope with the situation. The competitiveness of LDCs was very weak. Nepal had started its economic reforms 25 years earlier; it had joined the WTO but its weak supply capacity meant that it was not able to seize the opportunities offered by this status. If the country was to become competitive on the industrial front, it needed capital accumulation, technology and structural changes. Institutional support was vital and South-South cooperation had a pivotal role to play.

In the United Republic of Tanzania’s case, there was full recognition of the need to compete on productivity and efficiency grounds, thus leading to lower production costs. It was obvious that technology was needed but this also required improvements in human capacity through training and education and this, in turn, required capital investment which was difficult to mobilize. Nor was connectivity with neighbouring countries easy—roads, railways, ports—needed upgrading or constructing and Tanzania also suffered from frequent power cuts.

Taking up this last point, it was pointed out that energy costs in member countries of the Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) were the highest in the world and a major deterrent to achieving industrial competitiveness. There was also much to be done in member countries at enterprise level involving the promotion of quality, technology, and management capacity. In line with other LDCs, access to markets and to finance were also obstacles.

It was becoming increasingly clear that LDCs did fully recognize the nature of the problems they faced. Not everything could be tackled at once and, for this reason, it was vital to elaborate a Plan of Action which would identify and prioritize the actions that needed to be taken. Although there were indeed disparities among different groups of LDCs, there were also many common problems such as infrastructure, energy, human resource development, public-private collaboration, and finance. LDCs needed to build up their competitiveness not only to gain market share in international markets but also to maintain their position in domestic markets.

“We.don’t. have. the. .conditions. to. compete. in.LDCs ..We.need.modernization.of. technology ..An.old. .technology. cannot. compete.with. a. new. technology”

H .E . Ms . Mary Michael Nagu, Minister of Industry, Trade and Marketing, United Republic of Tanzania

“The.place.occupied. .by. LDCs. in. the.world. of. .competitiveness. is. still. .only.marginal”

Mansour Cama, UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador


29

Session 3.

Policy options

Chairperson:. .H .E .. Ms .. Mary. Michael. Nagu,. Minister. of. Industry,. Trade. and.Marketing,.United.Republic. of. Tanzania

Panelists:. .H .E .. Mr .. Kiala. Gabriel,. Vice-Minister. of. Industry;. H .E .. Mr ..Popane. Lebesa,. Minister. of. Trade. and. Industry,. Cooperatives.and.Marketing,.Lesotho;.H .E ..Mr ..Mohamed.Rasheed,.Minister.of.Economic.Development,.Maldives;.H .E ..Mr ..David.O ..Carew,.Minister. of. Trade. and. Industry,. Sierra. Leone;. H .E .. Mr .. Ali.Ahmed.Osman,.Minister. of. State. in. the.Ministry. of. Industry

Moderator:. .Mr .. Frederick. Nixson,. Professor. of. Development. Economics,.Manchester.University

The first two sessions of the Conference had reviewed the current status of LDCs in the face of the global financial crisis and had highlighted the most salient features such as the impact at global and regional levels and at sectoral level as well as the problems of technology transfer and competitiveness. With the current economic backdrop in LDCs defined, in the third session, it was time to consider what sort of policies would be appropriate to push the econo-mies and industries of LDCs out of their current predicament and to review the role of development partners who should help the LDCs to graduate to a higher ranking among the world’s developing countries.

It was once more reiterated that, despite the sharp and dramatic impact of the global crisis, the LDC group had been growing steadily in the first decade of the millennium and the industrial sector had been doing particularly well, with an average 7 per cent growth from 2000 onwards compared with just 2 per cent annual growth in the 1990s. Factors which had contributed to this positive performance were rapid urbanization and the globalization of manufacturing production. This was now far more fragmented across countries and continents, calling for the specialization and outsourcing commonly referred to as “trade in tasks”. On top of this had come the acute challenge posed by climate change. In this context, energy access must remain a priority for LDCs.

Until fairly recently, the issues of economic growth and productivity had been virtually crowded out of the development debate in favour of emphasis on social sectors. Developing countries, including the LDC group, had been left to depend on commodity-driven growth in the 1990s. Now, however, the pendu-lum had swung back and the role of the manufacturing sector in economic development was once more recognized as a driving force. This brought with it the need to reflect upon structural change (both between agriculture, industry

“Industrial. strategy. and..industrial. policy. are. back.on.

the.development. agenda”

Wilfried Luetkenhorst, Managing Director,

PCF Division, UNIDO


and services and within the industrial sector) and this topic would be at the core of UNIDO’s future industrial research agenda.

Although substantial progress had been made in the removal of regulatory burdens, export promotion and market access, all of which were powerful driv-ers of dynamism and entrepreneurship, this was not sufficient for the inclusive and sustainable growth needed by the LDCs. This meant that industrial strategy and policy were back on the development agenda but, this time around, instead of being led by government alone, the emphasis was on strategic collaboration between the public and private sectors and between Governments, the business community and civil society. The success of the cut-flower sector in Ethiopia was cited as a striking example of the success of this “New Industrial Policy”.

The growing emphasis on building productive capacities in the LDCs was fully reflected in the focus of UNIDO’s technical cooperation portfolio, where programmes and projects in LDCs now accounted for 16 per cent of total TC delivery compared with just 9 per cent in 2005. As part of this expanding portfolio, UNIDO was committed to providing a timely and comprehensive response to the many and rising LDC requests for policy and strategy support.

UNCTAD had also been examining the policy options for LDCs and their development partners. Despite the much vaunted economic growth in LDCs in recent years, the fact remained that the number of people living in extreme poverty was still increasing and had been increasing even before the global financial crisis. Efforts should be made to understand why high growth rates were not translated into poverty reduction. This was the key development challenge for the future.

More and more people in LDCs were seeking work outside agriculture. Although the sector remained a major employer, agricultural productivity was very low and land quality was declining. The global crisis had simply exacerbated the old structural weaknesses and the employment problem had always been at the centre of the LDC’s economic problems. It would be important not to equate productive capacity-building with export supply capacity when developing human resources. It was only through substantial domestic resource mobilization that an end to the aid dependency of LDCs would be achieved. This meant a new role for the state—not a shift from market to state but rather a shift from ideology to pragmatism.

The most successful developing countries had placed agricultural productivity growth at the heart of the development process. This had created linkages to local industries and services alongside the development of export industries and these had tended to be labour-intensive industries.

The two technical presentations on policy options demonstrated that industrial development was back on the agenda. It must, however, be recognized that there was a possible conflict between the aims of competitiveness and the need to generate employment. It had been argued that LDCs had to acquire the best technologies and that second best was not acceptable. But the best technologies might be highly capital intensive and LDCs would then have to add capital to

“I. think.we. should. .use. the. crisis. as. an. .opportunity. for. a. change. in.the.policy. approach .. Business.as. usual. is. not. an.option”

Charles Gore, Special Coordinator for Cross-Sectoral Issues, UNCTAD

“One. cannot. pursue. a. .consistent. effective. industrial.policy. if. one.has. an.unstable.macro-economy. . . . .. .the. state.must. enter. and.deal.with.market. failures”

Frederick Nixson, Professor of Development Economics, Man-chester University


labour in order to raise productivity and become competitive. This strategy would have short-term implications for employment generation. It was under-standable that LDCs did not have the investment capital needed to innovate but they could adopt technology and adapt it to their particular needs as they learned to use it.. There was a clear problem in moving up the value chain and in not getting stuck in low technology.

Angola was a case in point of an LDC which was striving to use industrial policy to maintain the substantial growth rates it had build up in the seven years since its internal conflict had ended. It had benefited from high prices for oil and diamonds which accounted for 60 per cent of GDP. Faced with the global crisis, a National Plan 2010-2011 had been drawn up aiming at the diversification of the productive base, a gradual restructuring of the economy and substantial stimulus of the private sector.

Lesotho felt that there were three basic substantive policy options for LDCs. They needed to improve the business climate in order to facilitate the smooth flow of business start-ups and to reduce the costs of doing business; they needed to diversify industrial products and markets; and they needed to promote active growth of SMEs. Some of the strategies already implemented by Lesotho could help orientate other LDCs. A one-stop business facilitation centre had been set up, dealing with business licences, import-export licences, residence permits and tax issues all under one roof. A Business Registration system would also soon be incorporated into the centre and the possibility of on-line business registration was being considered. All this had definitely reduced costs and speeded up business transactions. In reviewing business procedures, it had also become evident that a lot of formalities were not really necessary and these were being eliminated. A concrete example of industrial diversification in Lesotho was the opening of a factory manufacturing energy-saving light bulbs, the first of its kind in Africa.

Sudan was also beginning to see the results of business-oriented policies introduced 10 years ago. LDCs needed comprehensive macro-economic policy accompanied by strategic and tactical policies for the short, medium and long term. A package was needed which included appropriate technologies, good governance, infrastructure improvements and global partnership.

Sierra Leone was another LDC to strongly support the role of the private sector. Value should be added where a country had a clear comparative advantage and, in Sierra Leone, that advantage was in agriculture. Adding value to agriculture products would create jobs, promote exports and improve market access. There was room for both large and small land owners but the small landowners, in particular, needed support to gain access to finance.

Maldives was at a challenging juncture in is development. It had achieved many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and was on the verge of graduating from the LDC category. Yet this was not the end of the story but the beginning of more challenges in order to avoid falling back again. The country did have liberal and open policies. On the other hand, it had poor

“A. lot. of. information.which.is. requested.when. setting.up.

business. is. not. really. necessary.and. should.be. eliminated”.

H .E . Mr . Popane Lebesa, Minister of Trade and Industry,

Cooperatives and Marketing, Lesotho

“Some. factors.were..making.doing.business..

difficult. in. Sierra. Leone.but..we.have.worked. to.

remove. administrative. barriers.to. investment. and.we.have..moved.up. in. the. rankings”.

H .E . Mr . David O . Carew, Minister of Trade and Industry,

Sierra Leone


regulation and legislation and poor fiscal collection and this had impacted negatively on the balance of payments. It needed to look carefully at its policy options and agreed that LDCs should move away from dogma and be more pragmatic and holistic in their policy-making.

The conference noted that a considerable common understanding on what had to be done in the field of industrial policy was emerging among United Nations agencies. They were all starting to talk the same language. Both countries and agencies were moving towards pragmatism in policy making and policy implementation.

“Our.populations. are. not. .ready. to. stay. in. rural. areas .. .We.have. to. find. employment. for.them—there. is. no. alternative,. .it. has. to. be.manufacturing”

H .E . Mr . Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister and Minister of Commerce, Cambodia


33

Session 4.

Partners’ roles in support of LDCs’ industrial development

Chairperson:. .H .E .. Mr .. Yusupha. Kah,. Minister. of. Trade,. Industry. and..Employment,. Gambia

Panelists:. .H .E .. Mr .. Ith. Praing,. Secretary. of. State,. Ministry. of. Industry,.Mines. and. Energy,. Cambodia;. H .E .. Mr .. M .A .. Maruping,..Ambassador.and.Permanent.Representative.of.the.Kingdom.of.Lesotho. to. the. UNOG. and. UN. Agencies. in. Geneva,. to. the.WTO. and. to. Switzerland;. H .E .. Mr .. Richard. Fienena,. Minister.of. Economy. and. Industry,. Madagascar;. H .E .. Mr .. Mohamed.Abdellahi.Ould.Oudaa,.Mauritania

Moderator:. .H .E ..Mr ..Jean.Feyder,.Ambassador.and.Permanent.Representa-tive.of.the.Grand.Duchy.of.Luxembourg.to.the.United.Nations.at.Geneva,.Chairperson.of. the.WTO.Subcommittee. for. LDCs

This fourth session presented a welcome opportunity for a review of progress made between LDCs and its development partners in the Brussels Programme of Action adopted in May 2001; on the outcome of the WTO Ministerial Conference which had been held only a few days earlier; and progress made in implementing the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and its eight joint pilot programmes.

Reporting on the Brussels Programme, UN-OHRLLS reminded the conference that the overarching objective was to make substantial progress towards halving the number of people living in extreme poverty and suffering from hunger by 2015. This was to be achieved through fostering a sustainable policy framework, building human and institutional capacity; building productive capacity to make globalization work for LDCs; enhancing the role of trade in development; reducing vulnerability; protecting the environment; and mobilizing resources for LDC development. From the outset, it had been fully recognized that the LDCs themselves must own the process and also that the path to development would take a market-oriented direction.

Looking at results to date, substantial progress had been made with growth in GDP in the LDCs averaging 6.5 per cent a year between 2003 and 2008, considerably higher than in the earlier decades of LDC development programmes. However, this aggregate result masked considerable variation among countries. Moreover, this growth had not been accompanied by a significant reduction in poverty. This was primarily because the growth had been driven by extractive industries and large increases in demand from China


and India which had driven up commodity prices. On the ground, this did not unfortunately translate into increased employment or in any substantial increase in investment.

The LDCs continued to face considerable supply-side constraint, particularly in terms of financial resources and in their poor capacity to innovate and adapt technology. Whilst ODA had risen—up from US$13.5 billion in 2001 to US$32 billion in 2007—there had been a shift of aid away from productive sectors and into social areas like health and education. The developed countries’ aid allocation still fell short of the Brussels target range of 0.15 per cent to 0.2 per cent of GDP yet, at the same time, the LDCs were facing a series of new challenges including the food and energy crisis, the global economic and financial crisis and climate change.

This was the backdrop against which preparations must be made for LDV IV in 2011. The Conference would be held in Turkey, the first time a non- traditional donor had acted as host, and this would present an opportunity for the LDCs to broaden the range of their development partnerships. The mandate of the conference would be to:

• Undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action

• Reaffirm the global commitments to address the special needs of LDCs; and

• Adopt a renewed partnership between LDCs and development partners

The priorities for the next programme of action would be generated through an intergovernmental process driven by member States. Whilst not wishing to prejudge their deliberations, UN-OHRLLS pointed to the fact that most of the goals and targets of Brussels remained valid and could, consequently, be reaffirmed. The commitment to the implementation of these targets might also be strengthened. Indeed, if LDC IV was to mark a turning point in the lives of ordinary LDC citizens, it needed to focus on at least three priority areas:

• To strengthen resource mobilization, including domestic resources, although the latter would need to be complemented by donors

• Climate change, of vital importance for LDCs given the importance of their agricultural sectors to their overall development

• Productive capacity-building—a key requirement if LDCs were to integrate meaningfully into the global economy, with an emphasis on agricultural and industrial development

Finally, the role of the state would be of major importance in LDC develop-ment. Not the state domination of earlier development decades but rather the challenge of crafting a partnership between the state and private sector.

Reporting on the outcome of the WTO Ministerial Conference, which had taken place only three days earlier, the WTO emphasized that, for the first

“The. LDCs.need. to. craft. a.partnership. between. the. .state. and. the.private. sector—one. that. is. relevant. to. the. .challenges. of. the.21st. century”

Kavazeua Katjomuise, Programme Officer, UN-OHRLLS


time, the conference had not been designed as a negotiating organ but rather to discuss the Doha development agenda and key concerns. It had provided an opportunity for ministers to look at the functioning of the WTO within the overall multilateral system. The need to conclude the Round in 2010 had been recognized and this would make a major contribution to growth in the LDCs. Market access alone would not help LDCs unless rules of origin were made simpler. The growth in trade between LDCs and other developing countries was an interesting phenomenon and would be helped by actions such as Brazil’s commitment to provide 80 per cent Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) for LDC exports by 2010.

The EIF Secretariat briefed the conference on progress made on the operation-alization of the framework since they had last met in Siem Reap in 2008. The programme had become effectively operational in July 2009. Partnership agree-ments had been finalized with ITC and UNCTAD, with agreements nearly ready with the World Bank and the UNDP. UNIDO had taken the lead and had been the first agency to sign in June 2009.

The EIF Interim Board had approved the first Tier One projects aimed at strengthening the in-country National Implementation Arrangements. These were for Cambodia, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Yemen and funding totalling almost US$8 million had been committed for these. Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS) had been agreed and would be carried out by the World Bank for Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo. There were 20 more projects—six of which were related to DTIS—in the pipeline and they should all be approved by the first quarter 2010. The pipeline projects called for funding totalling US$14.3 million, and financing for Tier 2 projects should start early in 2010

The Trust Fund for the EIF was standing at US$69 million, of which US$24 million had been transferred from the old fund. Thus, US$45 million of the US$123 million pledged in Stockholm had been disbursed. Provided all pledges outstanding and committed were fulfilled in 2010, the EIF would be able to fund its activities up to the end of 2011. Nonetheless, the growing awareness of the EIF’s contribution to the Aid for Trade Initiative for LDCs meant that more funds would be needed with a review of funding needs for the next five years scheduled for early 2010.

Trade was an intrinsic component of poverty reduction efforts in LDCs and the EIF needed to be not only successful but also sustainable. Consequently, trade needed to be mainstreamed into national plans and programmes with LDCs assuming ownership progressively. On their side, donor EIF facilitators on the ground also had a critical role to play.

Reviewing the actual hands-on progress made in TC implementation, within the framework of the Aid for Trade initiative and the UN development strategy at country level and in coordination with the cluster on trade capacity, eight programmes for individual LDCs had been jointly designed by UNIDO, WTO, ITC and UNCTAD. The countries concerned were Benin, Cambodia, Lao

“The. LDCs.were,.without..any. doubt,. the.most. active.

participants. at. the. (WTO.ministerial). conference”

Shishir Priyadarshi, Director, Development Division, WTO

“It. is. absolutely. essential. that.trade. is. mainstreamed. into.the.National.Development.

Plans. of. the. LDCs”

Dorothy Tembo, Executive Director of the EIF Executive

Secretariat


People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal and Yemen and, in each one, priority products and sectors had been identified based on the DTIS.

Each programme would address constraints at the macro, meso and micro levels. For example, at the macro level, the beneficiaries would be ministries and agencies in charge of the legislative, institutional and administrative management of trade and industrial activities. At meso level, the counterparts would be ministries in charge of industry, trade and commerce; national standardization associations; and public and private technical support institutions. Micro level activities would involve improving competitiveness in manufacturing and handicraft enterprises operating and exporting in the priority sectors.

The agencies involved were looking forward to expanding the initiative to take in more LDCs and the way forward was for those countries to submit proposals to the EIF secretariat and to then embark on funds mobilization at country and international level, with the help of UNIDO, UNCTAD and ITC. A token contribution to the funding could be requested from the EIF Trust Fund but the major part of the funding needed to come from donors.

Reacting to the technical presentation of the proposed EIF activities, and although some concern was expressed at the lack of progress made in the Aid for Trade initiative, several countries felt that the EIF was an example of what needed to be done. There was a feeling that, this time, there was concrete coordination among the agencies and donors involved. Yet many aspects of trade enhancement still had to be tackled. Market access was being improved through measures such as DFQF, EPAs, AGOA and bilateral agreements with India and China but other areas had still not been tackled. For example, rules of origin could be the next frontier in market access initiatives. In terms of donor commitments, the hope was expressed that the latest developments, including EIF, marked a move from broken promises to actual promises.

“The.most. important. .partnership. in. developing. the.industrial. base. of. LDCs.is. the.partnership. between.trade. and. industry”

H .E . Mr . Darlington Mwape, Ambassador and Head of the Permanent Mission of Zambia to UNIDO


37

Session 5.

Adoption of the Plan of Action and closing ceremony

Chairperson:. . .H .E ..Mr ..Dilip.Barua,.Minister.of. Industries,.Bangladesh

Closing. Statements. .Mr .. Cheick. Sidi. Diarra,. Under-Secretary-General,. High.Representative. for. the. Least. Developed. Countries,.Landlocked. Developing. Countries. and. Small. Islands.Developing. Countries,. UN-OHRLLS;. Mr .. Yoshiteru.Uramoto,. Deputy. to. the. Director-General,. UNIDO;.H .E .. Mr .. Lotoala. Metia,. Minister. of. Finance. and.Economic. Planning,. Tuvalu

In this final session of the Conference, the participants were circulated with the drafts of the proposed Ministerial Declaration and Plan of Action. With some minor modifications proposed from the floor, both documents were unanimously approved.

Bringing the conference to a close, UN-OHRLLS pointed to the strong participation of the LDCs at ministerial level thus confirming the importance attached to the issues of productive capacity development and trade. The links between production and trade were of vital importance to the poverty reduction agenda in the LDCs.

The content of the Ministerial Declaration bore testimony to the determination of the LDCs to take charge of their own development, with international partners playing an important complementary role. The Plan of Action was a positive forward-looking statement which placed productive capacity at the centre of the LDC development agenda. The challenge now was to operationalize the documents by implementing concrete projects and pro-grammes on the ground.

It was also important that the key elements of the Plan should be reflected in the outcome of the various international deliberations which would lead up to UN LDC IV, such as the MDG summit in 2010. With this in mind, those present were urged to participate in the various events and preparatory committees leading up to LDC IV.

39

Annex 1.

UNIDO/UN-OHRLLS 2009 LDCs’ Ministerial Conference: Final Agenda

Date:. 3. to. 4.December. 2009

Venue:. Board Room A, M-Building, Vienna International Centre (VIC)

DAY�1.� Thursday,� 3�December�2009

08 .00.onwards

Registration. at. the.Vienna. International.Centre—Checkpoint. 1.(main. entrance)

Session 1: Opening Remarks and Interactive Session

10 .00-11 .30

1 .. .Welcome. remarks. by.Mr ..Kandeh.K ..Yumkella,. .Director-General,.UNIDO.

2 .. .Opening. statements:

. . .H .E ..Mr ..Cham.Prasidh,.Chairperson,. Senior.Minister. and. .Minister. of.Commerce,.Cambodia.

. . .H .E ..Mr .. Eugenio.María.Curia,.Chairperson.of. the.Group.of. 77. and.China,.Ambassador. of.Argentina

. . .H .E ..Mr ..Dilip. Barua,.Chairperson.of. the. LDC.Group. in. .Geneva,.Minister. of. Industries,. Bangladesh

3 .. Adoption.of. the.Agenda.

4 .. .Statements. and. Interactive. Session

•. .UN-OHRLLS,.Mr ..Cheick. Sidi.Diarra,.High.Representative

•. WTO,.Mr .. Pascal. Lamy,.Director-General

•. UNCTAD,.Mr .. Panitchpakdi. Supachai,. Secretary-General

•. Panel. discussion.

•. Questions/comments. from. the.floor)

Panelists:. . .WTO,.Mr .. Pascal. Lamy,.Director-General;.UNCTAD,.Mr .. Panitchpakdi. Supachai,. Secretary-General;.UNIDO,.Mr ..Kandeh.K ..Yumkella,.Director-General;.UN-OHRLLS,.Mr ..Cheick. Sidi.Diarra,.Under-Secretary-General.Special.Adviser. on.Africa.&.High.Representative;. .Moderator/Chair:.Cambodia,.H .E ..Mr ..Cham.Prasidh.

40� LEAST�DEVELOPED�COUNTRIES�MINISTERIAL�CONFERENCE,�VIENNA,�AUSTRIA�2009 ANNEX�1� 41

4 .. Election.of.Office.Bearers.

11 .30-12 .00

Coffee. break/Press.Conference.

Session 2 . Analysing the Impact and Implications of the Global Economic Crisis on LDCs

12 .00-13 .00

Session 2a . The Global and Regional Dimensions

•. .Presentation.on. the. impact. of. the. crisis. on. LDCs:. .Findings. and. lessons. by.Mr ..A ..Alcorta,.Director,.Research. and. Statistics,.UNIDO.

•. Panel.members’. responses.

•. Questions. and. comments. from. the.floor.

Panelists Cambodia,.H .E .. Mr ..Cham.Prasidh;.Democratic Republic of Congo,.H .E ..Mr ..Simon.Mboso.Kiamputu;.Lao People’s Democratic Republic,.H .E ..Mr.Nam.Viyaketh;.

Moderator:.Mr .. Frederick.Nixson,. Professor. of.Development.Economics,.Manchester.University

13 .00-14 .30

Lunch.hosted. by.UNIDO—VIC.Restaurant

The opening session is designed to include a short opening of the event followed by the adoption of the Agenda, and will then move straight into opening statements followed by a High Level Panel discussion and an open floor discussion. With an interactive discussion and lively debate, the opening session is designed to set the tone of the conference by highlighting a wide range of perspectives and inputs, leading to more detailed policy debates that would follow in Session 2.

Related questions and issues to be addressed by the speakers include a review of the situation and perspective of LDCs and their partners in the face of a major global recession. How has the recession impacted LDC businesses and what has been the response strategy of various firms? Which sectors are hit the hardest? Has there been a noticeable change in the business environment among LDCs? Is there a noticeable shift toward local and regional trade? Has there been a substantial credit squeeze in the LDCs’ financial sector? What has been the experience with the financing of various economies including ODA and their related institutions? What are the prospects for LDC businesses? What threats, opportunities and lessons can be identified? Has the recent trend toward greater South-South investment and trade been hampered or accel-erated by the crisis?


14 .30-16 .00

Session 2b . Sectoral Dimensions

•. .Presentation.on. selected. aspects. of. the. relation.between. technology. transfer. and. industrial. .development—the. case. of. agro-industries.Mr .. S ..Miranda.da.Cruz,.Director,. Agri-Business. .Development. Branch.

•. .Presentation.on. the. implications. of. the. crisis. on. .technology. issues. in. Bangladesh.H .E ..Mr ..Dilip. Barua,.Minister. of. Industries,. Bangladesh

•. Panel. discussion

•. Questions. and. comments. from. the.floor

Panelists: Benin,.H .E ..Mr .. Roger.Dovonou;.Liberia,.H .E ..Ms ..Miata. Beysolow;.Mali,.H .E ..Mr ..Ahmadou.Abdoulaye.Diallo;.Uganda,. Rev .. Fr .. Simon. Lokodo;.Yemen,.Mr ..Abdullah.Abdul.Walie.Noman;.

Moderator:. Mr .. Frederick.Nixson,. Professor. of.Development.Economics,.Manchester.University

16 .00-16 .30

Coffee.break

16 .30-18 .00

Session 2b . Sectoral Dimensions (continued)

•. .Presentation.on. industrial. competitiveness..Mr ..M .L ..Dhaoui,.Officer. in.Charge,. Industrial. Policy.and. Private. Sector.Development. Branch,.UNIDO

•. .Presentation.on. challenges. of. building. industrial. .competitiveness..Mr .. Ibrahima.Basse,.Director. of. Industry,. Ministry. of.Mines,. Industry,. Food. Transformation. of.Agricultural.Products. and. SMEs,. Senegal


•. Questions. and. comments. from. the.floor

Panelists: Nepal,.H .E ..Mr .. Rajendra.Mahto;.Somalia,. H .E ..Mr ..Abdirahman. Jama.Abdalla;.United Republic of Tanzania,.H .E ..Ms ..Mary.Michael.Nagu;.Uemoa,.Mr ..Guy-Amédée.Ajanohoun,.Commissaire. chargé.du.Département. du.Développement. de. L’Entreprise,. des. Télécom-munications. et. de. l’Energie;. .ITC,.Mr ..Willem.Van.Der.Geest,.Acting.Director,. Division.of.Market.Development;.Mr .. Rotimi.Nihinlola,.Group.Head,. .Corporate. Development,. Ecobank.Group

Moderator:. Mr ..Mansour.Cama,.Unido.Goodwill.Ambassador


Session 2 constitutes the main technical part of the Conference, and is designed to help encourage policy debate on various aspects of the economic crisis through global, regional and sectoral lenses. The session starts with an overview of UNIDO’s and UN-OHRLLS’ findings concerning the global and regional impact of the crisis and its transmission mechanisms into LDCs. From its impact on LDCs’ manufacturing production, exports, imports, employment and balance of payments, to remittances, tourism and food security, the issues constitute a complex web of inter-dependent factors and associated consequences.

Next, the session will concentrate on key sectors and issues of particular relevance to LDCs including the role of technology especially in agro-industries, and challenges related to building industrial competitiveness.

Given the threat posed by the global recession to the food security of close to a billion people worldwide, it would be safe to propose that food production and processing is among the top challenges that need to be addressed by LDCs, particularly those with high food import volumes and costs. Tied in closely with such concerns is the issue of technology, particularly in relation to the need for moving up the value chain in production.

The crisis has also highlighted the urgency of building competitiveness. Relevant questions include: how has the crisis affected demand for LDCs’ agricultural and other manufacturing imports and exports and the implications for national budgets as well as currency reserves? Which sectors have proven more resilient or vulnerable and why? What are the consequences of the crisis for global, regional and local value chains? What are main causes of inefficiencies in production? How should technology be managed? What technology efforts and policies are required for success in the agri-business sector?

In addition, the impact of the crisis on local and foreign investment rates, remittances, the credit sector, and employment need to be examined. Has there been any significant influence on employment rates and incomes? To what extent has the crisis affected LDCs’ remittances from expatriates? Is there a significant impact on the availability of credit in and for LDCs? What policy measures or options can LDC leaders consider for their own financial sector?

Questions regarding sectoral productivity, competitiveness, diversity and other industrial performance indicators need to also be examined in the context of a changing global environment in the medium to long term. How has the crisis affected LDCs’ competitiveness and prospects for industrial development and diversification in various sectors?

18 .30-20 .00

Reception. for. all. participants.hosted.by.Mr ..Kandeh.K ..Yumkella,.Director-General,.UNIDO

Venue:. The.VIC.Restaurant


Session 3 . Policy Options

12 .00-13 .00

Presentation.on.Productive.Capacity.Development.policy.options

•. .Mr ..Wilfried. Luetkenhorst,. Managing.Director,. .Programme. Coordination. and. Field.Operations.Division

•. .Presentation.on. Trade. and.Development. policy. options.Mr ..Charles.Gore,. Special.Coordinator. for. Cross-.Sectoral. Issues,.Division. for. Africa,. Least.Developed.Countries. and. Special. Programmes,. UNCTAD


•. Comments.&.questions. from. the.floor

Panelists Angola;.H .E ..Mr ..Kiala.Gabriel,. Vice-Minister. of. Industry;.Lesotho,.H .E .. Popane. Lebesa;.Maldives,.H .E ..Mr ..Mohamed.Rasheed;.Sierra Leone,.H .E ..Mr ..David.O ..Carew;.Sudan,.H .E ..Mr ..Ali.Ahmed.Osman,. State.Minister,.Ministry. of.Industry.

Moderator:. Mr .. Frederick.Nixson,. Professor. of.Development.Economics,.Manchester.University

13 .00-14 .30

Lunch.hosted.by.UNIDO—VIC.Restaurant

This session concentrates on policy options available to LDC decision-makers and their development partners in the context of the crisis and lessons learned in recent years. The need for greater concentration of national and development cooperation resources on expanding national productive capacities in LDCs has emerged as one of the top priorities for cooperation in the coming period. There is an emerging consensus on the need for a different approach to both the role of the state and the range of policy options available for partners.

Related questions go beyond how LDCs can cope with the short term immediate impact of the crisis. More importantly, the question is how can they emerge from the crisis in a stronger position? What policies should they be crafting now for the post-crisis era? How important is concentration on productive activities? What is the future of multilateralism and its role vis-à-vis LDCs’ specific needs?

Similarly, response strategies of various governments need to be discussed in order to help shed light on best practices in responding to the crisis. What strategies have worked and what did not? What is the role of the state in planning and what it its relation to the private sector? Is there a need for a new type of developmental state? How to mobilize local financial resources for investment? What are the implications of the statement “business as usual is no longer possible”? What new options and modalities should be considered? Should we give greater emphasis to the role of knowledge in processes of growth and development?


Session 4 . Partners’ Roles in Support of LDCs’ Industrial Development

11 .00-12 .30

•. .Presentation.on.“from.Brussels. Programme. of.Action.to. Istanbul”.by.Mr ..Kavezeua.Katjomuise,. Programme.Officer,.UN-OHRLLS.

•. .Presentation.on.outcome.of.WTO.Ministerial.Confer-ence.by.Mr .. Shishir. Priyadarshi,.Director,. Development.Division,.WTO.

•. .Presentation.on. the. EIF. by.Ms ..Dorothy. Tembo,. .Executive.Director. of. EIF. Secretariat. .

•. .Update.on.8. Joint. Pilot. Programmes,.Mr ..M .L ..Dhaoui,.Officer-in-charge,. Industrial. Policy. and.Private. Sector.Development.Branch,.UNIDO.

•. .Questions. and. comments. .

Panelists Burkina Faso,. (Ambassador),. H .E ..Mr .. Salif.Diallo;.Cambodia,.H .E .. Mr .. Ith. Praing;.Lesotho. (Ambassador),. H .E ..Mr ..M .A ..Maruping;.Madagascar,.H .E ..Mr .. Richard. Fienena;.Mauritania,.Mr ..Mohamed. Abdellahi.Ould.Oudaa;.

Moderator:.H .E .. Mr .. Jean. Feyder,. Ambassador. and. Permanent.Representative. of. the.Grand-Duchy.of. Luxembourg. to. the.United.Nations.Office. at.Geneva,.Chairman.of. the.WTO. .Subcommittee. for. LDCs

This session includes discussion of the role of partners in helping LDCs respond to the current crisis. It is hoped to generate a lively discussion on how to build synergies among agencies. In particular, and as we approach the end of the 2001-2010 decade that was the timeframe for the Brussels Programme of Action for LDCs, various agencies are gathering their efforts to take stock of progress and to plan ahead for the next global LDCs Conference in 2011 (LDC-IV) with UN-OHRLLS. It is in this context that UN-OHRLLS and UNIDO have agreed to co-host this year’s LDCs Conference in Vienna as it is one of the main events in preparation for LDC-IV.

The session will also benefit from WTO’s report on the outcome of the WTO ministerial conference (1-2 December 2009), and issues and priorities emerging from the latest rounds of trade negotiations in the context of the crisis.

In addition, the Executive Director of the EIF Secretariat will present the latest developments regarding the EIF and its evolving role in the AfT agenda.

The final presentation in this session will briefly review progress on the 8 Pilot Programmes of UNIDO with AfT/EIF partners with an outline of the latest developments since the 2008 Conference.

Relevant questions include what has been the impact on ODA receipts so far and what prospects for the future? What has been the experience of LDCs


12 .30-14 .00

Lunch.hosted.by.UN-OHRLLS,.VIC.Restaurant

14 .00-15 .00

Open. and. informal. discussions. on. the. Plan.of.Action

Session 5 . Adoption of the Plan of Action and Closing Ceremony

15 .00-16 .00

•. Presentation.of. the.draft. Ministerial.Declaration.

•. .Comments. from. the. Floor. and. approval. of. the.document

•. Presentation.of. the.draft. Plan.of.Action

•. .Comments. from. the. Floor. and. approval. of. the.document

16 .00-16 .15

Coffee.Break

Closing. statements

•. .Mr ..Cheick. Sidi.Diarra,.Under-Secretary-General. .Special.Adviser. on.Africa. and.High.Representative,.UN-OHRLLS

•. .Mr ..Yoshiteru. Uramoto,. Deputy. to. the.Director-.General,.UNIDO

•. .H .E ..Mr .. Lotoala.Metia,.Chairman.of. the. LDC.Group,.Minister. of. Finance. and. Economic. Planning,. Tuvalu

and various partners in implementing the Brussels Programme of Action? What lessons and what strategic considerations in the lead up to LDC-IV in anticipating and shaping the post-Brussels agenda?

In the same vein, questions arise on the roles of various partners and development agencies. How has the recent crisis affected the agencies and what have been their response strategies so far? What lessons for development partners and what future strategies and synergies are beginning to emerge? What lessons and solutions can various agencies and regional institutions bring to the policy debates, and what specific roles can each play?

This includes the relevance of working together and building on synergies among partners in supporting LDCs. Furthermore, the evolving roles of various partners in this endeavour needs to be discussed in the lead up to LDC-IV

The recession has once again exposed the vulnerability of LDCs due to their over-dependence on a few primary commodities. Diversification is therefore likely to be among the top priorities in any supporting agenda to LDCs and the role of technology acquisition and management is a very important ingredient


In view of the multifaceted dimensions of the crisis, the Plan of Action to be agreed upon should draw on the various implications of the crisis in the lead up to LDC-IV, and should put more emphasis on how partners could support in building up the industrial competitiveness of LDCs.

A special “open and informal discussion” session has been included in order to encourage a wide range of inputs and view points in the Plan of Action prior to its presentation and adoption.

It is hoped that the conference’s design and sequence of discussions will lead to a concrete and agreed Plan of Action for various partners, and UNIDO in particular in supporting LDCs’ efforts to emerge from the crisis headed for a more sustainable path toward industrial development

All sessions will be conducted in an interactive manner with panel and floor discussions following related presentations that will be kept relatively short.


47

Annex 2.

Conference Documents

Statements and presentations

Statement by Mr. Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under Secretary-General, Special Adviser for Africa and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, UN-OHRLLS

BuildingCapacity tohelpLeastDevelopedCountriesweather theCrisisPresentation by Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director General, World Trade Organization

TheImpactof theCrisisonLDCs:Findings andLessonsPresentation by: Mr. Ludovico Alcorta; Director, Research and Statistics Branch; UNIDO

EconomicCrisisandLDCs:TechnologyTransferandIndustrialDevelopmentTheCaseofAgro-industriesPresentation by Mr. Sergio Miranda da Cruz, Director, Agri-Business Development Branch, UNIDO

TheImplicationsof theCrisisonTechnology IssuesPresentation by H.E. Mr. Dilip Baru, Minister of Industries, Bangladesh

TheCompetitivePrivateSectorSMEsas aKeyDrivingForce for EconomicGrowth inDevelopingCountriesPresentation by Mr. Mohamed Lamine Dhaoui, Director, Industrial Policy and Private Sector Development Branch, UNIDO

Threats andOpportunitiesPresentation by Mr. Rotimi Nihinlola, Group Head Corporate Development, Ecobank Group

PolicyOptions forProductiveCapacityDevelopmentPresentation by Mr. Wilfried Luetkenhorst, Managing Director, PCF Division, UNIDO

PolicyOptions forLDCsand theirDevelopmentPartnersPresentation by Mr. Charles Gore, Special Coordinator for Cross-sectoral Issues, UNCTAD

TheCaseofAngolaPresentation by H.E. Ms. Kiala Gabriel, Vice-Minister of Industry


From BrusselsProgramme ofAction to IstanbulPresentation by Mr. Kavazeua Katjomuise, Programme Officer, UN-OHRLLS

TheOutcomeof theWTOMinisterial ConferencePresentation by Mr. Shishir Priyadarshi, Director, Development Division, WTO

Progresson theEnhanced Integrated FrameworkPresentation by Ms. Dorothy Tembo, Executive Director, EIF Secretariat

Addressing“Supply-Side” Needs inEight SelectedLDCs—AJointUNIDO/UNCTAD/ITC InitiativePresentation by Mr. Mohamed-Lamine Dhaoui, Director, Industrial Policy and Private Sector Development Branch, UNIDO

Background papers

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on LDCs’ Productive Capacities and Trade Prospects: Threats and Opportunities—Issues Paper

The impact of the global economic crisis on industrial development of Least Developed Countries—Report prepared by the South Centre

The impact of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis on LDC Economies Report prepared by UN-OHRLLS

Case Studies

The fisheries sector in Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania

The dairy sector in Ethiopia

The fruit and vegetable sector in Bhutan and Nepal

48 LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA 2009

49

Annex 3.

List of Participants

LDC MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 3-4 December 2009 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Country Name Contact

1 Afghani-stan

Mr.Adib Farhadi, DeputyMinister for International Trade,MinistryofCommerce and Industry

Dar-ul-AmanRoadKart-e-Se,Kabuladib_farid@farhadi

2 Mr.Ahmed FaridNabi,IndustrialAffairsAdvisor,MinistryOfCommerceAndIndustry

[email protected]

3 Mr.Muzzamil Shinwari,Director-General InternationalTrade andAdviser to theMinister ofCommerce

[email protected]

4 H.E.Mr.AbdulM.Shoogufan,AmbassadorandPermanentRepresentative toUNIDO

Lackierergasse 9/9, 1090ViennaTel: +43-1-5247806Fax: +43-1-4060219

[email protected]

5 Mr.GhulamAbbasAkbary,Alternate Representative toUNIDO

Lackierergasse 9/9, 1090ViennaTel: +43-1-5247806Fax: [email protected]

6 Mr.MohammadYamaAinI,Alternate Representative toUNIDO

Lackierergasse 9/9, 1090ViennaTel: +43-1-5247806Fax: [email protected]

7 Angola H.E.Mr.KialaGabriel, Vice-Minister of Industry

RuaCequeiro LukokoNo. 25,2ndfloor, LuandaFax: +244-222-334700

8 H.E.Mr. Fidelino LoydeJesus Figueiredo, Ambassador and PermanentRepresentative toUNIDO

Seilerstaette 15/1/10, 1010ViennaTel: +43-1-718-7488 Fax: [email protected]

50 LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA 2009 ANNEx 3 51


9 Mr. JacintoRangel LopesCordeiro Neto, Counsellor, Permanent MissionofAngola to theInternational Organizations inVienna

Seilerstaette 15/1/10, 1010ViennaTel: +43-1-718-7488Fax: [email protected]

10 Mr. SebastiãoCassule Francisco, Head,Cabinet for Inter-national Exchange,Ministryof Industry

[email protected]

11 Mr. Barros Bebiano JoséLicença, Executive Secretary,NationalCommission forUNIDO,Ministry of Industry

[email protected]

12 Ms.Yema Flora dos SantosSilva, Third Secretary, PermanentMissionofAngola to theInternational Organizations inVienna

Seilerstaette 15/1/10, 1010ViennaTel: +43-1-718-7488Fax: [email protected]

13 Mr.Domingos João Pereira,NationalDirectorate of Agriculture, Livestock Farming and Forests, Ministry ofAgriculture

Ministry ofAgricultureP.O. Box527Luanda

14 Bangla-desh

H.E.Mr.Dilip Barua, Minister of Industries

91,MotijheelCommercialArea,Dhaka, Bangladesh Tel: +880-2-9551893Fax: +880-2-9563553

15 Mr.Dewan ZakirHussain,Secretary ofMinistry ofIndustries

91,MotijheelCommercialArea,Dhaka, [email protected]

16 H.E.Mr.AbdulHannan, Ambassador and PermanentRepresentative, PermanentMissionof Bangladesh

65, ruede Lausanne,1202Geneva, SwitzerlandTel: +41-22-9068020Fax: +41-22-7384616

17 Mr.Khondker MohammadTalha,Counsellor

65, ruede Lausanne,1202Geneva, SwitzerlandTel:+41-22-9068020Fax:+41-22-7384616

18 Benin H.E.Mr. RogerDovonou,Minister of Industry

01B.P. 363,Cotonou, Benin



19 Mr.AkanniGafariAdebo,TechnicalAdviser forIndustrialAffairs

01B.P. 363,Cotonou, Benin Tel: +229-21-327144/21301128/97081648Fax: [email protected]

20 Mr.AbdoulayeAssoudo,Director-General for IndustrialAffairs

01B.P. 363,Cotonou, [email protected]

21 Bhutan Mr. SonamTenzin, Secretary,Ministry of LabourandHumanResources

Thimphu, BhutanTel: +975-2-323842Cell: +975-17110093Fax: [email protected]

22 Mr.YesheyDorji, First Secretary,Ministry of ForeignAffairs

Thimphu, BhutanCell: +975-17114556Fax: [email protected]

23 BurkinaFaso

H.E.Mr. SalifDiallo Ambassador Extraordinaryand Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative toUNIDO

PermanentMissionof BurkinaFaso toUNIDOStrohgasse 14c, 1030ViennaTel: +43-1-5038264Fax: [email protected]

24 Mr.AdamaTraore, Director-General of IndustrialDevelopment,Ministry ofCommerce, EnterprisePromotion andHandicraft

B.P. 514,OuagadougouTel: +226-50324828Fax: [email protected]

25 Cambodia(MoC)

H.E.Mr.ChamPrasidh,SeniorMinister andMinisterofCommerce

20A-BNorodomBoulevard,PhnomPenh12205Tel: +855-23-427-358/214946Fax: +855-23-213-288/[email protected]

26 H.E.Mr. Sok Sophaek, International TradeDirector-General

20A-BNorodomBoulevard, PhnomPenh12205

27 Cambodia(MIME)

Mr. Ith Praing, Secretary of State,Ministryof Industry,Mines andEnergy

45 PreahNorodomBoulevard,KhanDaun Penh, PhnomPenhTel: +855-23-211141

28 Mr.Hou Leng, DeputyDirector-General,Ministry of Industry,Minesand Energy

45 PreahNorodomBoulevard,KhanDaun Penh,PhnomPenh



29 Central AfricanRep.

Mr. Jean-LouisNdiba,Director-General of IndustrialDevelopment,Ministry ofCommerce and Industry

B.P. 1988, [email protected]

30 Chad Mr.Gueringué Djibangar,Director of Industry andSupport to SME/SMI,Ministry ofCommerce,Industry andHandicraft

B.P. 424,N’DjamenaTel: +235-2522199Fax: +235-2522733/ [email protected]

31 Comoros H.E.Mr.AssaneMohamedAhmed, TechnicalAdviser totheVicePresidentofComoros,Minister ofAgriculture,Fishing, Environment, Energy,Industry andHandicraft

B.P. 131,MoroniTel: +269-7644603Fax: +269-7750003Cell: [email protected]@comorestelecom.km

32 CongoDem.Rep.

H.E.Mr. SimonMbosoKiamputu,Minister of Industry

4,rueLokele, ImmeubleKisombo,Kinshasa,GombeTel: +243-99-8911233 [email protected]

33 Mr.AuguyBolandaMenga,TaxCounsellor andCommissioner for SpecialEconomic Regions

Tel: + [email protected]

34 Djibouti Mr.Yacoub AbdiDjama,Director of Industry, MinistryofCommerce and Industry

B.P. 24,Djibouti,Djibouti Tel: +253-355045Fax: [email protected]

35 EquatorialGuinea

Mr.HugoNdongOwonoEdu,Director-Generalof Industry,MinistryofMines, IndustryandEnergy

Calle 12deoctubre,[email protected]

36 Mr. JuanBernardo NnangNchama, TechinalAdvisor

[email protected]

37 Ethiopia Mr.AregaHailu Tefera, DeputyChiefAdvisor to theMinistry of ForeignAffairs

AddisAbaba

38 Dr.DegemuShertagaMaruta,Councilorat theLDCandLLDCDirectorateat the Ministryof ForeignAffairs

Cell: [email protected]

39 Gambia H.E.Mr.YusuphaKah, Minister of Trade, Industryand Employment

NIBBuilding, IndependenceDrive, Banjul [email protected]



40 Ms.NdeyNaffieCeesay, Acting Principal Economist

IndependenceDrive, Banjul

Tel: +220-422-4209Fax: +220-422-7756Cell: [email protected]

41 Guinea H.E.Mr.MamadouKorkaDiallo,Ministerof IndustryandSME

B.P. 468,CommunedeKaloum,Conakry Tel: +224 (41) 5222 Cell: [email protected]

42 YekéGoumou, NationalDirector ofIndustrialDevelopment

B.P. 468,[email protected]

43 Mr.Ousmane Sylla, Directeur

B.P. 468,Conakry

44 Mr.Mohamed LatifDiallo,Director

B.P. 468,[email protected]

45 Haiti H.E.Ms. Josseline Fethiere, Minister ofCommerce andIndustry

[email protected]: +50937367437

46 Mr. PierreAndréDunbar,Director-General

[email protected]: +5094020835 /37020835 / 34563319

47 Kiribati Mr. RotaOnorio, Industry PromotionOfficerMinistry ofCommerce,Industry andCooperatives

P.O. Box510, Betio, [email protected]

48 Mr.DepwehKanono, Deputy Secretary

[email protected]@mcic.gov.ki

49 Lao Peo-ple’sDemRep

H.E.Mr.NamViyaketh, Minister of Industry andCommerce

PhonxayRoad, Phonxay Village, XaysetthaDistrict, P.O. Box4107,Vientiane

50 Mr.Vang Phommasack,DirectorGeneral,Departmentof Industry

PhonxayRoad, Phonxay Village, XaysetthaDistrict,

P.O. Box4107,Vientiane

51 Lesotho H.E.Mr. Popane Lebesa, Ministerof Tradeand Industry,Cooperatives andMarketing

P.O. Box747,MaseruTel: +266-22-312938Fax: [email protected]

52 Ms.MaphekoMothetsi,Senior IndustryDevelopmentOfficer




53 Ms.MabaitsiMotsamai, Ministry for HomeAffairs&Public Safety


54 Liberia H.E.Ms.Miata Beysolow,Minister for Commerce andIndustry

Ashmun/Gurley Streets, P.O. Box9041,Monrovia, [email protected] Cell: +231-6-952142

55 Ms.ClaraDoeMvogo

National TechnicalCoordinator

[email protected]

56 Madagas-car

H.E.Mr. Richard Fienena,Minister of Economic andIndustrialAffairs

Immeuble Plan, 101Antananarivo, Tel: +261-20-2225546Fax: +261-20-2225546Cell: [email protected]

57 Mr. FreddieMahazoasy,Director-General for IndustrialDevelopment,Ministry ofEconomic and IndustrialAffairs


58 Ms.HarinjanaharyRazanarisoa,DirectorofReformat theEconomicDevelopmentBoardofMadagascar (EDBM)


59 Ms.Voahanginirina MarieChief of Projects and LargeEnterprises Support Branchat the IndustrialDevelopment Support andInvestmentsDivisionof theMinistry of Economic andIndustrialAffairs


60 Mr. Eric Beantanana, Adviser at the PermanentMissionofMadagascar totheUnitedNations inGeneva

61 Malawi Mr. Stevin Stafford Kamwendo, DeputyMinister,Ministry of Industry andTrade

P.O. Box30366,CapitalCity,Lilongwe3,MalawiTel: +265-1-770244/[email protected]



62 Mr.C.C.Kachiza, Director of Industry,Ministryof Industry and Trade

Tel: +265-8880865467Fax: [email protected]

63 Maldives H.E.Mr.MohamedRasheed,Minister of EconomicDevelopment

GhazeeBuilding, AmeeruAhmedMagu,Male 20-05Tel: +960-3333100Fax: [email protected]

64 Mr.Yusuf Riza, Permanent Secretary,Ministryof EconomicDevelopment


65 Mr.Abdulla Thaweeq, First Secretary Trade, PermanentMissionof theMaldives toUNOG andWTO


66 Mali H.E.Mr.AhmadouAbdoulayeDiallo, Minister of Industry,Investment andCommerce

B.P. E1759, BamakoTel: +223-2-228175/228343Cell: +223-78-811689

67 Mr.AdamaKonate, TechnicalAdviser,Ministry ofIndustry, Investment andCommerce

B.P. E1759, [email protected]

68 Ms.GuindoMariamMayaOuattara, Commissioner forCommunication at theMinistry of Industry, Invest-ment andCommerce

69 Mauritania H.E.Mr.MohamedAbdellahiOuldOudaa, Minister of Industry andMines

B.P. 387,Nouakchott

70 Mr.Mohamed SalemOuldMamoune,Director for IndustrialDevelopment

Tel: +222-5257266/5253582/5252699Fax: +222-5256937/5258407Cell: [email protected];[email protected]

71 Mozam-bique

Ms.CerinaBanúMussá,NationalDirector forInternational Relations,Ministry of Industry andTrade

Praça25de junhoNo. 37,[email protected]



72 Mr. José Egidio Paulo, CommercialConsillorPermanent MissionofMozambique inGeneva

Mr. José Egidio Paulo,13,Gautier 1er étage1201Geneva,Tel: +41-22-9011783Fax: [email protected]

73 Mr.AgoniasMacie, HeadofDepartment Directorate of InternationalCooperationMinistry of Industry andTrade

Mr.AgoniasMacie, Praça25de Junho300Maputo Tel: +258-21-352600Fax: [email protected]

74 Mr.Miguel Raul Tungadza, Second Secretary, PermanentMissionofMozambique toUNIDO inGeneva

PermanentMissionof Mozambique toUNIDO 13,Gautier (first floor)[email protected]

75 Myanmar H.EMr.U TinWin, Ambassador Extraordinaryand Plenipotentiary, Permanent Missionof Myanmar to theUN andother InternationalOrganizations inVienna

Thielalle 19,14195BerlinTel: +49-30-2061570Fax: [email protected]

76 Nepal H.E.Mr. RajendraMahto,Minister ofCommerce andSupplies

SinghaDurbar, KathmanduTel: +977-1-4211446Fax: [email protected]

77 Mr.Anil Kumar Thakur,Director-General, DepartmentofCommerce

[email protected]

78 Niger Mr.Amadou SoumanaGouro, Permanent Secretary at theMinistry ofCommerce,Industry andNormalisation

B.P. 480,NiameyFax: [email protected]

79 Rwanda Mr. Edouard Bizumuremyi,CommercialCounsellor

80 Senegal Mr. IbrahimaBasse,Director of Industry, MinistryofMines, Industry,AgroBusiness and SME

122bis,AvenueAndré Peytavin,B.P. 4037,DakarTel: +221-8229626Fax: [email protected]@yahoo.fr



81 SierraLeone

H.E.Mr.DavidO.Carew,Minister of Trade andIndustry

6thfloor, JouyBuilding, Freetown Tel: +232-76704745Cell: [email protected]

82 Dr.MartinGbonda,Senior Economist,Ministry ofTrade and Industry


83 Somalia H.E.Mr.Abdirahman JamaAbdalla,Minister of Industry


84 Mr.Abdisalaan MohamedAdow,Director-General


85 Sudan H.E.Ali AhmedOsman,StateMinister forMinistry ofIndustry

P.O.Box218,Khartoum

86 Ms. Limyaa ElnurMohammedSaeed,ActingDirector of InternationalRelations

P.O.Box218,Khartoum

87 Ms.AzzaBadriAbdallahMohamed Taha,Ministry ofIndustry

P.O.Box218,Khartoum

88 TimorLeste

Mr. Epifanio Silva daCostaFaculto, Inspector ofNationalFood Security, Ministry ofCommerce,Industry& Tourism

FomentoBuilding,Mandarin,DiliTel: [email protected]

89 Togo Mr.KokouBiavaAttitso,Director of IndustryMinistry of Industry,Handicraft and TechnologicalInnovation

B.P. 831 LoméTel: +228-2212289/2224913Fax: [email protected]

90 Mr.Atsouvi Sikpa,DirecteurDeputyDirector-General toSAZOF (Sociétéd’Administrationdes ZonesFranches)

[email protected]

91 Mr.A.OutouloumSambo,UNIDO Focal Point in Togo

[email protected]

92 Mr. Bilakimwé Feou, ProjectManager

[email protected]



93 Tuvalu H.E.Mr. LotoalaMetia, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning

[email protected]@yahoo.com Tel: +688-20201Fax: +688-20210

94 Mr. TemataMelitiana, Assistant Secretary

[email protected]

95 Uganda Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo Minister of State for Industryand Technology

P.O. Box7103Kampala

96 Mr. Samuel SsenkunguCommissioner for Industryand Technology

[email protected]

97 UnitedRepTanzania

H.E.Ms.MaryMichaelNagu,Minister of Industry,Trade&Marketing

NSSFWaterfrontHouseP.O. Box9503Dar-es-Salaam

98 H.E.Ms. Samia SuluhuHassan,Minister of Tourism,Trade& EconomicEmpowerment

P.O. Box601Zanzibar

99 Ms. Eline Sichele Sikazwe,Director for IndustryDevelopment

P.O. Box9503Tel: +255-222127893Fax: +255-222129105Cell: +255-754742778 Dar-es-Salaam [email protected]

100 Yemen Mr.AbdullahAbdulWalieNoman,DeputyAssistant forIndustrialDevelopment&Investment,Ministry ofIndustry and Trade


101 Mr.AdelAlghaberi,AssistantChief of theCommunicationOfficewithWTOandYemen’s EIF Focal Point


102 Zambia H.E.Mr.DarlingtonMwape,Ambassador, Permanent Missionof Zambia toUNIDO

17-19, cheminduChamp-d’Anier1209 LePetit Saconnex-GenevaTel:+41227885330/7885331Fax: [email protected]



103 Mr. Fidel Kanika,First Secretary, PermanentMission toUNIDO

17-19, cheminduChampd’Anier1209GenevaTel: +41-22-7614400Fax: +41-22-7614404 [email protected]

104 UN-OHRLLS

Mr.Cheick SidiDiarra,Under-Secretary-General/HighRepresentative for the LeastDevelopedCountries, LandlockedDevelopingCountries and Small IslandsDeveloping Countries

UNHeadquarters, DC-1Room1212, NewYork, [email protected]

105 UN-OHRLLS

Mr.KavazeuaKatjomuise,ProgrammeOfficer

[email protected]

106 AfricanUnion

Ms. Elisabeth Tankeu,Commissioner

P.O. Box3243,AddisAbaba,EthiopiaTel: + 251-11-517700Fax: +251-11517844www.africa-union.org

107 AfricanUnion

Mr.HassanHussein, Headof IndustryDivision

P.O. Box3243,AddisAbaba,Ethiopia

108 AfricanUnion

Mr.Ayoup Elrashdi, Senior PolicyOfficer

P.O. Box3243,AddisAbaba,Ethiopia

109 AfricanUnion

Mr.Dauda Foday SumaIndustryOfficerDepartment of Trade andIndustry

Tel: +251-11-5517700 Ext 161Fax: +251-11-5510467Cell: [email protected]

110 CFC(CommonFund forCommodi-ties)

Mr.AndreyKuleshov, Senior ProjectManager ofthe Policy, Programme Management and EvaluationUnit

P.B. 74656 1070BRAmsterdam, TheNetherlandsTel: +31-20-5754970Fax: [email protected]

111 EcobankGroup

Mr. RotimiNihinlola, GroupHeadCorporateDevelopment

2Avenue SylvanusOlympioB.P. 3261 Lomé, Togo

112 ECOWAS Mr. IbnChambas 101,YakubuGowonCrescent,AsokoroDistrictP.M.B. 401Abuja,NigeriaTel:+234-9-3147647-9Fax:+234-9-3143005/[email protected]://www.ecowas.int



113 EIF/WTO Ms.Dorothy TemboExecutiveDirector, ExecutiveSecretariat for the IF at theWTO

Tel: +41-22-7396064Fax: +41-22-739-5766Cell: [email protected]

114 G77 H.E.Mr.EugenioMaríaCuria,AmbassadorExtraordinaryandPlenipotentiary,PermanentRepresentativeofArgentina toUNIDO,Chairmanof theG-77ViennaChapter

Goldschmiedgasse 2/11010Vienna

115 ITC Mr.Willem vanderGeest,ActingDirector, DivisionofMarketDevelopment

54-56 ruedeMontbrillant1202Geneva10, SwitzerlandTel: +41-22-7300111Fax: [email protected]@intracen.org

116 ITC Mr. FrancescoGeoffroy,SeniorAdviser, Resourcesand PartnershipsGroup

[email protected]

117 UEMOA Mr.Guy-AmédéeAjanohoun,Commissioner in chargeoftheDevelopment of Enter-prises, Telecommunicationand EnergyDivision

Avenuedu Professeur JosephKi-ZerboB.P. 543Ouagadougou,Burkina Faso

118 UEMOA Mr. LancinaKi,Commissioner of the PrivateSector

[email protected]: +226-70258544

119 UEMOA Mr.KakoNubukpo, TechnicalAssistant for theCotton and Textile Sector

Tel: +41-22-7300111Fax: [email protected]

120 UNCTAD Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi,Secretary-General

Palais desNations,1211Geneve10SwitzerlandTel: +41-22-9175806/5634Fax: [email protected]

121 UNCTAD/ALDC

Mr.CharlesGore, SpecialCoordinator for Cross Sectoral Issues in the Division for Africa, LDCs andSpecial Programmes

[email protected]

122 UNCTAD Mr.Adriano Timossi, Associate EconomicAffairsOfficer

Tel: +41-22-9174544Fax: [email protected]



123 WTO Mr. Pascal Lamy,Director-General

CentreWilliam Rappard,Ruede Lausanne154,CH-1211Geneva21,Switzerlandwww.wto.org Tel: +41-0-227395111Fax: +41-0-227314206

124 WTO Mr. Joshua Setipa, Counsellor,Officeof theDirector-General

[email protected]

125 WTO Mr. Shishir Priyadarshi, Director,Development Division,WTO

[email protected]

126 INDIAGovt.

Mr.Ajay Shankar, Secretary,Department of Policy& Promotion,MinistryofCommerce and Industry

UdyogBhawan, Room45,NewDelhi—110 011

127 Lesotho H.E.Mr.M.A.Maruping, Ambassador, PermanentRepresentative of theKingdomof Lesotho inGeneva

45-47 ruede Lausanne,1201Geneva, SwitzerlandTel: +41-22-9061050Fax: [email protected]

128 Luxem-bourg

H.E.Mr. Jean Feyder, Ambassador and PermanentRepresentative of theGrand-Duchyof Luxembourgto theUnitedNationsOfficeatGeneva,Chairmanof theWTOSubcommittee forLDCs

Mission Permanentedu Luxembourg13, ch. de laRochette, 1202Geneva, SwitzerlandTel: +41-22-9191929Fax: [email protected]

129 UNIDOGoodwillAmb.

Mr.MansourCamaUNIDO Goodwill Ambassador

P.O. Box1392,Dakar, SenegalTel: +221-821-5454Fax: [email protected]

130 UCSSICNewDelhi(UNIDOCentre ofSouth-SouthIndustrialCoopera-tion)

Mr.AnthonyDe Sa, Director of theUCSSIC

7/6, Siri Fort InstitutionalAreaAugustKrantiMargNewDelhi, 110049, IndiaTel: +91-11-41752080Fax: [email protected]

62 LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA 2009


131 UCSSICBeijing(UNIDOCentre ofSouth-SouthIndustrialCoopera-tion)

Mr.Weiwen Tan, Director of theUCSSIC

1503, EntranceCYonghePlaza,No.28,AnDingMenDongDaJie, EasternDistrict, Beijing100007ChinaTel: +86-10-84000716/84000708/84000718Fax: [email protected]

132 UnitedKingdom

Mr. FrederickNixson Professor ofDevelopmentEconomics,Manchester University (Moderator)

42BuxtonOldRoad,Disley,Cheshire, SK122BWTel: +44-(0)[email protected]

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