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By Bernhard Schell
CAIRO (IDN) – “I stand here on behalf of the United Nations system and reaffirm our strong commitment to the member states and the people of Africa,” Secretary-General António Guterres told the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), adding: “I strongly believe Africa is one of the greatest forces for good in our world.”
By Jutta Wolf
BERLIN (IDN) – Germany and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have agreed to strengthen their partnership towards the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During high-level strategic talks in Berlin, hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on November 26-27, Germany and UNIDO underlined the importance of each other as partners.
By Nour Salman, Emirates News Agency (WAM)
ABU DHABI (IDN-INPS) – The UAE capital is set to host the 18th General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO, with the participation of 800 ministers, officials and representatives from 170 member states, revealed Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry.
The UAE Minister of Energy and Industry held a press briefing detailing the agenda of the general conference, which will take place from November 3-7, 2019 at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.
Viewpoint by Deepak Nayyar
The transformative experience of the last five decades shows that policymakers should approach development with a diagnostic mind and a healthy scepticism of magic wands, silver bullets, and universal prescriptions, writes Deepak Nayyar, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The following text is based on his input into a three-day global conference on ‘Transforming Economies for Better Jobs’ from 11 to 13 September 2019 co-hosted by UNU-WIDER and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
By J W Jackie
RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – 3D printing is a mode for construction that is continuing to break out and pervade through numerous industries. Forbes reported that in 2019 80 percent of enterprises claim 3D printing is allowing them to innovate faster, reducing costs for production and allowing for greater flexibility of their products’ design.
On the one hand, this developing technology permits the freedom to formulate complex geometric figures free from the restraint of machine or injection moulding. On the other, it is faced with limits in the form of small build chambers lofts and restricted resource compatibility.
Viewpoint by Youba Sokona
The following are extensive extracts from keynote remarks by Youba Sokona, South Centre's Senior Adviser on Sustainable Development, at the Global Conference on Scaling-up Energy Access and Finance in Least Developed Countries in Beijing, China. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) organised the conference with the support of the UN system on May 30-31, 2019.
By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE (ACP-IDN) – The world’s first green power generator which can produce electricity using radio frequencies, an electric powered car which does not consume fuel, a multi-fueled helicopter: by any stretch of imagination, innovations like these will not be attributed to an African. But Maxwell Chikumbutso has meanwhile been recognized as an exception to the rule. The United States government has given him new home in the populous state of California.
In an interview with a Zimbabwean independent online media organization, Chat263.com, Chikumbutso expressed disappointment that Africa did not see what the U.S. Government saw in his ground-breaking inventions.
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
MOSCOW (IDN) – Over the years, African Union officials have repeatedly urged African leaders to prioritise Africa’s Agenda 2063 – a strategic framework for delivering on Africa’s goal for inclusive and sustainable development – and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 15-member UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution welcoming AU initiatives for infrastructure development and pledging support for "African solutions to African problems" in an attempt to achieve the SDGs.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Zambian villagers whose livelihoods were turned upside down by a toxic spill from a copper mine will finally have their day in court. They succeeded against the odds in a case pitting their claims against a worldwide mining company which denied responsibility for the spill caused by a local Zambian company it controlled.
It wasn’t the first claim against the Vedanta company, based in the UK. In January, a factory in Tamil Nadu, India, was ordered closed by the local pollution board for having “irreversibly polluted the groundwater in and around the Thoothukudi district”.
By Reinhardt Jacobsen
VIENNA (IDN) – Japan will contribute more than US$5.8 million for sustainable development projects in Ethiopia, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, South Sudan, the State of Palestine and Syria. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has welcomed an official announcement to this effect.
“We thank the Government of Japan for the trust placed in us to deliver tangible results in close cooperation with all involved partners,” said UNIDO Director General Li Yong at a joint kick-off ceremony with Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna.
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