Mission

UNIDO's mission is to reduce poverty and achieve inclusive and environmentally sustainable patterns of globalization through sustainable industrial development. To this end, it focuses on three thematic priorities, which also respond to priority concerns of the global community:

• Poverty reduction through productive activities where UNIDO aims at helping the poor to earn a living and grow their business through SME development projects, agro-based small enterprise development, as well as post-crisis rebuilding of SME;

• Trade capacity-building where UNIDO assists countries to build up the capacity to compete on the world markets with products that comply with safety and other standards and requirements; and
• Energy and Environment which includes improving industrial energy efficiency and the promotion of renewable energy, as well as assist industry to reduce the environmental impact of their activities through cleaner production as well as helping countries to comply with international environmental agreements.

Activities

UNIDO works with public and private partners to foster entrepreneurship and competitiveness, develop international industrial partnerships and promote socially equitable and environmentally friendly patterns of industrialization. In particular, UNIDO develops and implements transformational strategies and programmes for governments and regional intergovernmental organizations, particularly addressing their economic policy frameworks and institutional capacities. Although UNIDO's activities cover all developing countries and economies in transition, one geographical focus is Africa and the Least Developing Countries.

At the policy level, UNIDO generates and disseminates knowledge relating to industrial matters; offers policy advice to governments and intergovernmental organizations; provides international and multi-stakeholder forums for debate and decision-making on industrial policy issues and promotes international industrial cooperation as an important driver for the implementation of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements and for achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs. As a technical cooperation agency, UNIDO supports institutions in building up the necessary capacities for the implementation and monitoring of their economic/industrial strategies, policies and programmes. To this end, the organization designs and implements technical capacity-building programmes and offers specialised support to the development of individual programmes in accordance with the country needs.

Structure

UNIDO has three governing bodies that give political guidance to UNIDO. The supreme policy-making organ is the General Conference (GC), which meets every two years and brings together representatives of all 173 Member States. The GC appoints the Director-General for a period of four years. It also approves the programme and budgets and establishes the scale assessments for regular budget expenditures for the forthcoming biennium. The GC also elects the 27 members of the Programme and Budget Committee (PBC). This committee meets annually to assist the Secretariat in preparing work programmes and budgets. The third policy making body of UNIDO is the Industrial Development Board (IDB). The IDB consists of 53 members and meets once in General Conference years, and twice in other years. Every four years, the IDB recommends a candidate for Director-General to the GC for appointment. Besides this, it reviews and evaluates UNIDO's work of the preceding years and makes recommendations to the GC on policy matters.

In July 2013, Mr. Li Yong (China) was elected Director-General of UNIDO. He manages the Secretariat of UNIDO together with his deputy and three managing directors.

Partners

With a presence in over 50 countries, UNIDO ensures coherence in the delivery of technical cooperation and policy advice, working together with partners such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the institutions of the World Bank (WB).

For more information about UNIDO please visit www.unido.org