Abu Dhabi to host key UN conference

vienna — Abu Dhabi has officially been selected to host the 2019 United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) General Conference, the organisation’s supreme policymaking body that convenes every two years.

The announcement was made following a vote by the 53 member states of the Industrial Development Board at its 46th annual meeting in Vienna.

Since becoming a specialised agency in 1985, the Unido has never hosted the event in the Middle East, and only hosted it away from its Vienna headquarters three times: in Bangkok, Thailand (1987), Yaoundé, Cameroon (1993), and Lima, Peru (2013).

Following the announcement, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, affirmed the UAE’s commitment to enabling inclusive and sustainable industrial development as a catalyst for economic and social prosperity.

“Selecting Abu Dhabi to host the 18th Unido General Conference reflects the international recognition of the UAE’s significant role in supporting the global industrial sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations,” he said.

The Unido and the UAE have a long-standing relationship, with both serving as cochairs for the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit. —