UNIDO opens Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Bonn, Germany
May 17, 2017
BONN, 3 May 2017 – The Federal Government of Germany and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) today officially opened an Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Bonn.
Germany has been a strong supporter of UNIDO since its inception in 1966, and was a founding member when UNIDO became a specialized agency in 1985. Throughout this longstanding relationship, the Government of Germany has provided substantial support to UNIDO programmes and projects, mainly through voluntary contributions from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The ITPO Germany has been established at the request of the Federal Government and is part of UNIDO’s ITPO Network that covers Bahrain, China (Beijing and Shanghai), Italy, Japan, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.
In a statement during the ITPO opening ceremony, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller, said, „Making economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies sustainable is essentially the new dimension we want to lend our development cooperation. Germany is a pioneer of innovative technical solutions in fields ranging from power, to environmental technology, to mobility. The new office in Bonn provides business partners from Germany and abroad with a point of contact, enabling knowledge and innovation to be brought where they can help promote sustainable growth and, thus, opportunities for the future.“
The ITPO Germany will be based at the UN Campus in Bonn, a strategic location with an operating theme, “Shaping a sustainable future”, which is in line with UNIDO’s mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
The ITPO Germany will complement the efforts of the Government of Germany to promote investment and sustainable technology in developing countries and, specifically, will be well-positioned to support the BMZ’s Charter for the Future. Furthermore, it will help contribute to the implementation of the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa, declared by a UN General Assembly Resolution in 2016.
In his address, UNIDO Director General LI Yong said, “In collaboration with UNIDO’s global ITPO Network, the ITPO in Bonn will open up opportunities for companies in developing countries to access technology and investment, as well as for investors and technology suppliers in Germany and worldwide, helping them find potential partners and offering unique services to entrepreneurs and business institutions. In addition, ITPO Germany will be perfectly positioned to support the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 9.”
The roles of impact investment and sustainable technology are highlighted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and especially in Sustainable Development Goal 9 that seeks to “build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.”