Strong partnerships key to unleash full potential of industrialization, highlights senior UN official

26 April 2017 – Speaking at the conclusion of a global meeting on importance of agriculture and agro-industries for sustainable and resilient food systems, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) today urged for greater partnerships to ensure that global development agenda brings prosperity to all.

“[We have] to go beyond past and current models, beyond individual areas of expertise, beyond separate locations and beyond institutional frontiers,” said the ECOSOC President, Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, at the close of the meeting held at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

“In doing so, we can unleash the full potential of infrastructure development and sustainable industrialization, including agro-industries, to generate growth and employment while preserving planetary boundaries,” he emphasized.

Such partnerships, Mr. Shava underscored, would also be crucial to mitigate the challenges of climate change and natural disasters as well as to address the impact of increasing global population and migration on global food security.

The three-day meeting discussed a wide range of topics, including the particular development context of developing countries and countries in special situation (including least developed and landlocked developing countries), holistic approaches and integrated approach to climate change and other challenges that agriculture confronts, public-private-partnerships of inclusive agro-industry development, and the role of public sector and donor organizations in mitigating financial risks in agriculture and agro-industry.

The meeting in Victoria Falls follows an earlier meeting in Dakar, Senegal, that discussed the role of infrastructure development in promoting sustainable industrialization.

These two events were organized to prepare for a special ECOSOC meeting on innovations in infrastructure development and promoting sustainable industrialization, convened by President Shava, at the UN Headquarters in New York on 31 May.

The ECOSOC – one of the six principal organs of the UN – is responsible for coordinating the economic, social, and related work of UN agencies, functional and regional. Furthermore, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the main platform dealing with sustainable development, meets every year under the auspices of the Council.

Promoting sustainable and inclusive industrialization is the Goal 9 (SDG9) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).