Following the 30th anniversary celebration of Slovenia’s membership to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller and the Slovenian Minister of Economic Development Matjaž Han signed a Roadmap for Cooperation – a framework document outlining the key bilateral cooperation elements, including common objectives, high-potential thematic priorities, and geographical scope for joint activities – that complements the existing Cooperation Agreement.
“The document I have signed today contains all the key elements needed for continued successful cooperation. This will be based on the demand of partner countries, especially those that need development support the most,” said Minister Han.
Currently, Slovenia and UNIDO are working together to provide technical cooperation support in Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, Egypt, and Serbia. In Egypt, for example, the partners work towards establishing a Green Dome and optimizing the greenhouse climatic management in the country’s tomato value chain, with UNIDO testing the growth rate, productivity, and water needs (as compared to open field cultivation). Moreover, capacity-building is being delivered to maintain and manage the Green Dome as well as to optimize tomato-growing conditions.
As agreed by both parties, the cooperation between Slovenia and UNIDO will foster inclusive and sustainable industrial development as a prerequisite for socio-economic transformation, with joint activities focusing on technology, know-how, and expertise to support economic competitiveness, industry advancement, innovation ecosystem building, and environmental sustainability.
Director General Gerd Müller said, “Slovenia is a great success story of industrial development. It is a role model of successful economic transformation and is an important partner with great potential for a greater role in development in many fields. I am confident that this new Roadmap for Cooperation will guide us towards many more shared successes.”
Building upon the results and achievements of the past 30 years of transformative development cooperation, Slovenia and UNIDO are strengthening their partnership to further provide tangible support to developing countries and economies in transition in selected regions, with a renewed emphasis on the integration and upscaling of development impacts.
Ambassador Barbara Žvokelj, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to UNIDO, noted that “our support to the implementation of joint technical cooperation projects throughout these years represents a firm commitment to inclusive and sustainable industrial development,” adding that “in this partnership, we particularly value the focus on the transfer of knowledge and technology to support economic competitiveness, innovation ecosystem building, and environmental protection.”
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