May 2015: The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) launched a web portal on inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) to promote investment opportunities and “matchmaking” of stakeholders. The platform highlights UNIDO’s mandate and Programmes for Country Partnership (PCP) in Ethiopia and Senegal, and showcases UNIDO’s efforts toward implementing the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The organization notes that, while industrialization did not feature in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), inclusive and sustainable industrialization is the subject of SDG 9 and also relates to other targets in the post-2015 development agenda.

The 15th session of the UNIDO General Conference, which took place in 2013 in Lima, Peru, adopted the ‘Lima Declaration: Toward Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development.’ The Declaration affirmed Member States’ vision for ISID and updated the commitment of the 1975 Lima Declaration on Industrial Cooperation and Development.

The 2013 Declaration also emphasizes the relevance of ISID as the basis for sustained economic growth, and requests UNIDO to assist Member States in ISID-related efforts, including support for: expanding and diversifying value-added manufacturing; enhancing domestic entrepreneurial and technological capabilities; improving access to decent jobs; and reducing environmental impacts.

Since the adoption of the Lima Declaration, UNIDO has organized two annual forums on ISID, with a third coming up at the end of 2015. [ISID Portal] [Lima Declaration] [ISID Forum]