16 June 2011: Kandeh Yumkella, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Director-General, and García Revilla, Peruvian Ambassador to Austria and to International Organizations in Vienna, met in Vienna, Austria, to discuss cooperation in the fields of trade capacity building, environmental protection and the use of renewable energy.

At the meeting Ambassador Revilla expressed his country’s support for the Vienna Energy Forum, co-organized by UNIDO, which is to be held from 21-23 June 2011. Also, in line with UNIDO’s energy programme, Peru’s efforts and progress in the field of electrification as a means of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were recognized. The Government established a “National Rural Electrification Plan – Light for All” (2006-2011) to extend the national electricity coverage through the implementation of plans and electrification projects in marginal and rural areas, and by July 2011, Peru plans to provide electricity to over 11,000 villages, which would benefit a population of some three million. UNIDO expressed its readiness to cooperate with Peru in developing future projects in the field of energy and green energy.

In the field of environmental protection, they mentioned the approval in 2010 by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of a new Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) project in Peru. [UNIDO Press Release]