The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Switzerland signed an amendment to a Letter of Agreement to deepen their partnership in support of eco-industrial parks.
The CHF14.5 million programme builds on the significant results achieved through the longstanding cooperation in the area Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) between UNIDO and the Swiss Confederation, through its State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
“The programme further strengthens and focuses the strategic partnership which was launched over two decades ago between UNIDO and Switzerland for the promotion of resource-efficient cleaner production globally”, said Ambassador Claude Wild, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to UNIDO.
The precursor UNIDO-UNEP cooperation on RECP was supported by the Swiss Confederation with a US$16 million contribution and ultimately leveraged over US$580 million in direct funding, co-financing and private sector investments.
“I thank Switzerland for its continued strong support; the approach we now pursue will have a significant impact and will be very relevant for inclusive and sustainable industrial development”, said UNIDO Director General LI Yong. “Eco-industrial parks go beyond the provision of production spaces for industries. As it creates beneficial economic results for firms and the surrounding communities, an EIP is where firms and the park as a whole apply resource-efficient and cleaner production to foster responsible investments at the firm, park and community levels.”
The Global EIP Programme will focus on building EIP development capacity at country levels in Colombia, Egypt, Peru, Ukraine and Viet Nam while strengthening the normative and knowledge-based dimensions of EIP at a global level.
Original source: UNDP
Published on 19 July 2019
