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The blueprint of an action plan to promote south-south cooperation with countries of Africa will be drawn up soon by the UNIDO Centre For South-South Industrial Cooperation (UCSSIC), following deliberations of the 5-day International Conference on India-Africa Cooperation on Industry, Trade and Investment, jointly organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in cooperation with the Government of India, under the aegis of the recently established UCSSIC, which concluded here on 14th September. The selected industry sectors for cooperation would include cluster development, pharmaceuticals, low cost housing and building materials, renewable energy, leather, ICT applications in industry, food processing and traditional knowledge and traditional medicines. Participants from 13 African countries said they had learnt a lot about India’s industrial experience over the last five days, and evinced particular interest in cluster development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while participating in the valedictory session of the Conference dedicated to the memory of Prof. Sanjaya Lall which was chaired by Shri Ajay Shanker, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Government of India and addressed by Shri N.N. Prasad, Joint Secretary/DIPP; Mr. Philippe Scholtes, Representative and Regional Director of UNIDO; Shri Anthony de Sa, Director/UCSSIC; representatives of UNCTAD/ITC, and participating civil servants and private sector business representatives of the 13 countries of Africa.

Describing the deliberations as productive and useful, Shri Ajay Shanker said it had helped create a critical mass of interaction and personal relationships which needed to be built upon to carry the process of south-south cooperation forward. He also underlined the need and space for creative industrial policies and programmes, which would lead to results. Shri Prasad stressed the need for developing on the momentum generated by the event through country-specific action plans and monitoring of the progress. Mr. Scholtes spoke of the interest being expressed by developing countries to share best practices for industrial development and said that UNIDO was setting up a global network of south-south centres, which included the UCSSIC set up earlier this year in India, as well as the centre proposed to be established soon in China. He said the Conference marked the first step in the road to stronger trade and industrial relations with Africa, brokered by UNIDO.

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RJ/MRS
(Release ID :31274)