Stories by Franklin Alli

The UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) says industrial policy in the years 2015 and beyond should be rooted in the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.

Ulla Heher, Post-2015 Strategic Planning Coordinator at UNIDO, said as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have been the global benchmark for development progress since their adoption in 2000, expire in 2015, right now, the international development community is considering what happens next.

“For many developing countries, accelerating the transformation of their productive structures is increasingly an integral part of their strategies for achieving inclusive and sustainable development.

“This is supported by the fact that almost one-third of manufacturing value added is now created in developing countries, up from under 20 percent about 15 years ago. In fact, the real question about industrial policy in the years beyond 2015 is not whether but how it should be practiced to best strengthen the global approach to development,” he said.

According to him, so far, preparations have included an array of thematic, national and regional consultations bringing the UN system together with a broad range of development partners; the report of a high-level panel of eminent persons appointed by the UN Secretary-General; intergovernmental discussions on sustainable development arising out of the Rio+20 conference; and countless initiatives from the grassroots up.

“All of these are aimed at informing the multilateral negotiations kicking off at the UN General Assembly in the fall 2014.  It is no secret that the MDGs, despite their undoubted successes, suffered from shortcomings.

“In particular, they had little to say about the means by which they should be achieved. As an organisation dedicated to achieving prosperity through inclusive and sustainable industrial development, it was especially apparent to the UNIDO that this aspect was sadly lacking.

It is ironic that, while in the 1990s industrial development fell out of fashion in the so-called “North” due to the hike in the services sector and the prevailing gospel of  Washington Consensus policies, at the very same time industrialisation was slashing poverty rates in East and South Asia.

In fact, it is largely through industry that MDG Goal 1 – to halve extreme poverty and hunger – will be met at the global level.”