On September 26, 2017, the Financial Center of South-South Cooperation (FCSSC) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) jointly organized the second “Belt and Road Initiative: Developing Green Economies for Cities” at the United Nations Office in Vienna. During the opening ceremony, FCSSC’s Vice President and Director-General Dr. John Wu, and UNIDO’s Deputy Director-General Mr. Hiroshi Kuniyoshi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on behalf of the two sides to further strengthen cooperation based on constructive discussions. UNIDO’s Director-General Mr. Li Yong, former President of Republic of Austria Mr. Fischer Heinz, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme Dr. Joan Clos, Vice Chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission Mr. Wang Xiaotao, FCSSC’s Deputy Director-General Ms. Jenny Yao and Ms. Joyce Zhang, all witnessed the signing ceremony.
According to the MoU, FCSSC and UNIDO will together contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI), and South-South and Triangular Industrial Cooperation, support UNIDO’s work in organizing BRI urban development conferences, innovative financing strategies, the exchange of experience and technologies among countries of the Global South, and green industrial development. The two parties will meet regularly at appropriate intervals to assess the progress of their cooperation, invite the other Party to send a representative to attend a meeting hosted by them or under their auspices, share resources in certain events or projects, and provide financial support for those events and projects.
In October 2016, FCSSC and UNIDO co-hosted the first “One-Belt-One-Road Inclusive and Sustainable City Exhibition and Dialogue”, aiming to build a platform at municipal levels for development experience sharing, where representatives of different cities would be able to identify solutions to their development challenges and those of their partners by engaging in inter-regional, inter-city dialogue for inclusive and sustainable urban-industrial development.
FCSSC is a non-profit international organization registered and founded in Hong Kong in April 2014. It is an integral platform set under the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Agenda framework, specializing in production capacity cooperation, development experience exchange and financial services, to promote pragmatic cooperation and partnerships among governments of developing countries, private enterprises, multilateral development institutions and international development assistance organizations. In addition, guided by successful models, FCSSC provides comprehensive solution plans for South-South cooperation projects and uses financial services as means to assist countries of the Global South to propel industrialization and achieve sustainable development, in an effort to make valuable contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. FCSSC has been in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations since 2017.
UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Nations with the central role and responsibility of promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation) in developing countries and in countries with economies in transition
