Participants at the on-going the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO Ministerial Conference have agreed that to enhance industrial development in Latin America and the Caribbean, regional integration must be reinforced. Collectively, they said countries can deal with structural problems such as deficient infrastructure, insufficiently qualified workers, and low levels of investment in research and development, innovation, a low level of competitiveness and productivity and the excessive time needed to create new businesses. The participants also noted that advancements in these areas are essential for regional industrial development, adding that contribution of innovation and technology transfer to sustainable industrial development cannot be overemphasized. A statement by UNIDO further informed that the participants identified industrial production and trade for inclusive to the sustainable economic growth in the region. It said over 30 ministers and vice ministers of industry from the region are attending the conference in Peru where they maintained that the role of UNIDO remain crucial to sustainable industrial development of the region. According to the Director General of UNIDO, LI Yong, “there is a growing consensus that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean need to develop pro-active industrial policies on the national and regional level, and UNIDO is ready to support them in this”. “The region has a huge potential to advance economically in the next decades. Its natural resources, population, labour force and regional market will only strengthen the power of the region regarding its economic, political and cultural integration”, he added. Participants also noted that manufacturing’s share of the region’s GDP has gone down over recent decades due to financial liberalization, competitive imports, national and regional structural problems and the low level of direct investment in productive activities. Similarly, speakers suggested that what is needed today is the diversification of the productive structure, especially in the context of the new demands created by the pursuit of sustainability, the promotion of technological progress and the reinforcement of social inclusion. They also argued that diversification will make production more knowledge-intensive, and generate positive effects on productivity, competitiveness and decent job creation. The statement further informed that there was agreement that the region must also promote structural change, pointing out that more diversified and complex economies are more resistant in moments of difficulty and uncertainty. The participants added that the active role of the State is essential to foster industrialization, with investment directed to the provision of public goods and social policies.
↧