Minister Bathiudeen was discussing preparations with his officials on the visit of Li Yong, the Director General of UNIDO to Sri Lanka from February 4-5.
“UNIDO Director General Li Yong is arriving here at the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka following the election of President Maithripala Sirsena” said Minister Bathiudeen, and added: “Mr Yong’s arrival in Sri Lanka will not only strengthen their programs here but is also a boost to our industry profile. We discussed about further possibilities of collaboration between Sri Lanka and UNIDO when I met him during my visit to Vienna in November 2014.”
Yong, who is also a member of the high profile international advisory body ‘China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED)’, was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the China Central Bank for a decade. From 1999 to 2002, he was the Secretary General of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He played a key role in China’s cooperation with the World Bank and ADB, and was elected to lead UNIDO in 2013. He arrives in Sri Lanka having addressed the 21st edition of Partnership Summit in Jaipur, India only two weeks before.
“This is a great honour for Sri Lanka” said Nawaz Rajabdeen, Head, UNIDO Focal Point, Colombo, and added:“DG Yong is expected to focus, among others, on agribusiness, productivity through sustainable resource utilization, development of cinnamon and bamboo sectors, cleaner production, livelihood restoration in the former conflict areas, strengthening industrial marketing and promotion of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID), advancing youth entrepreneurship with support for development of micro, small and medium industries remains an important priority in UNIDO's programme of work.”
During his visit, DG Li Yong is scheduled to meet with high officials of the Government of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka was elected as a Member of UNIDO’s Industrial Development Board (IDB) in October 2011 for a three year term and the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to UN in Vienna, Ambassador Azeez, served as its Interim President in 2014.
In the second quarter of 2014, industry sector contributed to 31.4% (totalling $2Bn) of Sri Lanka’s GDP.
