CIDCA inks cooperation documents with UN agency, Ethiopia on GDI implementation

On Feb 19, a joint declaration for tripartite cooperation was signed remotely between the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ethiopia. CIDCA Chairman Luo Zhaohui, UNIDO Director General Gerd Muller, and Ethiopian Minister of Trade and Industry Melaku Alebel signed the document on behalf of their respective sides. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was present for the signing. Luo also signed a joint declaration with Muller on promoting the full implementation of the China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI).

Luo extended his congratulations on the signing of the tripartite cooperation document at the beginning of the Chinese New Year. He said that China's leadership sent a congratulatory message to the recently-concluded African Union summit held in Ethiopia, signaling the mutual support between China and Africa for each other's modernization explorations and the joint building of a China-Africa community with a shared future. The signing was a practice of implementing the GDI and turned a new page for China-Africa common development, which is also conducive to the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the China-proposed Initiative on Supporting Africa's Industrialization and the Plan for China Supporting Africa's Agricultural Modernization, aiming to accelerate the socioeconomic development of African countries, Luo noted. He raised his hope that the three parties will strengthen coordination and strive for early harvest in cooperation to benefit developing countries and their people with tangible outcomes.

In their addresses, Abiy, Muller and Alebel lauded China's contributions to promoting the GDI and the UN 2030 agenda, saying that China played a leading role in promoting global development, and an important role in helping African countries including Ethiopia fight against poverty and  epidemic, and achieve food security and industrial development. They all pledged to work with the CIDCA to turn the consensus into pragmatic outcomes at an early date.

The tripartite declaration, the CIDCA's first tripartite cooperation document with a UN agency and an African country, entails the establishment of demonstration centers focusing on such areas as agriculture, livestock and green development, and is open for all African countries for "small yet smart" assistance projects. It bears great significance in implementing the GDI in an innovative way, reforming and improving global governance, and enriching China's traditional development assistance model.

The joint declaration between the CIDCA and the UNIDO is China's first comprehensive official document signed with a UN agency with the objective of implementing the GDI. The UNIDO has become the first UN agency to formally joint the Global Development Promotion Center Network. The two sides also reached consensus on future cooperation planning and cooperation on specific projects.