MIPF 2024

Sharing practical knowledge and experiences to advance the 2030 Agenda

UNIDO, together with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Resources (MIM), organized the second edition of the Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum (MIPF 2024) from 23-24 October in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Forum was opened by H.E. Bandar Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia, followed by addresses by UNIDO’s Director General Gerd Müller, the Guest of Honour H.R.H Abdulaziz Bin Salman, Minister of Energy, Saudi Arabia, and H.E. Amadou Oury Bah, Prime Minister, Guinea. The first day of the Forum featured three ministerial roundtables, which focused on advancing an Arab industrial integration strategy, leveraging industrial policy to maximize the impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and harnessing industrial policy to acclerate the graduation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The three high-level round tables focused on MIPF 2024’s guiding themes:

AI, digitalization and automation in manufacturing;
the energy transition and industry transformation, and
resilient and sustainable supply chains.

Economic Diversification and Industrialization

Sectors such as agriculture and mining must be transformed by adding value to raw materials and resources, while also developing new industries that drive job creation, infrastructure development and long-term sustainable growth.

Sustainable Energy and Environmental Responsibility

Sustainability must be integrated into industrial development. All available energy sources must be leveraged to reduce CO2 emissions, mitigate climate change, and drive energy security while fostering industrial growth.

Innovative Technologies to Decouple Growth from Emissions

Innovation is key to addressing global challenges, especially in terms of decoupling economic growth from environmental harm. Decarbonization, hydrogen, AI and circular economy principles are essential for driving sustainable industrialization while reducing carbon footprints.

Empowerment and Inclusiveness for Developing Countries

It is crucial to foster opportunities for developing countries to access markets, technology and investments to support their economic growth.

Promoting Regional Industrial Integration Through Collaboration

By identifying opportunities for collaboration with neighbouring countries, e.g. by aligning with countries such as Egypt with its strong automotive sector and Jordan, with its advanced pharmaceutical sector, Saudi Arabia aims to build complementary industrial value chains that enhance regional supply chains and drive collective growth.
By leveraging free trade agreements (FTAs) and joint investments, Bahrain advocates for creating synergies to align industrial strategies within the GCC, enhance financial support and increase intra-regional trade to unlock the potential for greater economic integration.

Fostering a Competitive Business Environment for Industrial Growth

Oman has cultivated a supportive business climate to drive industrial diversification. Streamlined processes, reduced bureaucracy and competitive land and utility pricing attract investment.

Investment in R&D, Standards and Future-Oriented Industries

Bahrain emphasized the need to address gaps in research and development (R&D), intellectual property and industrial innovation to reduce reliance on imported technology.
Oman and the UAE highlighted the importance of harmonizing standards (e.g. “Made in the Gulf” initiatives) and focusing on high-impact projects such as green hydrogen and advanced manufacturing to align with global trends while creating sustainable jobs for the future.

Empowering Youth and Leveraging Technology for Regional Innovation

Tunisia emphasizes the importance of empowering youth through policies that foster innovation and creativity, particularly by leveraging emerging technologies such as AI and digital solutions.
By creating an environment where young talents can thrive, the entire Arab region can unlock significant potential for growth and innovation, driving regional integration and prosperity.

Strengthening Infrastructure and Technical Cooperation

Sudan is focusing on building robust infrastructure and engaging in technical cooperation with international organizations to improve industrial technology and skills. By linking its resources and capabilities with other Arab nations, Sudan aims to foster regional industrial collaboration, creating opportunities for shared growth and development.

Integrated and Inclusive Policy Frameworks to Achieve the SDGs

Pakistan and China have aligned their industrial strategies with the SDGs, ensuring policy coherence across national and international levels, with a focus on innovation, climate action, inclusive growth and green, low-carbon development to drive global and domestic progress.
Guinea’s recent policy reforrms, including updated investment and mining codes, showcase the importance of improving the regulatory framework and fostering a business-friendly environment to attract investments while supporting agriculture, trade and socio-economic sustainability.

Saudi Arabia’s industrial strategy ensures that industrialization benefits all regions of the country, with 36 industrial cities distributed beyond major hubs. This approach emphasizes equitable development, ensuring no region or segment of society is left behind.

Promoting Local Content and Regional Integration for Sustainable Development

Guinea’s local content laws boost employment, local business opportunities, and skill transfer. By focusing on mining, agriculture, energy, and projects like cross-border railways, Guinea advances industrial growth, regional trade, and sustainable development aligned with the SDGs.
The DRC aims to transform its traditionally extractive mining and agricultural sectors into value-added industries. Through a holistic ecosystem that includes capacity development, financing, market access, and performance monitoring for sustainable growth

Harnessing Natural Resources for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth

Pakistan emphasizes clean energy, sustainable agriculture and green manufacturing, leveraging incentives and global partnerships to reduce carbon emissions and enhance resource efficiency.
Guinea’s Vision 2040 leverages hydropower, mining and agriculture while supporting SMEs to build a resilient and inclusive industrial sector that drives economic development.

Empowering Youth and Community-Centric Industrial Development

The DRC and Pakistan focus on empowering their youth by fostering entrepreneurship, providing comprehensive training, and prioritizing technological skill development alongside access to finance. These efforts aim to drive job creation, promote inclusive growth, and enable meaningful contributions from youth, women and marginalized groups.
Saudi Arabia prioritizes skill enhancement through partnerships with vocational and technical institutes, offering specialized training programmes linked to employment opportunities. Continuous education, on-the-job training, and targeted skill development ensure that the workforce remains competitive and aligned with industry advancements.

Technological Advancements and Innovation-Driven Industrial Growth

China is promoting digitalization and the intelligent transformation of industrial production in line with sustainability objectives to enhance global integration while promoting open markets and liberalizing sectors such as telecommunications.
Saudi Arabia is focusing on fostering technological innovation and developing high-tech sectors such as aerospace, electric vehicles and renewable energy. Initiatives include sector-specific innovation centres, enhanced financing for technology-driven businesses, and talent development, all aligned with Vision 2030 to diversify the economy and achieve sustainable growth.

Investing in Localization and International Partnerships

Prioritizing localization through robust local partnerships and the development of local industries is crucial to achieving sustainable growth. Empowering LDCs to transition into LICs accelerates their economic development, offers significant returns for the countries as well as for global investors and fosters long-term economic stability, creating the foundation for shared prosperity.
Strengthening local industries, reducing bureaucratic barriers and promoting multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential for LDCs to grow. Encouraging investors and the private sector to move beyond traditional investment approaches and actively engage with opportunities in LDCs unlocks untapped potential, driving transformative growth on a global scale and benefiting all mutually.

Industrialization as a Catalyst for Sustainable Growth

Madagascar is harnessing its natural resources to transform its economy and pursue industrialization. The recently concluded Industrialization Pact between the public and private sectors aims to reduce import dependency (currently 80%) and enhance local production in key sectors such as agri-food, textiles and energy to build a self-reliant and sustainable economic framework.
Bhutan’s successful transition from an LDC to MIC is based on the country’s holistic development approach which prioritizes “Gross National Happiness”. The country integrated economic growth with environmental sustainability and social well-being, shaping industrial policies that emphasize inclusive and sustainable progress, and that serve as a model for balanced development.
Bhutan invested in renewable energy, particularly hydropower, to accelerate industrial growth while providing affordable, clean energy to rural areas. The country also focused on expanding exports, using the revenues generated to reinvest in social sectors including health and education, thereby improving social outcomes.

Data-Driven Policies to Attract Investment

Madagascar is reforming its legal and regulatory frameworks, including its investment and industrial development laws, to rebuild trust and attract investments. The government is prioritizing the collection of reliable data to inform sustainable policies, boost investor confidence and establish measurable benchmarks for progress. This data-driven approach will address sector-specific challenges and guide industrialization efforts, paving the way for long-term economic growth and resilience.

Building Global Competitiveness Through Education, Infrastructure, and Technology

Madagascar is enhancing its business climate by improving financial accessibility, investing in critical infrastructure and energy, and upgrading workforce skills through education and training. The integration of modern technologies, including AI, is central to accelerating industrial and economic transformation.
A key contributor to global education, Russia supports students worldwide through university scholarships and specialized training programmes. These programmes are complemented by private sector initiatives that focus on building technical expertise in fields such as energy and IT, fostering innovation and equipping young professionals with the skills needed to advance in emerging industries.

Navigating Post-Graduation Challenges for Sustainable Development

Bhutan’s experience transitioning from LDC status underscores the importance of adaptive strategies and sustained support to manage new challenges. The loss of trade benefits, such as duty-free and quota-free access, necessitates robust policies to compete in a more demanding global market. Maintaining post-graduation incentives inlcuding favourable trade conditions and access to technology is crucial to ensure continued progress and sustainable development, minimizing setbacks while stimulating further advancement.

Side Event: Capabilities 4 the Future Hub

The CAP4FUTURE Hub is an innovative initiative that aims to create a collaborative space for government agencies, private sector stakeholders and educational institutions to facilitate transitions towards sustainable industrial practices. Launched by UNITAR in partnership with UNIDO and UNSDSN, the Hub addresses the critical need for access to quality learning and capacity development for policymakers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in particular. By creating a platform for knowledge sharing and training coordination, the Hub seeks to enhance inclusive industrial policies that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), foster collaboration and ensure that all stakeholders are equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in a rapidly evolving economic landscape.

1. Collaborative Space for Transition Management

The Hub aims to be a collaborative platform that brings together key stakeholders from government, industry and academia to support the establishment of cohesive industrial policies that enhance resilience and sustainability across supply chains based on shared learning. Strengthening local industries, reducing bureaucratic barriers and promoting multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential for LDCs to grow. Encouraging investors and the private sector to move beyond traditional investment approaches and actively engage with opportunities in LDCs unlocks untapped potential, driving transformative growth on a global scale and benefiting all mutually.

Support for Coherent Industrial Policies

The Hub responds to calls for greater coherence in government regulations and industrial policies that support businesses in navigating the evolving industrial landscape, enhancing their operational efficiency and fostering compliance with emerging regulations and environment, social and governance (ESG) standards.

SMEs and Sector-Specific Initiatives

Recognizing the challenges faced by smaller enterprises across different sectors, the Hub emphasizes the need to provide tailored capacity development resources to promote the adoption of green and digital skills, aligning training with market demands and ensuring that SMEs gain access to essential skills and knowledge.

Global Knowledge Sharing

The initiative seeks to promote knowledge-sharing between countries to enhance regional integration and support multilateral policy coordination to achieve sustainable industrial development. This will enable stakeholders to collaboratively develop and implement effective industrial policies that are sensitive to local contexts and challenges.

Side Event: Agenda for the Global Development Initiative Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (GDI PartNIR) Roundtable

The session focused on the joint implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) by UNIDO and the China Center for Industry Development (CCID) and fostering partnerships for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to foster sustainable development. The integration of advanced technologies such as AI, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) presents both opportunities and challenges, particularly in addressing digital divides and promoting equality. The need for global collaboration to enable inclusive industrialization, particularly in developing nations, through technology transfer, the provision of training, green innovations, resource efficiency and the promotion of the circular economy were highlighted.

Harnessing the 4IR for Development

The integration of advanced technologies offers opportunities for transforming industries and economies but requires proactive efforts to bridge digital divides and reduce global inequalities.

Global Partnerships Are Essential

Collaboration among government, international organizations, the private sector, academia and civil society is critical to realizing the potential of the GDI and achieving sustainable industrial transformation.

Focus on Inclusivity and Capacity Development

Initiatives such as technology transfers and specialized training in AI and robotics are essential for equipping developing countries to leapfrog traditional industrial methods and create inclusive job opportunities, especially for youth and women.

Sustainability as a Core Principle

Emphasizing green technologies, the circular economy and resource efficiency in industrial practices aligns with global goals for sustainability and resilience, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering long-term industrial growth.