TEHRAN – Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, has been elected as the vice president of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

According to Fars, Gharibabadi was elected as the UNIDO vice president during a session of the body in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. 

The election was held in presence of delegations from member states. 

At the beginning of the meeting, UNIDO board of directors were elected for a two-year term.

Headed by Gharibabadi, the Iranian delegation was made up of Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Barat Qobadian and Director General of the ministry’s office for industrial property Seyed Mehdi Mirsalihi.

The 18th session of the General Conference of the UNIDO in the UAE will wrap up on November 7.

The General Conference is UNIDO’s supreme policy making organ where all member states meet once every two years. 

It determines the guiding principles and policies of the organization, and approves the budget and work program of UNIDO. 

Every four years, the general conference appoints the director-general.

Since becoming a specialized agency, the UNIDO General Conference was hosted away from its Vienna headquarters only three times: in Bangkok, Thailand (1987); in Yaoundé, Cameroon (1993); in Lima, Peru (2013); and now in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2019). 

The General Conference will be preceded by UNIDO’s least developed countries (LDCs) ministerial conference, which will also be hosted in Abu Dhabi.

Early in July, Iran's permanent delegation to Vienna, in a statement read out at the 47th UNIDO meeting, lashed out at Washington for adopting unfair policies to hinder development in developing countries.

The statement also welcomed the joining of the new members, Palestine in particular, to UNIDO and asked UNIDO's secretariat to help industrial development of Palestine.

Iran expresses satisfaction over UNIDO programs in helping developing countries to attaining their industrial goals, it said.

MH/PA