PH Assumes Presidency of UNIDO Industrial Development Board
The Presidency of the 47th Industrial Development Board (IDB) was turned over from Spanish Ambassador Senén Florensa Palau (second from left) to Philippine Ambassador to Austria Maria Cleofe R. Natividad (leftmost) during the ceremony held at the Spanish Ambassador’s residence. Also in attendance were United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Director General Li Yong (second from right) and several Permanent Representatives in Vienna. (Vienna PE photo)
AUSTRIA 17 July 2020 – The Presidency of the 47th Session of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Industrial Development Board (IDB) was officially turned over on 14 July 2020 from Ambassador Senén Florensa Palau of Spain to Philippine Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations in Vienna Maria Cleofe R. Natividad. The turnover followed the departure of the Spanish Ambassador last 09 July 2020. The former IDB President earlier hosted a modest ceremony in his residence on 23 June 2020 to announce the change in the IDB leadership.
In taking over the IDB Presidency, Ambassador Natividad will be guiding the Bureau of the 47th session in the preparations for the holding of the 48th IDB session scheduled to take place from 23 to 25 November 2020.
Leading up to the turnover, the Philippines was elected Vice-President of the 47th IDB when the session convened from 01 to 03 July 2019. Ambassador Natividad sat in for the President at certain points of the session and during the resumption of the session on 06 September 2019. The IDB sessions threshed out the Organization’s budget for the biennium 2020-2021, which was successfully endorsed to, and approved by, the 18th UNIDO General Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE from 03 to 07 November 2019. The Philippines was also the Vice-Chair of the Main Committee at the said General Conference.
Ambassador Natividad also represented the outgoing IDB President in a conference with the independent Audit Advisory Committee held on 30 January 2020. The meeting discussed the priorities of the IDB moving forward.
Present during the turnover ceremony were UNIDO Director General Li Yong and other representatives of Permanent Missions in Vienna. END
For more information, visit https://www.viennape.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.at, or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinAustria/, or https://www.twitter.com/PHLinAustria.