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Foreign Minister Maas on the nomination of Federal Minister Gerd Müller as UNIDO Director General
Whilst visiting the US, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas issued the following statement on 13 July on the nomination of Federal Minister Gerd Müller to be the next Director General of the UN Industrial Development Organization:
I sincerely congratulate my Cabinet colleague Gerd Müller on being nominated as the next UNIDO Director General, and am delighted that his candidature was successful. I am certain that, as Director General, Gerd Müller will make a vital contribution to the future direction taken by UNIDO. The election result not only reflects the trust placed in Germany and its leading role in industrial development and processes of transformation, but also underscores the great confidence enjoyed by Germany as a multilateral actor in the international community.
Background information:
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) was established in 1966. Its aim is to promote industrial development in developing countries and in the so‑called transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and to foster their integration into the world economy, as well as improving the environmental soundness and sustainability of processes of industrialisation.
The highest policy-making organ of the Vienna-based organisation is the General Conference, which convenes every two years. The election will be confirmed by the UNIDO General Conference in November. The other candidates apart from Gerd Müller were Arkebe Oqubay of Ethiopia and Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento of Bolivia. Li Yong of China has served as Director General since June 2013. He was confirmed in office for a second four-year term in May 2017.
UNIDO has funds of 144.1 million euro at its disposal for the two years 2020/2021. Voluntary contributions from its members supplement this sum. Germany pays a share of 12%, making it the second-largest donor after Japan.