UNIDO becomes largest provider of trade-related technical assistance

New Delhi, Aug 5 (UNI) The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has become the largest provider of trade-related technical assistance among UN organisations, a study says.

The UN body assists developing countries to achieve sustainable industrial development and reduce poverty by helping the poor to earn an income and improve their quality of life, according to Doha Development Agenda trade capacity building database. It has been prepared jointly by World Trade Organisation and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) an international organisation of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy.

UNIDO's trade capacity building focuses specifically on helping countries and their enterprises to take part in international trade by assisting them to produce competitive goods that conform to international standards.

Globalisation and market liberalisation provide great opportunities for developing countries and economies in transition to trade their way out of poverty, the study said. But at the same it admits that benefits from open markets do not come automatically.

Benefits, the study says, depend on the ability of enterprises to enter into global production and supply value chains. This means that these enterprises must be competitive not only in terms of price and quantity but also in respect of quality, reliability of supplies, and conformity to the buyer's standards.

Through its trade-capacity building programme, UNIDO seeks to help developing countries to reap the benefits of international trade by increasing ''competitiveness of industries, conformity of manufactured goods to international standards, and connectivity of exporters to global markets.'' In India, UNIDO promotes trade-capacity building by assisting to set up technical infrastructure required to be competitive and strengthen key export sectors that need support services. To achieve this objective, UNIDO has launched a number of projects to promote standards, metrology, testing and quality (SMTQ), a system for defining quality standards and verifying their compliance, the UN body said in a statement.

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