New York, 20-25 September - Marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, this year’s high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly gathered world leaders in an environment marked by political crises and calls for far-reaching organizational reform.
With the changing international trade landscape and global supply chain disruptions looming, industrial development has become a priority both for developed and developing countries. Attending the 80th General Assembly, UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller assured world leaders of UNIDO’s unwavering support for advancing their sustainable development aspirations.
Meeting the President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock, Müller outlined UNIDO’s services in key priority areas aimed at assisting Member States on global economic development issues during her term.
Engaging with leaders of key groups of countries, Director General Müller held consultations with the Chair of the African Union, President João Lourenço of Angola, to advance the Fourth Industrial Development Decade for Africa. In discussions with the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, President Surangel Samuel Whipps Jr. of Palau, Müller reaffirmed UNIDO’s commitment to advancing the SIDS agenda, including through a Ministerial conference in 2026.
Talks with Ukraine’s Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture to pin down concrete next steps to support the country’s industrial recovery. This includes a dedicated investment match-making event during UNIDO’s upcoming General Conference in November being held as the Global Industry Summit 2025, in addition to the ongoing portfolio of programmes already supporting Ukraine.
Müller also held separate meetings with key donors, including government leaders from China and Germany, to discuss how both sides can strengthen cooperation around key initiatives.
As development finance is currently at a crossroads in the current global environment, engaging the private sector for sustainable investments in developing countries was a critical aspect of the Director General’s efforts.
At the UN Global Compact Private Sector Forum, hosted by Secretary-General António Guterres, Müller stressed: “We cannot achieve the SDGs with public financing alone. We don’t need more speeches, we need investments. The private sector must grasp the chance for mutually beneficial opportunities, that is the only way forward for effective change.”
Together with Saudi Arabia, UN Trade and Development, and the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, UNIDO gathered private sector leaders, including Deloitte, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, NVIDIA as well as the World Economic Forum, to showcase AI solutions in industry. The event also saw the announcement of the upcoming launch of the UNIDO Foundation as a new platform to mobilize private sector resources for sustainable economic and industrial development.
During the high-level week, UNIDO also furthered its input to ongoing global climate discussions. As driving actors in the Secretary-General’s Climate Summit 2025, UNIDO, the UN Climate Action Team and the incoming Brazilian Presidency of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) convened a high-level dialogue on industrial decarbonization. The results of the dialogue will inform the proceedings of COP30 in Balem, Brazil.
In addition, this year’s flagship event on Africa, jointly organized by UNIDO, the African Union Commission and other partners, secured high-level political endorsements for the Fourth Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA IV). Alongside the African Union Chair, the AU Commissioner for Industry, African leaders and representatives from partner institutions, the event paved the way for concrete next steps, above all the adoption a General Assembly resolution on IDDA IV.
Müller: “Despite the many current challenges, Africa is the continent of the future. In February, the African Union called for the Fourth Industrial Development Decade for Africa, and UNIDO will be your partner, leading this even stronger engagement. We all believe in the future of Africa, and now is the time to act in the spirit of true partnership and cooperation.
In addition to events held by UNIDO, Director General Müller participated in a panel discussion of the High-level Meeting of the Global Development Initiative, opened by Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. Here wherein he highlighted the necessity of broad-based and innovative partnerships to deliver concrete and lasting results for sustainable development.
Joining the Director General on his mission, Deputy Director General Fatou Haidara represented UNIDO in a number of other key events organized on the margins of the General Assembly, including the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Like-Minded Group for Middle-Income Countries, UN Digital Corporation Day and the Global Coffee Dialogue.
Several bilateral meetings and conversations with leaders, including from Austria, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Hungary, Iceland, Kenya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and with senior UN officials, including the Deputy Secretary-General, OHRLLS, FAO and ITC, reaffirmed the relevance of UNIDO’s work and mandate in tackling today’s global challenges shared by Member States.
For more information, please contact: UNIDO Office New York