United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which was established in 1985 and assists countries in economic and industrial development. It is headquartered at the UN Office in Vienna, Austria. UNIDO, currently, has 172-member countries and works mainly with the governments, business associations and private companies in developing countries, and in many parts of the world. UNIDO has investment and technology development offices as well as national and  regional offices around the world, with a permanent presence in over 60 countries, to advance its goals.

The goals of UNIDO

• Eliminating poverty through productive activities
• Trade capacity building: Empowering the developing countries to produce competitive products in accordance with the international standards.
• Energy and Environment: UNIDO is a leading provider of services to improve industrial energy efficiency and to upgrade the renewable energy sources.

UNIDO’s areas of assistance

• Investing & promoting technology
• Industrial competition & trade
• Research & statistics
• Promoting & developing private sectors
• Agricultural industry
• Sustainable energy & climate changes (Kyoto Protocol)
• Reduction of Ozone depleting gases (Montreal Protocol)
• Environment Management
• Cooperation of financial institutions

Iran’s comprehensive cooperation program with UNIDO

In 1999, a comprehensive program was prepared with the aim of increasing the share of the non-oil sector in the country’s economy and supporting the sustainable development of competitive industries, jobs creation, income generating and reducing livelihood difficulties in Iran based on the following five pivots:

• Developing Essential capacities to promote private sector development and support small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
• Assisting the renovation of Iran’s agricultural industries
• Promoting administrative frameworks to increase investment
• Enhancing the competitiveness of Iranian industries by refurbishing and rewriting the laws and regulations
• Optimizing energy consumption at national level of national and in selected industries

UNIDO and Iran’s petrochemical industry:

Due to the availability of existing capacity in Iran's petrochemical industry, constructive cooperation and interaction exists with UNIDO in the field of optimization of energy consumption (under the Kyoto Protocol) in petrochemical facilities, aiming to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by using the experiences of successful international companies.