Ambassador Khaddour: Syria is very interested in cooperating  with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Vienna, (ST) – Dr. Hassan Khaddour, Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations Office and International Organizations in Vienna affirmed that Syria attaches great importance to close cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. “It appreciates the efforts it has made in supporting the development of the Syrian industry, and looks forward to further involvement in work and cooperation with Syria, especially in light of the circumstances it has been exposed to since 2011”, he added.

Ambassador Khaddour said in the statement of the Syrian Arab Republic, which he delivered yesterday before the Fiftieth Session of the Industrial Development Council that, the conditions of the terrorist and economic war on Syria have had catastrophic effects on all sectors, especially the industrial sector, as industrial areas have been subjected to systematic and repeated targeting by armed terrorist groups.

Khaddour added that these terrorist group  stole factory machines and their contents and transported them to Turkey and destroyed some of those factories.In addition  all the waste treatment plants resulting from the manufacturing process gradually went out of service, and the number of local industrial and craft facilities decreased significantly.

Ambassador Khaddour said that the border crossings have been greatly affected, as a number of them have been closed due to acts of sabotage and the spread of terrorist groups.

Khaddour indicated that Syria has faced many challenges and hurdles that constitute an obstacle to the development process, and at the forefront of these challenges are the negative effects resulting from the sanctions and the hard economic siege on the Syrian people and the imposition of unprecedented unilateral coercive economic measures. “Those measures that undermined the country’s ability to advance the sector development and industrial development, in particular, in the field of industrial modernization and development”, he said.

Khaddour continued that the Syrian government has dealt with these situations positively and has issued the necessary legislation that meets the emerging needs of society in line with the requirements of sustainable development, and the Syrian government is making distinguished efforts to address the negative consequences of these situations.

Khaddour said that we are looking forward to the supportive and essential role that the Industrial Development Organization “UNIDO” can play in supporting the Syrian government to rebuild the industrial sector as it is the main wheel of development in any country. He added that in this context, we thank the organization for its cooperation with the Syrian government in preparing to launch the “Revitalizing the Agro-Food Industries Sector” project in Syria, where a delegation from the organization visited Syria from 23 to 30-7-2022 to prepare for the launch of this project. 

Khaddour concluded his statement by saying that the government of the Syrian Arab Republic looks forward to establishing  just global partnerships based on respect for the principles of international law and the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in order to support the efforts of the Syrian state institutions. “This matter is important in overcoming all the challenges imposed by the years of terrorist war imposed on it and the new obstacles left by the Covid-19 pandemic, and to achieve sustainable development goals away from politicization”, he added.

Raghda Sawas