China believes in UNIDO, why don’t the rest of us?

Friday, July 12, 2013

Late last month, Li Yong from the People’s Republic of China was elected the new director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization for a four-year term.

Normally, such an event would make little splash in Washington, but the circumstances of this election should be met with interest by both the U.S. government and the development community in general.

The election of Li signifies China’s ambition to broaden its involvement in global development through established international platforms. The development community in the U.S. and abroad should consider closer engagement with China both a reality and a necessity.

With this election, Li has become the first Chinese government official to be elected executive of any major multilateral organization. And out of seven candidates, he emerged as the clear winner, receiving 37 of 53 total votes from member states.

Source: Devex Impact (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Education
Tags
governance