​​​​​​The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have today forged a partnership to work together to fast forward the Sustainable Development Goals.

The partnership was formalized through the signing in Geneva of a Joint Declaration by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao and UNIDO Director General Yong Li on 'the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular industrialization, infrastructure development and innovation.'

The partnership is designed to strengthen country-level collaboration between ITU, the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership of over 700 private sector entities and academic institutions, and UNIDO, the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.

The two agencies will collaborate to realize concrete contributions to global, regional and national efforts toward achieving SDG9, in particular through action plans that are designed to attract public-private partnerships and investment.

"This new collaboration between ITU and UNIDO represents a strong determination from both our organizations to deliver measurable and sustainable solutions at country level towards achieving the SDGs, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, industry and innovation" said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.

Director General of UNIDO, Young Li added: This partnership will fast track the realization of SDG9 and has the potential to deliver real benefits to industry, including small-to-medium sized enterprises from emerging economies."

Key areas of cooperation will include supporting the development of innovative policies, actions, standards and technologies to: connect the worlds unconnected, create jobs, enable efficient natural resource and e-waste management, facilitate product interoperability, reduce the digital and gender divides, and support growth of SMEs.