Open DialogueIn preparation for the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries in

San Jose, Costa Rica (12-14 June 2013)

“Challenges for Sustainable Development and International Cooperation in Middle-Income Countries: The Role of Networks

for Prosperity”

Briefing

Date: March 6th, 2013

Place: Delegates Dining Room UN Headquarters

Panels:•“Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015”•“Challenges for Sustainable Development and International Cooperation in Middle-Income Countries: The Role of Networks for Prosperity”

Participants: 90 people 53 countries 13 organizations

Objective: to arrive to a set of recomendations for the MICs Conference

Findings

• New geography of poverty. 65% poors live in MICs. Any policy has to take into account this reality. MICs to play important role in the development agenda

• No more business as usual in order to achieve three dimensions of sustainable development. Current patterns of production and consumption are unsustainable. Huge economic gains when increasing resource efficiency in production (USD 3-9 b.)

• In order to address current realities of MICs and other developing countries, international development cooperation itself has to change. New actors such as governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia, and foundations, are about to leverage development outcomes through knowledege and other assets.

• UNIDO connectedness expertise remains relevant in the Post-2015 development agenda. Mere access to knowledge through effective networking does not equal action (ability to integrate and master new knowledge, and act on it). Need to bild up absorptive capacities.

Findings

• UNIDO´s Networks for Prosperity Initiative and Green Industry Platform can provide the foundation for a new innovative industrial policy built on the network approach. Costa Rican experience valuable example to learn from

• Importance of private sector development and sustainable industrial development in MICs. Reaffirmed significance of South-South, Triangular and traditional cooperation for these purposes

• Welcomed the initiative of Costa Ricato host a MIC Conference. Pledged support for the Conference and requested other countries to join into the endeavour

• Further work needs to be done to fully operationalize network governance. Participants asked UNIDO to redouble efforts in prividing data and analytical inputs to advance in n.g.in te areas of environmental sustainability and sustainable economic growth in MICs

Findings

• Importance of knowledge network that supports private sector development and industrial development environmentally sustainable. This should be one of the pillars of UNIDO´s work

• MIC´s special concerns need to be reflected int he Post-2015 development agenda, building on the Madrid, El Salvador, Windhoek and Manila meetings. A series of global/regional MIC policy dialogues should be created

• The Open Dialogue recognized the challenges ahead and the unfinished agenda of private sector development and sustainable industrial development in MICs and welcomed the planned series of Open Dialogues to prepare the key themes of the MIC Conference

Conclusions

• Active engagement from Permanent Missions and international organizations in the efforts undertaken by the Government of Costa Rica

• Relevance of topics has been highlighted by participants• Confirmations

Conclusions

• Active engagement from Permanent Missions and international organizations in the efforts undertaken by the Government of Costa Rica

• Relevance of topics has been highlighted by participants• Confirmations