Bangladesh has been elected as a member of the Industrial Development Board (IDB), which is one of the two main policy-making bodies of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The official declaration on the election came this morning at the 17th session of the General Conference of UNIDO in Vienna of Austria, which began today and will continue till December 1, according to a message received from Bangladesh mission in Vienna.

IDB, which comprises of fifty-three members elected for a four-year term, meets annually, reviews the work programme and the regular and operational budget of UNIDO, and makes recommendations to the UNIDO General Conference.

Bangladesh has been elected to serve for the 2017-2021 term, along with five other countries from the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) namely the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Iran, India and Pakistan.

Bangladesh’s election is expected to provide the country the opportunity to contribute to UNIDO’s policy-making and programme more actively, particularly for effective implementation of SDG 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation).