Industry and Technology as Accelerators of Progress towards Sustainable Development

Industry and Technology as Accelerators of Progress towards Sustainable Development

              By

      Dr. Babatunde A. Ahonsi, UN Resident Coordinator in Türkiye

       Visionary Talk delivered on Friday, 23 August 2024 in Ankara to the Senior Staff of the Ministry of Industry & Technology, Türkiye 

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Introduction

The United Nations in Turkey draws on a long-standing relationship of trust with the Government and people of Turkiye, a founding member of the UN. With its strong capacity in country and links to regional networks and entities; a solid track record of convening diverse stakeholders; and working across development and humanitarian issues in country, the United Nations in Türkiye, through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework – UNSDCF (2021—2025), works with the Government of Turkey and other partners to address the challenges to achieving the national development priorities in line with the SDGs. 

Overview of the United Nations’ Mission and Structure

The United Nations is a multilateral institution founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 member states, the UN and its mission are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. While the UN has evolved over the years to adjust to a rapidly changing world, it remains the one place where all the countries of the world can gather, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. 

The Four Pillars of the UN derive from the Preamble of the UN Charter namely:

1. Peace and Security
2. Human Rights
3. The Rule of Law
4. Development

These pillars are interconnected. One cannot be fully achieved without achieving all of them. Focusing on the development aim of the UN, the Charter mandates the organization “to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” 

The main components of development are:

1. Living a long and healthy life
2. Being educated
3. Having a decent standard of living
4. Having the freedom to participate in the life of one’s community

Development is ultimately about expanding human potential and human rights. So, development is more than just raising income levels. It cannot occur without freedom from misery, hunger, illiteracy, and disease since people who live in extreme poverty lack choices. Human rights are key when we recognize that everyone should have the same opportunities to develop to their full potential. In addition, development is undermined or frozen when violent conflict breaks out. To the extent that development can be negatively impacted by conflict, so can the lack of development lead to war. This point underpins the UN SG’s Prevention Agenda.

The UN has six principal organs namely, the General Assembly (GA), the Security Council (SC), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretariat.

Five of the UN’s six principal organs—the GA, the SC, ECOSOC, the Trusteeship Council, and the UN Secretariat—are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague, the Netherlands.

The General Assembly is the main organ of the UN. It is composed of representatives from all Member States. Each Member State has one vote. The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, with 5 permanent members (USA, Russia, China, France and UK) each of which has veto power. All Member States are expected to comply with SC decisions. 

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the place where the world’s economic, social, and environmental challenges are discussed and debated. ECOSOC is the organ most associated with achieving the development goal of the UN. It is responsible for coordinating the development mandates of 14 UN specialized agencies and five regional commissions. In addition, ECOSOC consults with academics, business representatives, and thousands of non-governmental organizations within civil society.

The Trusteeship Council was established to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories. For example, the Trusteeship Council oversaw that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government or independence.  The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the UN. The Court is charged with settling legal disputes between States and providing advisory opinions. Finally, the UN Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of the UN. The UN Secretariat services the other principal organs of the UN and administers their programmes and policies.

The UN system, which, in addition to the UN Secretariat, comprises many funds, programmes and specialized agencies, each of which have their own area of work, leadership and budget. The programmes and funds are financed through voluntary rather than assessed contributions.

It should be noted that the UN is neither a supra-State nor a government of governments. It does not have an army, and it does not levy taxes. It depends on the political will and contributions of its Member States to carry out its activities.

UN Development System (UNDS)-Türkiye Partnerships

Presently, the six areas of focus in the UN’s partnerships with the GoT as articulated in the UNSDCF are: social inclusion; empowerment of women and girls; migration, international protection and harmonisation; competitive production, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and decent work for all; good governance; and climate change, sustainable environment, and liveable cities. The underlying driving orientation is LNOB, that is, ensuring that economic progress, social transformation, and technological advances benefit all segments of society especially the furthest behind subpopulations and communities. 

The question might arise as to what the UNDS is doing in a strong, upper-middle income country like Türkiye.  The answer lies in the fact that like other countries of the world including HICs, Turkiye is not on track towards achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability by 2030 as committed to in September 2015 when 193 Heads of State signed up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs. The 2030 Agenda is the most comprehensive blueprint ever adopted for eliminating extreme poverty, reducing inequality, and protecting the planet. Through this Agenda, the world pledged to ensure sustained and inclusive economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection, fostering peaceful, just, and inclusive societies through strong global partnership. Yet, according to the 2024 SDGs Report, only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are on track. Progress on over one-third has stalled or even regressed.

For Türkiye, since the early 2020s the development landscape has been altered by multiple crises including the Covid-19 pandemic, the protracted Syrian crisis, the war in Ukraine, Türkiye’s domestic economic difficulties, and the twin earthquakes in 2023. These crises have compromised some of the past gains towards the achievement of the SDGs. 

But we do know that with sustained investments in digital, energy, food systems, climate-related, and educational transformations, accelerated progress towards the SDGs can be made by Türkiye by 2030. And the Ministry of Industry and Technology (MoIT) given its mandate can make important contributions to such progress. UN entities’ past and ongoing collaborations with the Ministry are therefore informed by this realization.

UN Global Agenda for Competitiveness, Industrial Development and Innovation 

Technology and innovation have emerged as powerful catalysts for sustainable development in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape. Hence, SDG 8 aims to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. But like the rest of the world, Türkiye is facing significant challenges in achieving SDG 8, the SDG for which the MoIT is the responsible government entity. Equally relevant to the Ministry’s mandate is SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure. And both SDGs 8 & 9 depend on progress towards SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy as well as SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.

Some of the notable challenges bedeviling the progress towards these interconnected SDGs include lack of competitiveness and productivity, limited innovative skills, persistent unemployment, and informal labour markets which pose hurdles to inclusive economic growth. 

Additionally, technological advancements such as automation and artificial intelligence have raised concerns about job displacement and the exacerbation of existing inequalities. To effectively address these challenges, harnessing technology and innovation becomes crucial.

How to accelerate progress towards SDGs 8, 9 and other related SDGs:

1. Bridging the Digital Divide: Closing the digital divide is paramount to ensure equal access to technological tools and resources. The central and provincial governments, NGOs, and private entities must collaborate to provide affordable and accessible internet connectivity, infrastructure, and digital literacy programs to underserved communities, particularly in less developed provinces and regions.
2. Skill Development and Training: Emphasizing skill development initiatives that equip individuals with the necessary digital skills for the evolving job market is essential. Government, educational institutions, and the private sector should invest in vocational training programs, coding boot camps, and upskilling initiatives to enable workers to adapt to changing technological landscapes.
3. Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Encouraging entrepreneurship and fostering innovation can drive job creation and economic growth. Government should continue to create and sustain the enabling environment by simplifying regulations, offering financial incentives, and supporting startups and small businesses to leverage technology for sustainable economic development.
4. Investment in productivity and competitiveness: Deployment of Industry 4.0 approach, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, is a key advancement. It includes such areas as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, automation, and data monitoring and analysis. This revolution in industry already has and will continue to have a significant impact on the national economies and the global economy, and its importance will continue to grow with technological advancements. 
5. Sustainable use of resources: Focusing on innovative solutions that can allow for the reduction of negative industrial impact on the environment is vital. By automating production processes, energy and raw material consumption can be reduced, and with production process monitoring systems, leaks and other environmental hazards can be detected more quickly. Industry 4.0 can also contribute to the development of new renewable energy technologies and sustainable raw material sources.

UN collaboration with Turkiye’s Ministry of Industry and Technology (MoIT) 

The Ministry of Industry and Technology (MoIT) is one of the key partners of the UN in Türkiye in terms of enhancing competitiveness, industrial development, innovation and decent work for all. 

Through the financial support of various donors/instruments (EU, GEF, Government of Japan etc.), the UN primarily through UNIDO and UNDP have jointly implemented various programmes and projects in Türkiye. In addition, as part of the Türkiye’s SSTC efforts to support low-income countries’ economic development, the MoIT remains a key partner to the realization of the mission of the Istanbul-based, Türkiye-promoted UN Technology Bank for LDCs. 

Firstly, UNIDO is contributing to gender equality and women’s empowerment by:

• implementing gender-specific training and mentoring programs to promote female innovators, entrepreneurs, and start-ups, aiming to reduce systemic constraints hindering women's economic empowerment.

UNIDO is also collaborating with MoIT and allied organizations in support of:

• the adoption of clean technology by start-ups and entrepreneurs
• strengthening the capacity of the leather industry for eco-friendly production
• promoting the adoption of modern bio-energy technologies in the agro-industry
• facilitating compliance with global and regional green standards by companies in the refrigeration servicing and air conditioning sector 

Secondly, UNDP is enhancing Competitive Production, Productivity, and Decent Work for All by:

• providing tailored business support services to cooperatives and entrepreneurs, particularly focusing on women,
• offering financial and advisory support for the digital transformation of SMEs,
• supporting the integration of innovation services in organized inductrial zones (OIZs),
• establishing Innovation and Applied SME Capability Centers in Mersin, Adana, İzmir and Gaziantep to improve technical capacities and productivity; and
• creating job opportunities for Syrians under Temporary Protection (SuTP) through job-matching with employers as well as covering start-up costs for entreprenurs.

UNDP is also addressing the priority of Climate Change, Sustainable Environment, and Livable Cities by: 

• conducting energy audits and replacing electrical motors with energy-efficient ones for SMEs, thereby promoting energy efficiency and the sustainable management of environmental resources.

As affiliated entities to the Ministry of Industry and Technology, particular Development Agencies are also key partners of the UN and have been implementing various flagship projects in the field on grant schemes, integrated rural development, and local economic development. 

Thirdly, IOM and UNIDO, together with TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) under the Ministry of Industry and Technology, will soon launch a Joint UN Programme on Supporting Migrants’ Inclusion in Türkiye’s Transition to a Green Economy in the context of the MPTF on Migration. 

Finally, the UN TechBank for LDCs which was established in 2016 and became operational in 2018 with take-off funding by the GoT has with great support from the MoIT been deploying technology needs assessment, technology transfer, and capacity building to enable several LDCs (including Niger, Malawi, Nepal, The Gambia, and Rwanda) to improve their:

1. Agriculture and food systems, via, e.g, improved post-harvest loss management
2. Environment, climate change and resilience, e.g. via adoption and application of sustainable housing construction technologies 
3. Health, e.g. via food safety management capacity building; and
4. Education and digital skills development, through, e.g., industrial design education and biotechnology research policy training programs 

Possible Areas for Future UN-MoIT Collaboration

Given the sustainability imperative that should drive Turkiye’s quest for enhanced economic competitiveness and avoidance of the middle-income trap in the coming years, UN-MoIT may need to focus more on:

• increasing AI adoption and utilization in the renewable energy and agro-industrial sectors
• given the prevailing deficit in HR to achieve the above, increasing STEM graduates as a proportion of all graduates
• strengthening green transition efforts around added value chains
• structuring digital transition efforts towards increasing economic productivity and competitiveness.    

In line with the 12th National Development Plan, the overall goal of efforts around the green and digital transitions must be growing high quality and decent jobs with a view to increasing the standard of living and quality of life of all citizens. 

Concluding Remarks

The Republic of Türkiye is a founding member of the UN and has been a longstanding supporter of the UN as the nucleus of the multilateral system. It has maintained constructive, fruitful, and forward-looking relations with the UN at the global, regional, and country levels. All UN agencies, funds and programmes in the country will continue collectively and individually to work hard and work smart in accompanying the government to actualize its aspirations for Türkiye to be a developed and high-income country that benefits for all citizens and residents, leaving no one behind.