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High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries (MICs)

12-14 June 2013 | San José, Costa Rica

Daily web coverage (click on the following links to see our daily web pages)
Highlights for Wednesday, 12 June 2013
MICs High-Level Conference
The High-Level Conference of Middle Income Countries (MICs) opened on 12 June 2013, in San José, Costa Rica. In the morning, delegates heard opening statements from high-level dignitaries, including from President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica, Taizo Nishikawa, Deputy to the Director General of UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and Roberto Gallardo, Costa Rican Minister of Planning. Kevin Casas Zamora, Organization of American States (OAS), provided the keynote address.

In the afternoon, delegates participated in a high-level dialogue on inclusive growth and prosperity, which addressed inclusive solutions for economic growth and sustained prosperity for all in the emerging post-2015 development agenda. The dialogue also addressed the importance of private business, international trade and developing entrepreneurship to create sustained economic growth in MICs.

Delegates also heard special reports on the previous High-Level Conference of MICs held in Spain, El Salvador and Namibia, as well as on the regional preparatory meetings held in Mexico, Belarus and El Salvador and the open dialogues held in the US, Switzerland and Austria. The session concluded with a special event entitled “Meeting Standards – Winning Markets: Consumer safety as a driver for trade and economic growth,” which saw representatives from the public and private sectors discuss consumer safety challenges, and the business and trade opportunities that are presented for MICs.

In the evening, delegates attended a reception hosted by the Government of Costa Rica.
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L-R: Enrique Castillo Barrantes, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica, and Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica, leaving the venue
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The dais during the opening ceremony
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Néstor Osorio Londoño, President, UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
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Taizo Nishikawa, Deputy to the Director-General, UNIDO
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Roberto Gallardo, Minister of Planning, Costa Rica
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Mayi Antillón Guerrero, Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Costa Rica
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Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica
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Enrique Castillo Barrantes, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica
Participants listening to Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla’s speech
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Kevin Casas Zamora, OAS, Former Vice President of Costa Rica
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Master of Ceremonies Qazi Shaukat Fareed, Special Adviser to the Director-General, UNIDO
Participants watched a video message from Enrique Iglesias, Secretary-General, Ibero-American Summit Secretariat

High-Level Dialogue: Inclusive Growth and Prosperity
L-R: Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM); Mayi Antillón Guerrero, Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Costa Rica; Tom Alweendo, Director-General, National Planning Commission, Namibia; Arsenio Balisacan, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, the Philippines; Pongsvas Svasti, Thammasat Business School; and Ludovico Alcorta, Director, Development Policy and Research, UNIDO
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Tom Alweendo, Director-General, National Planning Commission, Namibia
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L-R: Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General, IOM, and Mayi Antillón Guerrero, Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Costa Rica
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Arsenio Balisacan, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, the Philippines
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L-R: Pongsvas Svasti, Thammasat Business School, and Ludovico Alcorta, Director, Development Policy and Research, UNIDO
L-R: Sarwar Hobohm, Director for Strategic Planning, Donor Partnerships and Quality Assurance, UNIDO; Sham L. Bathija, Minister and Senior Economic Adviser to the President, Afghanistan; Roberto Gallardo, Minister of Planning, Costa Rica; and Fabrizio Zarcone, World Bank Resident Representative in San Salvador, El Salvador

Findings of the Regional Preparatory Meetings
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José Guadalupe Saenz Solis, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Economy, Mexico
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Alexander Gurianov, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Belarus
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Luis Alvarez, Vice Minister for Economy, Industry and Commerce, Costa Rica
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Cormac O’Reilly, UNIDO, on behalf of Nasser Judeh, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jordan

National Statements
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Maria Fabiana Loguzzo, Minister Director General for Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Argentina
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Ahmed Sareer, Maldivian Permanent Representative to the UN

Special Event: Meeting Standards - Winning Markets:
Consumer safety as a driver for trade and economic growth
L-R: Bernardo Calzadilla Sarmiento, Director, Trade Capacity-Building Branch, UNIDO; Juliana Salles Almeida, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Mónica Elizondo Andrade, Costa Rican Food Industry Association (CACIA); Alejandra Díaz, Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA); Tarek Abou Bakr, Agriculture Export Council, Egypt; and Carmen Booker, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
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L-R: Tarek Abou Bakr, Agriculture Export Council, Egypt, and Carmen Booker, FDA
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L-R: Bernardo Calzadilla Sarmiento Sarmiento, Director, Trade Capacity-Building Branch, UNIDO, and Juliana Salles Almeida, IDB
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L-R: Mónica Elizondo Andrade, Costa Rican Food Industry Association (CACIA); Alejandra Díaz, IICA
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The delegation from Argentina during the discussion

Reception hosted by the Government of Costa Rica
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Around the venue
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L-R: Ludovico Alcorta, Director, Development Policy and Research, UNIDO, and Heinz Leuenberger, Director, Environmental Management Branch (EMB), UNIDO
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L-R: Kazuki Kitaoka, Joaquin Fuentes-Cardona, and Bernardo Calzadilla Sarmiento, UNIDO
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Participants registering for the meeting
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Support staff
Daily web coverage (click on the following links to see our daily web pages)
Funding for coverage of this meeting has been provided by the UN Development Group (UNDG)
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Related Links
Conference resources

*Conference website

*Conference agenda

*Preparatory events

*Middle-Income Countries

*UNIDO Networks for Prosperity website


IISD RS resources

*Post-2015 Development Agenda Meeting Reporting

*IISD RS summary report of the Arab Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM) on Rio+20 Outcomes, 29-30 May 2013, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) (HTML - PDF)

*IISD RS summary and analysis of the Third session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

*IISD RS summary report of the Leadership Meeting of the Global Thematic Consultation on Environmental Sustainability in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 18-19 March 2013, San José, Costa Rica (HTML - PDF)

*IISD RS summary report of the Asia and Pacific Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM) on Rio+20 Outcomes, 22-24 April 2013, Bangkok, Thailand (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

*IISD RS summary report of the Second session of the UNGA Open Working Group on SDGs, 17-19 April 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

*IISD RS summary report of the First session of the UNGA Open Working Group on SDGs, 14-15 March 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

*IISD RS coverage of the Caribbean Forum: Shaping a Sustainable Development Agenda to address the Caribbean Reality in the 21st Century and Conference on Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Follow-up to the development agenda beyond 2015 and Rio+20, 5-6 and 7-9 of March 2013, Bogotá, Colombia

*IISD RS summary report of the Eighth Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD-8) and Africa Regional Implementation Meeting (Africa-RIM) in preparation for the Twentieth Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable (CSD-20), 19-21 November 2012, UN Conference Centre (UNCC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

*IISD RS coverage of Rio+20: Third PrepCom and the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), 13-22 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

*IISD RS archive of sustainable development meetings

*SDG - A mailing list for news on sustainable development policy

*Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of International Activities Preparing for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development

*SDG - A mailing list focused on internationally-relevant activities related to setting the post-2015 development agenda

*Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Post-2015 Development Agenda Activities

*Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news
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