COMPETITIVENESS AND DIVERSIFICATION IN A PETROLEUM-RICH ECONOMY FOCUS OF CONFERENCE IN GHANA

The role of competitiveness and diversification in the context of resource-rich economies, and industrial development in the achievement of broader social and economic development goals will be the focus on an international conference that opens in Accra on Monday.

The two-day event will bring together African Ministers, experts in the field, representatives of the private sector, including major oil and gas companies, international and non-governmental organizations, and the diplomatic corps.

They will discuss underlying economic dynamics and structural forces of the so-called “resource curse”, and whether a typical developing country has the necessary configuration of institutions, regulatory framework and human capital to mitigate it.

The two-day event is being organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ghana Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The President of the Republic of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills, will open the event together with the Director-General of UNIDO, Kandeh K. Yumkella, and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Hanna Tetteh.

Journalists are invited to attend the conference which opens at 9:00, on Monday, 14 March, at the Best Western Premier Airport Hotel, 17 White Avenue, Airport Residential Area, Accra.

For more information on the conference, please visit the Conference website at

http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=1001420 Or contact:

Frank L. Bartels
UNIDO Coordinator
Telephone: +233 302 782 537/8
E-mail [email protected]
For more information on UNIDO and press queries, please contact

Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communication Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
E-mail [email protected]