UNIDO HQ, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), and the Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG) organized and held successfully an online seminar “The future of global production networks in the aftermath of COVID-19”, which is a series of UNIDO HQ online seminars “Future of industrialization in a post-pandemic world” on 30 June 2020.

This online event was organized to address the challenges and opportunities of industrializing for developing countries in these unprecedented times. This brought together over 300 participants from over 80 countries, and it marked the first event in a series on the Future of industrialization in a post-pandemic world, led by UNIDO’s Policy Research and Statistics Department.

UNIDO’s Deputy to the Director General, Hiroshi Kuniyoshi, introduced the series and remarked on the impact of the pandemic, which “has been immediate and ubiquitous, leaving people, businesses and entire economies struggling to deal with the fallout.” He reinforced UNIDO’s commitment to continuing the close collaboration with its Member States and partners, saying, “We must respond with equal speed, moved by a sense of joint purpose.”

The true problem of our time is “the erosion of trust between nations”, remarked Gabriel Felbermayr, President of the Kiel Institute, which he said is the “indispensable lubricant of global production chains.” Felbermayr noted that “the crisis will profoundly affect the global economy even if production and demand bounce back quickly. The crisis is likely change the structure and patterns of the global division of labour and in particular to affect the global production networks.”

Other panelists responded to the questions such as 
Will the pandemic usher the end of globalization as we know it?
How is the transition towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution impacted by COVID-19?
What can we learn from past crisis to increase resilience of global production networks?
What do the early lessons from the COVID-19 crisis mean for the future of industrialization?

Moreover, the panelists agreed that while the current crisis is fueling uncertainty about the future, it also provides an opportunity to closer align our recovery to the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030, taking policy action with long-term inclusive and sustainable results at its core. New production models might pave the way forward, but we must ensure inclusiveness, as well as account for societal and environmental factors, not only the economic.

Please watch the recording of the session on UNIDO’s YouTube channel.

• Download event flyer here