The United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (Unido) office in Beirut has launched a new project for supporting the manufacturing capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and co-operatives, in co-operation with Lebanon’s Ministry of Industry.

It was unveiled at a ceremony held at the Mövenpick Hotel-Marina Marquée, said a statement.

The project is the third phase of an initiative called ‘Community Empowerment and Livelihoods Enhancement Project,’ which is being funded by the Italian Government and implemented by the Unido in partnership with the Instituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria (ICU).

It aims to assist the Government of Lebanon in improving the performance of selected enterprises to enhance their competitiveness and integration into the global market as well as supporting the rural communities to promote income-generating activities and strengthen their household economy.

The event was conducted under the patronage of the Minister of Industry Dr Hussein El Hajj Hassan, in the presence of Giuseppe Morabito, Italian Ambassador in Beirut; Akram Chehayeb, Minister of Agriculture; and Cristiano Pasini, a Unido representative.

It was followed by an exhibition of products of agro-industrial enterprises which participated in the previous phase of the project (CELEP I and II).

Nada Barakat Daou, Unido national project co-ordinator, made a presentation of the new project, which was followed by a project outlook by Claudio Errighi, CELEP International Consultant-ICU, and Pierre Omran, from the Ministry of Industry. - TradeArabia News Service