“UNIDO has not entered into any valid contractual agreement with the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF), and therefore is not involved in any activities related to the Lumbini Special Development Zone in Nepal,” said Mikhail Evstafver, UNIDO Advocacy and Communication Coordinator, said in a statement on Friday. [break]
Speaking at a function in Kathmandu on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav also said that UNIDO has informed the government that it has not signed any agreement with APEC.
The UN agency´s statement that it has not entered into any agreement with APEC, a Hong Kong-based NGO, has cast doubts over the credibility of the proposed project.
The NGO had recently announced 3 billion US dollar project to develop Lumbini as a Special Cultural Zone in nine years.
The UNIDO´s statement is something contrary to a news report filed by China´s official news agency Xinhua on July 16. According to the news report, UNIDO and APEC signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing indicating its official support to develop Lumbini as a special cultural zone.
Hu Yungdong, head of UNIDO´s China investment and technology promotion office, had signed the “Memorandum of Understanding in Support for the Lumbini Special Cultural Zone and Assistance Project for the Framework Design of Lumbini Special Development Zone (Nepal)” on behalf of UNIDO, according to Xinhua.
After the singing of the memorandum, Hu had said in a news briefing, “The Lumbini project is in compliance with UNIDO´s principles of economy, environment and employment.”
But the UNIDO statement refuted signing of any such agreement.
“An intended Memorandum of Understanding between UNIDO and APECF was never approved by the responsible UNIDO approval bodies. Any reference to a UNIDO involvement in the Lumbini Special Development Zone is thus without any legal and substantive basis,” the UN agency said.
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