In a key step toward shaping its first-ever national industrial development framework, the Central American nation of Belize has concluded a collaborative knowledge-exchange study tour in Japan, co-hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Belizean government authorities. The 6-day initiative, held from June 29 to July 3 2026, brought a 6-member delegation of senior Belizean policymakers to Japan to study cutting-edge sustainable development practices, laying critical groundwork for Belize’s upcoming flagship industrial strategy. The program was organized by the Investment Policy and Compliance Unit within Belize’s Ministry of Investment, operating under the Office of the Prime Minister, in partnership with UNIDO technical experts.
The tour was designed to give Belize’s strategy drafters direct, on-the-ground insight into Japanese innovations across a range of sectors aligned with Belize’s long-term sustainability goals. Delegates got firsthand exposure to advanced approaches in sustainable industrial development, blue economy value chains, modern biotechnology, commercial seaweed cultivation and processing, aquaculture technology, biomass energy utilization, natural carbon sequestration, and environmental remediation technologies, as well as Japan’s systems for attracting targeted investment and rolling out national industrial policy. Three senior UNIDO experts – Dr. Nobuya Haraguchi, Dr. Anders Isaksson, and Christoph Graeser – accompanied the delegation throughout the tour, facilitating technical discussions and knowledge sharing.
Over the course of the week, the group held working meetings and site visits with a wide range of Japanese stakeholders, including officials from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, technical leaders from the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, academic researchers at Yamaguchi University, and executive teams from two leading innovative private firms: marine technology company UMITON and sustainable biotech producer Euglena Co., Ltd. These engagements allowed Belizean policymakers to ask targeted questions, observe operational best practices, and explore potential future partnership opportunities between the two nations.
According to official statements from Belize’s Ministry of Investment, the upcoming industrial strategy will center on building out Belize’s existing natural advantages in blue and green economies to drive inclusive economic growth. The framework is expected to expand high-value added domestic production, increase Belize’s export competitiveness in sustainable goods and services, create new formal employment opportunities for local workers, and accelerate the country’s progress toward meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The study tour in Japan marks a key milestone in the development process, bringing global expertise to bear on Belize’s vision for a low-carbon, nature-positive industrial future.