Recognising the strength of Indian R&D endeavours in the field the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in collaboration with the Government of India is planning to hold a workshop on Marine Industrial Technology for the development of marine non-living resources in India during 1992. The workshop will bring together experts from developed and developing countries and discuss the state-of- art status of deep seabed mining technologies and its applicability to the exploitation of near shore and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) resources. The workshop will assess the status of the industrial technology for the exploitation of marine non-living resources and its application in developing countries and potential alternative uses of the technology to be used in deep seabed mining for developing countries. It will also suggest frameworks and mechanisms for achieving cooperation in R&D of marine industrial technology among developing countries and propose practical training programmes.

In this connection, a UNIDO mission visited different institutions in various countries such as Austria, Germany, Finland, Norway, France, USA and Japan during October-November 1991. The report of the UNIDO mission is awaited.