20 June 2014 – “Only UNCTAD has an intergovernmental machinery to turn ideas into intergovernmental action. And only UNCTAD bridges the worlds of trade and development.”
This was highlighted by Assistant Secretary Jesus S. Domingo of the Office of United Nations and other International Organizations of the Department of Foreign Affairs at the 28th Special Session of the Trade and Development Board, which was convened on June 17 in Geneva to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Assistant Secretary Domingo noted that it was in pursuit of the aspirations of a world of prosperity and justice for all that the Philippines hosted the Fifth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Manila in 1979.
He stressed that the quadrennial conference of UNCTAD is the only major UN conference on development convened on a regular and predictable basis, a forum where a stronger global consensus on development is forged.
Emphasizing that the Philippines, like UNCTAD, is ahead of the curve, he pointed out that the Department of Foreign Affairs partnered with UNCTAD and United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to organize a national multi-stakeholder consultation on key development issues as part of the country’s preparations for the negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda and UNCTAD XIV. The meeting, which involved the participation of both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the South Centre, discussed issues of importance to both middle-income countries and least developed countries to identify possible directions for LDCs upon graduation.
Assistant Secretary Domingo also noted that as part of the Philippines’ commitment to UNCTAD, the Philippines will chair the Geneva Chapter of the Group of 77 and China in 2015.
The first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development concluded on 16 June 1964 with, among other outcomes, the proposed establishment of a permanent body to deal with issues of international trade and development, namely UNCTAD.
The 28th Special Session of the Trade and Development Board celebrated the 50th anniversary of UNCTAD, and the occasion was graced by United Nations Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi, Vice-President Simonetta Sommaruga, UNCTAD XIII President and Qatari Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, and other high-level officials. END