As countries struggle to place their economies onto sustained growth and development paths in the post-global economic crisis period, trade unquestionably remains an important instrument for economic recovery, growth and development. However for developing countries, particularly least developed countries (LDCs), trade-led growth strategies need to be complemented with policies for enhancing production capabilities, structural transformation, economic diversification, value addition and human capital formation, as well as employment preservation and creation.
In this direction, a number of countries have sought to combine trade-led growth strategies with pro-active industrial, agricultural and services policies. This changing orientation in development strategies strengthens the relevance of the international trading system, trade liberalization and trade disciplines to national development strategies. It calls for an enlargement of the focus of the international trading system - multilateral, regional and bilateral - beyond liberalization to include broader development orientation based on productive capacity, job creation and poverty alleviation.
In addition, over the last three decades, global supply chains have increasingly gained importance in linking developing countries to international markets. Today, a substantial share of global supply chains´ production processes is taking place in developing countries. For developing countries and their enterprises, global supply chains offer opportunities and challenges including through policies and measures that increase competitiveness, reliability and efficiency of enterprises and production processes.
This year´s session will address two main themes:
- Assessing the evolution of the international trading system and enhancing its contribution to development and economic recovery
- Integration of developing countries in global supply chains, including through adding value to their exports
The Commission will consider the reports of the:
- Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development
- Multi-year Expert Meeting on Services, Development and Trade: the Regulatory and Institutional Dimension
- Multi-year Expert Meeting on International Cooperation: South–South Cooperation and Regional Integration
- Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport and Trade Facilitation
- Sixth United Nations Conference to Review all Aspect of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices
- Single-year Expert Meeting on Maximizing the Development Impact of Remittances
The Commission will also deliberate on promoting and strengthening synergies among the three pillars of UNCTAD, based on reports provided by the secretariat.
