Trade and Development Board, 72nd executive session
13 February 2023
Your Excellency, President of the Trade and Development Board, Ambassador Bahtijors Hassans
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
It is an honour to be here with you again, in our first Board session of 2023. Later today we will have the chance to dwell on some of the pressing issues of today, when we present to you our flagship reports, and engage with your comments, ideas, and proposals.
First, let me express again our profound sadness for the loss of lives and physical damage in Türkiye and Syria this week. UNCTAD stands in solidarity with the people of Türkiye and Syria in the wake of this tragedy.
Let me take this opportunity for very quick remarks so we leave most of the time for the exchange of the flagships.
The world, ladies and gentlemen, is still in crisis.
This is no time to let down our guard.
Since Davos, and the opening of the Chinese economy, many believe the global economy will have a soft landing. We certainly hope so, but unfortunately for many, this seems extremely unlikely.
Food insecurity is triple what it was three years ago. Poverty rates are still rising. Countries are ever closer to the brink of falling into sovereign debt default, and all it takes is just one climate-change natural disaster, one unforeseen trade disruption, one bad harvest, or one more interest rate hike – to push them beyond the brink.
The world is still in crisis, and we are therefore still in crisis mode. This year, we will redouble our efforts to bring the perspective of the developing world to the global discussion. We will harness our three-pillared work to contribute to the international financial architecture agenda, restore trade and investment flows, bring new ideas to finance and climate change negotiations, take advantage of the digital economy to foster sustainable development and inclusion, strengthen the gender perspective within the organization and deliver on the Bridgetown Covenant.
But most importantly, we will build on our growing intergovernmental engagement with member States, who are the who, the how and the why of all we do. That is our greatest strength, especially in times like these. I saw this strength last year, at the moments we needed it most, and I am sure we can continue to do even more together this year.
Because these times call for no less.
I wish you all a very successful Trade and Development Board and thank you very warmly for being here.
