Quick Links: Report of the Meeting Overview Statements by Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD Presentations [Audio] Presentations [Text] UNCTAD´s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Reviews UNCTAD´s Enterprise Development Branch: SME Policies and Capacity-building

The opening session of the second Multi-year Expert Meeting on Enterprise Development Polices and Capacity-building in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) discussed the key elements of policy frameworks for entrepreneurship and STI.

It was opened by the Chair of the previous session of the multi-year expert meeting, Mr. Miguel Angel Alcaine Castro (El Salvador). He pointed out the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation as key elements for economic growth and poverty reduction, and in achieving the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals.

In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, pointed out that, building on the results of the previous year’s discussions, the second meeting of the multi-year expert meeting would focus on how to design, monitor and assess entrepreneurship and STI policies that could support and drive economic development strategies.

He also reminded participants that economies were just starting to recover from the financial and economic crisis, and that employment recovery was a critical area, which was at the top of governments’ agendas. Therefore, the actionable outcomes of the meeting should advise governments on how to formulate forward-looking policies to enhance enterprise competitiveness and resume job creation in the post-crisis world.