UNCTAD/CFC Workshop
Enhancing Productive Capacities and Diversification of Commodities in LDCs,
and South-South Co-operation

The workshop is being organized jointly by UNCTAD and the Common Fund for Commodities for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) policy-makers dealing with production and international trade of agricultural and mineral commodities, as part of the preparatory process for the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC III), to be hosted by the European Union, in Brussels, from 14-20 May 2001.

The primary objective of the workshop will be to refocus the attention of the international community on commodity issues and their importance for development and poverty reduction in the LDCs. The commodity sector remains a potential major engine of growth and development for LDCs, provided it gets the necessary attention and support. Discussions will address not only the market access problems, but more importantly the supply constraints and market entry and competitiveness difficulties faced by LDCs in their efforts towards achieving horizontal, vertical and geographical diversification of their production and exports. The debates, drawing on the national experience of each participating LDC, are expected to lead to the identification of concrete actions and the formulation of recommendations that could be agreed upon at the LDC III and implemented without further delay.

The outcome of this workshop is expected to constitute a major input into the LDC III by identifying concrete projects and actions that could become deliverables at the LDC III and by catalyzing national action and international support aimed at unleashing the potential of the natural resource endowment and the comparative advantage which the LDCs enjoy in the commodity area.

Participants
The workshop will be attended primarily by policy-makers and commodity experts from the Ministries of Agriculture, Finance and Trade of LDCs, other interested UNCTAD member States, invited organizations from the UN system, Heads of International Commodity Organizations or Bodies, academia, and NGOs.