In a video address, UNCTAD Secretary-General, Mukhisa Kituyi, reflects on UNCTAD's achievements, the challenges that lie ahead, and lays out his vision for 2015.
Quick link: Watch video on YouTube
At UNCTAD, 2014 has been a fulfilling fiftieth anniversary year. We thank all of our partners for joining us during the year to reflect on our history and celebrate our collective accomplishments. Together we looked back with pride at knowledge and expertise accumulated over fifty years. Together we started casting our sights on the next 50 years of continued service to our member states, helping them overcome challenges and harness the benefits of globalization.
As our anniversary year draws to a close, the challenges facing countries remain complex and cross-cutting. Growth in trade is sluggish due to weak global demand; rising inequality holds back the hopes of inclusive prosperity; and climate change exposes out collective vulnerability and limited resilience.
After just one year here at UNCTAD, I have seen the difference our work makes to the people who face these challenges. Our analytical work and technical assistance improve lives and inspire nations. Whether by helping farmers create new markets for "green", energy-efficient crops, or by speeding up cross-border trade through customs automation, whether through our debt management solutions for governments, or by the capacity building we offer women entrepreneurs and vulnerable communities, we continue to have positive impact.
The New Year promises new opportunities to increase this impact and further serve our member states on these and related issues. In 2015 we expect landmark agreements defining a new, universal development agenda. We look forward to Addis Ababa in July, where we hope the third International Conference on Financing for Development will revitalize global partnership.
We look forward to September in New York when we expect Member States to agree an ambitious and transformative Sustainable Development Agenda to guide our global efforts for the next fifteen years. And we look forward to the outcomes of the COP21 climate conference in Paris next December, which we hope will set the world decisively on course for a sustainable, low-carbon growth path for decades to come.
In 2015 we will also embark upon preparations for the UNCTAD XIV Ministerial Conference to be held in Lima, Peru in March 2016. The Lima Conference will be the first major international conference after the compacts of 2015. We thus have an opportunity and special responsibility to build upon the momentum that the international community will set in motion this coming year.
I wish all of you and your families a merry festive season, and a prosperous and productive New Year. I look forward to our continued collaboration in the service of humanity and especially the most vulnerable among us.
