The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UNCTAD have pledged to work together on areas of crucial importance in the new sustainable development agenda launched at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit.
OECD Secretary-General José Ángel Gurría and UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi signed a partnership agreement while attending the Summit taking place at UN headquarters in New York from 25–27 September.
Building on each other’s comparative advantage, the OECD and UNCTAD have joined forces to help decision makers take actions towards inclusive growth.
UNCTAD and the OECD believe trade and investment are necessary for development and achieving newly agreed global goals promoting shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years.
In a joint statement, the organizations said that they will work together to create an enabling environment for inclusive growth, better jobs and improved sustainability nationally and internationally while developing a rules- and values-based world economy for the benefit of all countries and global poverty reduction.
Dr. Kituyi said that "Trade and investment can be great enablers for inclusive prosperity. UNCTAD will use this partnership to build synergies for unlocking the potential of transforming developing countries and spreading prosperity through sound trade and investment policy and practice."
“Trade and investment are some of the most powerful drivers of jobs and growth in developing countries. They help reduce disparities between countries as well as inequalities within them,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. “This partnership is a powerful channel for the OECD to work with countries all over the world to achieve the 2030 agenda.”
UNCTAD – the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development – was formed in 1964 to help poor countries adopt policies that would integrate them into the world economy and boost prosperity.
UNCTAD is based at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland, and has a representative office at the United Nations in New York and Addis Ababa for Africa. It works at the behest of 194 member States and employs 500 people.
Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
