Geneva, 15 March 2010 - Experts will meet at UNCTAD from 17-19 March to discuss how regulations and the setups of government institutions can help developing countries improve their infrastructure services sectors (ISS) -- sectors that provide such key functions as comprehensive banking and financial operations, energy, telecommunications, and transportation.
ISS is crucial for supporting markets for agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries in developing countries. It forms the backbone of national economies.
Regulation aimed at correcting market failures and meeting other policy objectives such as universal access to essential services has been widely recognized as fundamental in ensuring the provision of quality infrastructure services and maximizing their contribution to economic and social development. However, building and maintaining workable regulatory and institutional frameworks (RIFs) poses challenges for all national governments. There is no single prescription: RIFs need to be adapted to individual countries´ specific needs and circumstances. Evolving economic, social, technological and environmental developments require governments to frequently adapt RIFs to new conditions, and they must have sufficient institutional capacities and skills to guide, negotiate, regulate, and monitor ISS.
A recent UNCTAD survey of 87 respondents from regulatory agencies indicates that in many cases the challenges faced by regulatory agencies are similar. However, least developed countries (LDCs) face special constraints. They often are short of appropriate personnel, financial resources, and equipment.
Discussions during the expert meeting will provide an opportunity to explore regulatory and institutional frameworks that are the "best fit" for individual countries. Governments will have a chance to review the experiences and lessons learned by others that have already modified their regulations and frameworks.
The three-day session will be the second of UNCTAD´s multi-year expert meetings on "Services, development and trade: the regulatory and institutional dimension", as called for by the organization´s Trade and Development Board at its July 2008 executive session. The Geneva meeting comes at a critical moment, as the full impact of the economic and financial crisis on infrastructure services in developing countries is still unfolding and recovery measures and regulatory overhauls are still being implemented.
Panellists will include Purushottam Ojha, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies of Nepal; Mahmoud Zanboua, Vice Minister of Transport of Syria; Prof. John S. Nkoma, Director General of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA); Prof. Tresna P. Soemardi, Chairman of the Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition of Indonesia; Cesar Marroquin Fernandes, Senior Advisor to the Superintendent of Banks of the Central Bank of Guatemala; Ansord Hewitt, Secretary of the Office of Utilities Regulation of Jamaica; Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); Dr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy, Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and current member of the Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on Reform of the International Monetary and Financial System; Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre; Prof. Ashley Brown, Executive Director of the Harvard University Electricity Policy Group; Prof. Kern Alexander of Cambridge University; and Shri L. Mansingh, Chairperson of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) of India.
