The Honourable Joe Baidoe-Ansah, Minister of Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development of Ghana, and Mrs Lakshmi Puri, Acting Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, signed the Host Country Agreement for the twelfth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII) to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre from 20 to 25 April 2008. The signing took place at the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ghana on 18 December 2007.
Minister Baidoe-Ansah said that hosting UNCTAD XII will be a great honour for Ghana as it reflects the leadership role the country has played and continues to play on the world stage in the dialogue and debate on trade and development.
The Minister said that "UNCTAD XII will be the first major UN Conference ever to have been held in Ghana, and indeed the whole of West Africa. The need for an efficient and effective planning and organizational machinery is absolutely critical". The Government has been working very closely with the UNCTAD secretariat to that end.
The Minister emphasized that the signing of the Host Country Agreement reaffirms the full commitment of the Government of Ghana to the successful organization of the Conference.
For Lakshmi Puri, UNCTAD XII represents a historical moment in the life of Ghana´s development. The Conference will enhance Ghana´s capacity to organize major conferences and summits, and will see the country´s emergence as a conference destination on a global scale.
The UNCTAD XII theme, "Addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development", is at the heart of all governments´ preoccupations, particularly in African and other developing countries, as to how to maximize the benefits of globalization and minimize its cost. Given that the commodity economy is an important focus of the twenty-first century, UNCTAD XII will identify policies that could be implemented at regional and national levels to help small producers reach markets and to overcome market access barriers.
Four sub themes will also be discussed at UNCTAD XII:
- Enhancing coherence at all levels for sustainable economic development and poverty reduction in global policy-making, including the contribution of regional approaches.
- Key trade and development issues and the new realities in the geography of the world economy.
- Enhancing the enabling environment at all levels to strengthen productive capacity, trade and investment: mobilizing resources and harnessing knowledge for development.
- Strengthening UNCTAD: enhancing its development role, impact, and institutional effectiveness.
UNCTAD, the UN focal point for trade and development and related issues in the fields of finance, investment and technology, holds its ministerial-level conference every four years to set the organization´s priorities and guidelines for action. The conference is UNCTAD´s highest governing body and also includes a high-level debate on current issues involving trade, investment and development.
UNCTAD´s previous quadrennial conferences have been held in São Paulo (Brazil) in 2004; in Bangkok (Thailand) in 2000; in Midrand (South Africa) in 1996; in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), 1992; Geneva (Switzerland), 1987; Belgrade (former Yugoslavia), 1983; Manila (Philippines), 1979; Nairobi (Kenya), 1976; Santiago de Chile (Chile), 1972; New Delhi (India), 1968; and Geneva (Switzerland) in 1964.
