Other debate to focus on development challenges posed by climate change; Prebisch Lecture to be given by Jeffrey Sachs; organization marks 45th anniversary
Geneva, 8 September 2009 -- UNCTAD´s governing Trade and Development Board (TDB) will meet 14-25 September, beginning with a high-level discussion on "the global economic crisis and the necessary policy response." The annual opening day debate will give the TDB´s 155 member States the opportunity to review the genesis of the world recession, examine its effects, and debate responses that could lessen the impacts and prevent a recurrence.
Panellists for the Monday afternoon session will include Pedro Páez Pérez, Chairman of the Ecuadorian Presidential Technical Commission for the New Regional Financial Architecture; and M. Cyrille Pierre, Deputy Director of Global Economic Issues Division, France. Invited but not yet confirmed are the Minister of Finance of Egypt; the Minister of Commerce of Cote d´Ivoire; and the Head of the Monetary and Economic Department of the Bank for International Settlements.
The afternoon of the second day of the TDB´s annual two weeks of meetings will feature the 14th Raul Prebisch lecture, to be given this year by Jeffrey Sachs, economist and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Prof. Sachs will speak on "Globalization in the Era of Environmental Crisis."
Environmental matters also will be considered that morning as the Board reviews "development strategies in a globalized world: meeting the development challenge of climate change." The UNCTAD XII quadrennial conference, held in Ghana in April 2008, assigned UNCTAD the responsibility for the first time of assessing the relationships between climate shifts and trade and development concerns.
An exhibition titled "UNCTAD 1964-2009: Milestones in Closing the Development Gap," celebrating UNCTAD´s 45th anniversary, will be staged during the conference outside room XXVI of the Palais des Nations, where most TDB sessions are held.
The financial and economic crisis, which has significantly affected the economic growth and exports of developing countries, will play a role in several agenda items, including "evolution of the international trading system and international trade from a development perspective: impact of the crisis" (16 September), for which the lead speaker will be World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy. And it will be at the forefront of the TDB´s review of "economic development in Africa: strengthening regional economic integration for Africa´s development" (17 September). Strengthening regional trade and economic links has repeatedly been emphasized by UNCTAD economists as a way for developing nations to cushion the impacts of the global downturn.
UNCTAD´s World Investment Report 2009 will be launched on 17 September, and on the morning of 22 September member States will discuss the findings and the theme of the report: "Investment for Development: transnational corporations, agricultural production, and development."
UNCTAD´s annual report on its programme of assistance to the Palestinian people, released 8 September, will be debated during the Board´s session the afternoon of 22 September. This marks the 25th anniversary of the programme, and speakers will include Bassim Khoury, Minister of National Economy of Palestine.
The TDB´s annual hearing with civil society and the private sector will take place the afternoon of 16 September. Civil society and private sector speakers will comment on follow-up by UNCTAD and the international community on efforts to respond to the economic crisis. They also will discuss the challenges posed by climate change.
Lunchtime events during the 2009 TDB session include a panel discussion on "Taming boom and bust in commodity markets" on 16 September; a debate on "Realizing sustainable development gains from trade" on 17 September; and a special session of the TDB on the UN Chief Executives´ Board Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity. The topic of discussion will be "Delivering AIDFORTRADE: the role of the UN system." The meeting will be co-chaired by UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella.
Member States will review progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010 at the TDB session the morning of 18 September.
And they will consider a proposed communication strategy and publications policy for the organization on 23 September.
The Trade and Development Board guides UNCTAD´s activities from year to year, acting within the greater framework of decisions taken at the organization´s quadrennial conferences which chart the organization´s overall priorities and areas or work.
