The UNCTAD Trade and Development Board - the organization’s highest executive body between the quadrennial ministerial Conferences - will hold its annual session in Geneva from 12 to 23 October. The President is expected to be Ambassador Chak Mun See of Singapore, who will hold office for the next twelve months.
To date UNCTAD’s membership stands at 188 countries; of these 144 are Members of the Trade and Development Board.
The main agenda items relate to financial crises, with a focus on their causes, management and prevention; the plight of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) , with a specific item on opportunities and constraints for them in the multilateral trading system; Africa, with focus on prospects for agriculture, trade and industrialization.
Three major events are scheduled at the Board’s session. The first is a
- High-level segment on "The impact of financial crisis on trade, investment and development: regional perspectives"
On Thursday 22 October (Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations) a policy debate among Ministers, other senior officials and chief executives of private business will be held on this topic. The moderator and chairman will be Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand.
The morning session (9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.) will focus on the Asian epicenter of the financial crisis. The discussion will be preceded by brief interventions from five panelists. Given that the crisis has proved to be more profound and its development impact in the region more significant than anticipated, the speakers will be invited to explain how they have responded to the changing nature of the crisis and explore alternative ways of dealing with it. The panel will be composed of: Tan Sri Dato’ Tajudin Ramli, Chairman and CEO, Malaysian Airlines, Mrs. Dewi Motik Pramono, President, Puncak Wawasan Indah, and Ms. Montigan Lovichit, CEO, T. Shinawatra Thai Silk, whose companies have all had first-hand experience of the crisis and may have to make difficult choices concerning investment and employment; Mr. Stephen Pursey, Chief Economist of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), who will analyze the social impact of the crisis, particularly on employment, both in Asia and worldwide; and Mr. Adrianus Mooy, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), who will take a broad view of the development impact of the crisis on the region, including on countries other than those at the epicenter, e.g. China and Japan.
During the afternoon session (3.30 to 6.30 p.m.), another panel will explore the ripple effect and related systemic effects in greater detail and what policy lessons can be learnt; and what governments and international organizations can do, both to prevent crises from recurring and to relaunch investment, trade and development after a crisis. The panel will include Ms. Joyce Cornell, Managing Director, Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc., who will discuss (via video-link) the ripple effects of such crises and strategies for coping with financial market collapse; Mr. André R. van Heemstra, Vice President, Asia and the Pacific, Unilever, who will talk about the constraints and opportunities for the company and its strategy for coping with the crisis; the Executive Secretaries of the United Nations regional economic commissions for Europe (ECE), Mr. Yves Berthelot, Western Asia (ESCWA), Mr. Hazam El-Beblawi, Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, and Mr. Ali Gader Ali, Director, Economic and Social Policy Division (ECA), who will examine the impact of the crisis on their respective regions and explore alternative policy responses open to Governments and international organizations; and Mr. Robert D. Hormats, Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs International, who will round up (via video-link) the discussion with some reflections on the prospects for strengthening the international financial system.
Each session will be followed by a floor debate. The afternoon session will be held jointly with the Second Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York through an interactive video link.
Participants will be able to draw on the Trade and Development Report, 1998 (Part One) (see TAD/INF/PR/9821) and another UNCTAD report entitled The Financial Crisis in Asia and Foreign Direct Investment: An Assessment (UNCTAD/ITE/IIT/Misc.13) (see TAD/INF/PR/9825), both released in September.
- High level mid-term review of UNCTAD’s activities
On Monday 19 October, the Board will undertake an assessment of UNCTAD’s activities since its ninth quadrennial ministerial conference (UNCTAD IX held in Midrand, South Africa). At the same time it will discuss expectations over the next two years and future prospects looking forward to UNCTAD X (to be held in Thailand in the year 2000) and beyond. This high level mid-term review will be chaired by Mr. Alec Erwin, Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa, who presided over UNCTAD IX.
The Board will have before it recommendations which resulted from extensive consultations carried out since February by Ambassador Nacer Benjelloun-Touimi of Morocco. The outcome of the consultations is contained in document TD/B/45/8.
- Prebish Lecture
The third special event will be the ninth Raúl Prebish lecture, to be delivered at 3 p.m. on Monday 19 October, in room XIX, by Dr. Joseph E. Stiglitz, currently serving as Senior Vice-President for Development Economics and Chief Economist at the World Bank. The lecture is called "Towards a new paradigm for development: strategies, policies and processes" (see TAD/INF/PR/9829). It represents the latest in a series of public lectures given by distinguished academics or policy makers on important topical issues.
Financial crises
During the first week of the Board the main event will be an inter-governmental discussion on the causes, management and prevention of financial crises. UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report 1998 (Part One) will provide the background for the debate. Further views will emerge from a panel discussion (on Tuesday 13 October, from 10.00 a.m. 1.00 p.m. and from 3.00 to 6.00 p.m., in room XXVI) with the participation of Ms. Stephanie Griffith-Jones, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Mr. Will Hutton, Editor, The Observer, London; Mr. Martin Mayer, Brookings Institute, Washington D.C.; and Mr. Yung Chul Park, Former President, Korea Institute of Finance, Seoul.
Least Developed Countries
On 15 and 16 October, delegates will discuss the socio-economic conditions in the LDCs, drawing on the Least Developed Countries 1998 Report which will be released on 14 October, embargoed until 22.00 GMT(see TAD/INF/PR/9827 and TAD/INF/PR/9828). Special attention will be given to trade and investment in LDCs: opportunities and constraints in the multilateral trading system.
The Board is also expected to discuss the date, duration and venue of the third United Nations Conference on LDCs and its preparatory process.
Africa
On 19 and 20 October, the Board will focus on the recent performance and prospects for Africa notably for agriculture, trade and industrialization, and examine resulting policy issues. The discussion will draw on Part Two of the UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 1998 (see TAD/INF/PR/9823). On 20 October, from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and 3.00 to 6.00 p.m. in room XXVI), a panel will take place, with the participation of Professor Samuel M. Wangwe, Executive Director, Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), United Republic of Tanzania; Mr Nguyuru H.I. Lipumba, Professor of Economics, Dar-es-Salaam University, Expert on monetary and financial issues; and Professor Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Director, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU/WIDER).
Technical assistance
As in preceding years, the Board will review the entire program of UNCTAD’s technical cooperation activities over the past year, based on a report (TDB/45/6 + add1 and add 2), prepared by the UNCTAD secretariat. In 1997, such activities amounted to $US 23.3 million, an increase of around 4 per cent over the previous year. The focus continues to be on LDCs, with an increase in their share to 40 per cent and the launching of a Trust Fund for these countries. The Board will also have before it a progress report on UNCTAD’s assistance to the Palestinian people.
