How to request technical cooperation

A member State of UNCTAD or a regional institution wishing to obtain technical cooperation from UNCTAD secretariat should submit a formal request. Formal requests refer to official letters (or emails in exceptional cases) addressed to the UNCTAD secretariat requesting UNCTAD technical cooperation by relevant authorities in beneficiary countries or regions.

Key elements in a formal request

A formal request for UNCTAD technical cooperation usually includes the following key information:

• Requesting country;
• Requesting authority and contact details;
• Requesting date;
• Main areas where UNCTAD technical cooperation is requested or main Toolbox product(s) requested;
• Reasons for which the UNCTAD technical cooperation is requested;
• How can UNCTAD technical cooperation contribute to the national development strategy?
• Source of funding

Member States and regional organizations are kindly requested to provide complete information with respect to the above-mentioned elements. If necessary, the UNCTAD Technical Cooperation Section (TCS) can provide further information on technical cooperation work of UNCTAD, including its technical cooperation products, and can organize meetings to provide advice on the preparation of formal requests.

Clearance and uploading of a formal request

• After the receipt of a request, the UNCTAD secretariat will clear it to ensure that all the key information in a formal request has been provided, the responsible Division(s) designated, the scope of UNCTAD technical cooperation clearly defined, and the budget information and funding status clarified. In consultation with the requesting country or organization, the UNCTAD secretariat could consider organizing additional meetings and/or sending a fact-finding mission (if funding is available) in order to better define its technical cooperation activities.
• After the clearance by the UNCTAD secretariat, the request will be uploaded to the online request database (see here). For those requests that funds are not totally secured, UNCTAD will seek to support beneficiary countries in their efforts to mobilize funds, which are necessary for the implementation of the project.