In Indonesia, Deputy Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno shares reflections on the global economy and the road to a better future – not for some, but for all.
© Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia | Deputy Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno (third from the right on stage) speaks at an event held on 14 May in Bandung, Indonesia.
From expanding trade to tackling debt and climate change, stronger international cooperation is crucial more than ever to safeguarding prosperity for all in an increasingly interconnected and multipolar world.
Speaking at a high-level event on 14 May in the Indonesian city of Bandung, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Deputy Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno renewed calls for collective efforts to fulfill the promise of globalization that leaves no one behind.
The event was held as part of a series of events to mark the 60th anniversary of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
While much has evolved over the last six decades, the organization, which has 195 member states, remains a staunch advocate of developing countries on the global stage, while charting a new development course in a changing world.
“Our mission is a new UNCTAD for a new world,” Mr. Moreno said.
“We want to provide policy options to developing countries that can lead to more and better development outcomes, and to advocate for more justice and fairness in global fora.”
While in Indonesia, Deputy Secretary-General Moreno also met with Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Pahala Nugraha Mansury, National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and Ambassador Febrian A. Ruddyard, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, who currently serves as president of the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board.
Forging new directions
UN Trade and Development’s 60th anniversary is an opportunity to forge new directions for a more inclusive global economy. To reach this goal, Deputy Secretary-General Moreno called for:
- Accelerating regional integration to unlock the potential of trade and investment for the global South.
- Stepping up investment facilitation, by reducing operational costs, enhancing transparency, and streamlining procedures.
- Increasing capacity building to help developing countries participate in, and benefit from, digitalization and technological advances.
- Reforming the international financial systems to better cope with the current debt crisis, where 3 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt payments than on education or health.
- Supporting developing countries to tap into the world’s increasing demand for greener products and technologies to fight climate change, including through the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, recently launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
