Comprehensive High-Level Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (UN High-Level Event)
29 May 2016
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Five years ago, we set an ambitious agenda in Istanbul. And we have moved closer to our goal. But we have not moved close enough.
This weekend, we meet to reaffirm our commitment to the IPoA and accelerate progress.
To this end, both LDCs and their development partners need to be fast and adapt to evolving conditions. All stakeholders need to incorporate the IPoA into their own agendas.
At UNCTAD, we have done this in three ways: by shaping policy making, through our research and analysis; by working hand in hand with LDCs, through our technical assistance projects, and; by building consensus on the issues that matter for LDCs, through our meetings, forums and conferences.
Let me give you a few concrete examples.
UNCTAD has mainstreamed the IPoA into its research agenda and analytical contributions.
Our flagship publication is the annual Least Developed Countries report. Each report provides new data on the LDCs, reviews trends, and analyses a single theme in greater depth. This evidence-based research provides policy options for LDCs to achieve the SDGs and the goals of the IPoA. Last year's report, for example, focused on the role of rural transformation in promoting inclusive development.
Another publication in high-demand from UNCTAD is our annual Economic Development in Africa report. In the last three years, these reports have analyzed debt sustainability and the roles of services and FDI in development - all crucial topics covered by the IPoA. Other publications include the World Investment Report, the Trade and Development Report, the Review of Maritime Transport, and the Commodities and Development Report.
With these and many other of our publications, we continue to put research at the service of the countries that needed the most.
And our work does not finish with policy recommendations. We also help countries to transform their realities. UNCTAD has mainstreamed the IPoA into its technical assistance.
For countries nearing graduation, UNCTAD offers advisory services, training, and support to LDC stakeholders.
As one of the six partner agencies of the Enhanced Integrated Framework, UNCTAD has undertaken several Diagnostic Trade Integration studies. These studies aim to identify constraints that LDCs face in integrating into the multilateral trading system.
Further, UNCTAD provides training and advisory services on debt management through its DMFAS program.
And in the area of trade facilitation, UNCTAD helps LDCs to modernize their customs systems through its ASYCUDA program. This does not only facilitate trade, but it helps countries to increase revenues.
These are just few examples. But we have a toolbox of over 30 products to assist LDCs on the ground.
And we also help to build consensus on the issues that matter for LDCs and thus contribute to the IPoA.
A clear example of this is our work on investment. There is annual financing gap of USD $2.5 trillion that separates developing countries from the SDGs.
UNCTAD's World Investment Forum shares the IPoA's emphasis on mobilizing financial resources for development. By bringing together senior policymakers, corporate leaders, and civil society representatives, the Forum provides a platform for debate. It is this exchange of insights and perspectives that promote investments flows that are more predictable and more productive.
And in our ministerial conferences we continue to organize events that underscore the imperative for structural transformation in the LDCs.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This July, UNCTAD will host its 14th ministerial conference in Nairobi. The themes we will discuss are directly related to the challenges that LDCs face. I invite all of you to join us in Nairobi to promote a global agenda that ignites inclusive growth in the LDCs.
Without inclusive development in the LDCs, we will never meet the SDGs. And this is why the Istanbul Programme of Action is central to our global development agenda.
Thank you for your attention.
