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UNCTAD S-G at European Parliament to brief on UNCTAD XIII and trade issues

30 March 2012

At the invitation of H.E. Vital Moreira, Chair of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi addressed 29 March in Brussels a Workshop on trade and investment for development organized by the Committee.​

Chairperson Moreira in his invitation letter said the Committee has been following closely the preparations for UNCTAD XIII and "the general issues at stake as regards trade and development, " and would like to receive an overview from the Secretary-General on the Conference to which the European Union has contributed a position paper.
 
The Committee Chairperson said the Conference comes at a crucial point as regards the EU's own policy for Trade and Development where a European Commission communication revising the current position is under consideration and will serve as a basis for a report to be drawn up by the Committee.
 
Secretary-General Supachai was also asked for his thoughts on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), one of the major trade instruments the European Union has in relation to developing countries and which the European Parliament is now in the legislative process of adopting a new regulation for implementation. 
 
The global GSP scheme  had been devised by UNCTAD and adopted at the UNCTAD II conference in 1968.​