UN Trade and Development at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4)

At the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) called for a new global deal.

One that ends the debt trap, unlocks long-term finance, redefines prosperity beyond GDP, and makes trade work for inclusive growth.

We meet today in the middle of a debt and development crisis.

How we deal with that challenge, how we manage it with vision and innovation, is the central purpose of this conference.

Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Rebeca Grynspan

UNCTAD agenda at FFD4

14:30 - 16:00	FFD4 side event: Reclaiming competitiveness - commodities, trade, and industrialization for sustainable development Room: Side Event 20, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
14:30 - 16:00	FFD4 side event: Transformative impact and mobilizing partnerships for sustainable trade development in the least developed countries to meet global development aspirations Room: Side event 3, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

08:30 - 10:00	FFD4 side event: Economic necessity meets political feasibility - practical solutions for the debt morass Room: Side Event 21, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Mahmoud Mohieldin, Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, United Nations Paolo Gentiloni, Co-Chair of the Group of Experts to Promote Policy Solutions for Resolving the Debt Crisis, United Nations Trevor Manuel, Former Minister of Finance of South Africa Yan Wang, Senior Academic Researcher, Boston University Global Development Policy Centre
08:30 - 10:00	FFD4 side event: South-South data for development - starting a new chapter Room: Side Event 4, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Cristina Camacho, Minister, Undersecretary of International Cooperation, Government of Ecuador Jesus Enrique Garcia, Minister, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the UN in New York H.E. Sultan Ahmad Al-Aseeri, Director of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar Daniel Rodriguez, South-South Cooperation Director, Presidential Agency for International Cooperation, Colombia Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics, UNCTAD Ines Tofalo, Trust Fund and Project Management Specialist, UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
10:30 - 12:00	FFD4 side event: Illicit financial flows, fiscal space, and fair taxation - advancing Africa-Europe cooperation for a unified measurement and reform agenda Room: Side Event 5, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO, AUDA-NEPAD Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics, UNCTAD Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Birgit Pickel, Director-General for Africa, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany Chenai Mukumba, Executive Director, Tax Justice Network Africa Patrick Ndzana Olomo, Economist, African Union Commission Erica Gerretsen, Director, Human Development, Migration, Governance and Peace, European Commission Friederike Roder, Director Secretariat, Global Solidarity Levies Task Force Giulia Mascagni, Executive Director, International Centre for Tax and Development Logan Wort, Executive Secretary, African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)
10:30 - 12:00	FFD4 special event: Investing in global solidarity - a new vision of development cooperation Room: Pavilion 2, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
12:30 - 14:00	FFD4 special event: Forging a common agenda to achieve debt sustainability in developing countries Room: Pavilion 2, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
14:30 - 16:00	FFD4 side event: Enhancing de-risking mechanisms for sustainable investment Room: Side Event 13, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: María Amparo López Senovilla, Secretary of State for Trade, Spain Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Egypt Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development Yuichiro Akita, President, Berne Union Andreas Klasen, Honorary Research Associate, University of Oxford Paul Heaney, Secretary-General, Berne Union Benjamin Mugisha, Chief Underwriting Officer, African Trade Insurance Agency (ATIDI) John W.H. Denton, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce Adama Mariko, Secretary General, Finance in Common Beatriz Reguero, Chief Operating Officer, State account, CESCE Faruq Mohammed, Global Head of Development and Agency Finance, Standard Chartered Chris Mitman, Managing Partner, Acre Impact Capital Şebnem Erol Madan, Director for Economics and Sustainability, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
14:30 - 16:00	FFD4 International Business Forum policy dialogue: Revitalizing trade finance and global supply chains Room: FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
16:30 - 18:00	FFD4 side event: Investing in the digital future - strategies for financing a sustainable and inclusive connected world Room: Side event 16, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Boric Tdic, Former President of Serbia and Green Digital Action Ambassador Pasi Hellman, Undersecretary of State for International Development, Government of Finland Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Oscar López, Minister for Digital Transformation, Spain Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Mathu Joyini, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations Maikel Wilms, Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Anderson Caputo Silva, Division Chief - Connectivity, Markets and Finance, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Miguel Ángel Panduro, CEO, Hispasat David Kuijper, General Manager, European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) Oliver Bradley, Senior Managing Director , Macquarie Carla Haddad Mardini, Director, Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division, UNICEF Obaid Amrane, Chair, International Federation of Sovereign Wealth Funds Hun Kim, Director General, Sectors, Themes and Finance Solutions Department, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Mark Bowman, Vice President, Policy and Partnerships, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Alex Wong, Senior Advisor, Strategic Engagement and Initiatives, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) José Gilberto Scandiucci Filho, Minister-Counselor, Permanent Representation of Brazil to the United Nations Massimo Meloni, Chief, Policy Research Section, UN Trade and Development

09:00 - 09:45	FFD4 press briefing: Presentation of the World Investment Report 2025 - international investment in the digital economy Room: Press Centre, Pavillion 3, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
10:30 - 12:00	FFD4 side event: Unlocking the virtuous circle - from financing for development to financing from development Room: Side Event 6, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization Trevor Manuel, Former Minister of Finance of South Africa María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, Former President of the UNGA, 73rd session Yves Leterme, Former Prime Minister, Belgium Penelope Hawkins, Officer in Charge, Debt and Development Finance Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Manfred Schepers, CEO and Founder, ILX (the Netherlands) Mukhtar Babayev, President of COP29 Jan Fischer, Former Prime Minister of Czechia Igor Lukšic, Former Prime Minister of Montenegro
10:30 - 14:00	FFD4 side event: New approaches for a renewed international cooperation - 'Coalition of the willing on Beyond GDP' Room: Side Event 19, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
12:20 - 12:50	FFD4 press briefing: Realizing a Borrowers’ Forum Room: Press Centre, Pavillion 3, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Mahmoud Mohieldin, Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, United Nations Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Egypt Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Government of Spain Mulambo Haimbe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Government of Zambia Paolo Gentiloni, Co-Chair of the Group of Experts to Promote Policy Solutions for Resolving the Debt Crisis, United Nations
14:30 - 16:00	FFD4 side event: Youth moving beyond GDP - intergenerational equity to finance what we value Room: Side Event 4, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany Mónica Colomer de Selva, Ambassador-at-Large for Financing for Development, Kingdom of Spain Özge Aydogan, Director, Beyond Lab, UN Geneva Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs Alexandre Pupo, Secretary-General, Organismo Internacional de Juventud para Iberoamérica Antoine Kallab, Associate Director, Nature Conservation Center at the American University of Beirut Erin Tansey, Director of the Sustainable Inclusive Economies Program, International Development Research Centre Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics, UNCTAD Noemí Espinosa Madrid, Secretary General, Association of Caribbean States Amal Ridene, Climate finance and policy specialist Borja Santos Porras, Vice Dean, IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs Marcella Favretto, Chief of the Sustainable Development Section, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Bing Lou, Senior Policy Advisor, International Institute for Sustainable Development Laurence Jones-Williams, Executive Director, Rethinking Economics International

08:30 - 10:00	FFD4 side event: Tackling the debt and development crises in Jubilee Year 2025 Room: Side Event 1, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
08:30 - 10:00	FFD4 side event: Beyond extraction - reshaping global finance and raw materials trade for a just transition Room: Side Event 5, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre
10:00 - 13:00	FFD4 multi-stakeholder round table 6: Reforming the international financial architecture and addressing systemic issues Room: Pavilion 2, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
10:30 - 12:00	FFD4 side event: Financial inclusion for entrepreneurship development - bridging the formal-informal divide Room: Side Event 11, FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre Speakers: Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development Akustina Morni, Director of Policy, International Organisation of Employers (IOE) Valérie Schmitt, Deputy Director, Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization (ILO) Megan O'Neill, Senior Program Manager, UN & International Organizations, Microsoft Nancy Chenard, Secretargy General, Unicongo (Union Patronale et Interprofessionnelles du Congo) Nicholas Kamanzi, CEO and Co-founder, SocialPay Amadou Sako, Adviser, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)