Progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010: (a) Implementation of UNCTAD-wide activities in favour of LDCs (b) The least developed country status: Effective
benefits and the quest

The Trade and Development Board,

1. Takes note of the information contained in the background reports submittedby the UNCTAD secretariat, as contained in documents TD/B/49/6 and TD/B/49/7, and offurther information provided by the secretariat during the meeting, and expresses itsappreciation for the efforts made so far in implementing the relevant commitments andactions of the Programme of Action for LDCs for the Decade 2001-2010;
2. Encourages the UNCTAD secretariat to continue its activities in support ofLDCs within its mandate, and to continue to report to the Board, at its regular sessions, onUNCTAD’s activities in favour of these countries, and emphasizes the need for UNCTAD tocontribute to the mandated reviews by ECOSOC and the General Assembly of theimplementation of the Programme of Action for LDCs for the decade 2001-2010, bearing inmind the ongoing reform process in the United Nations;
3. Emphasizes the need for closer and active inter-agency cooperation betweenUNCTAD and other organs and agencies of the UN system, especially with the Office of theHigh Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, and including the Bretton Woodsinstitutions and the WTO, with the objectives of creating maximum synergies, avoidingduplication of efforts, and maximizing benefits to LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS; in that regard,encouraged by the ongoing cooperation between UNCTAD and the Office of the HighRepresentative, emphasizes that such cooperation should be further strengthened;
4. Reaffirms the importance of mainstreaming the Brussels Programme of Actioninto UNCTAD’s programme of work and its intergovernmental processes;
5. Underlines the importance of mainstreaming trade into national developmentplans, welcomes the UNCTAD secretariat’s continued contribution to the implementation of the Integrated Framework (IF), and requests it to strengthen that contribution, particularly by planning and implementing trade-related capacity building as a follow-up to the diagnostic studies;
6. Welcomesthe role of UNCTAD in the implementation of the GlobalFramework for Transit Transport Cooperation between Land-locked and Transit DevelopingCountries and the Donor Community, and encourages the secretariat, within its mandate, toprovide substantive and technical support to the preparations for the International Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries andInternational Financial and Development Institutions on Transit Transport Cooperation, to beconvened in Kazakhstan in 2003;
7. Notes with appreciation the secretariat’s research and advisory services on theeconomic vulnerability of a number of LDCs, and recommends that such activities continue;
8. Endorses the secretariat’s efforts to pursue its research and analytical work onthe benefits effectively derived from the least developed country status with a view toidentifying approaches to make this status a more effective tool for socio-economictransformation and convergence with other developing countries, promoting a suitable “exitstrategy” for the LDCs that are coming nearer to graduation thresholds;
9. Stresses the need to continue UNCTAD’s technical assistance to LDCs in theirefforts to identify the most effective international support measures by virtue of the LDCstatus, with a view to inducing structural progress in their economies;
10. Notes with concern the continued decline in commodity prices, which resultsin a substantial loss of export earnings for the majority of the least developed countries, and requests the secretariat, in cooperation with other relevant agencies such as the CFC and ITC, to explore ways to strengthen its activities in the fields of diversification, technical assistance and capacity building so as to bring about greater value-added in the commodity sector of LDCs;
11. Requests the secretariat, in the context of its analysis of the benefits effectively derived from LDC status, to pay particular attention, on an ongoing basis, to the expected impact of the most recent initiatives in favour of LDCs in the area of preferential market access, inter alia the “Everything But Arms” initiative, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other such initiatives;
12. Recognizes the difficulties faced by LDCs in the process of accession to theWTO, and requests UNCTAD to continue to provide adequate assistance in this field, as wellas to consolidate its support for other WTO-related activities in favour of the LDCs;
13. Notes with appreciation the results achieved, so far, and the orientation of thefuture activities of the Special programme on LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, including thestrengthened inter-divisional coordination within the secretariat, and the improved linkagesbetween the policy analysis work of UNCTAD and its capacity-building activities in favourof LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, and urges the secretariat to focus on areas within its mandate, inparticular those where UNCTAD has expertise and a clear comparative advantage;
14. Expresses deep appreciation to bilateral and multilateral donors for theircontinued and generous financial contributions to the UNCTAD Trust Fund for LDCs;
15. Urges donors to respond to the need for extrabudgetary resources for thefollowing purposes: to enable the secretariat to contribute effectively to the implementation of and follow- up to the Integrated Framework and to the preparation of the 2003 International Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries and International Financial and Development Institutions on Trans it Transport Cooperation in mKazakhstan; to undertake analysis and monitoring of the effective benefits derived from the LDC status; and to replenish the UNCTAD Trust Fund for LDCs for further technical cooperation and capacity-building activities in the least developed countries.

936^th plenary meeting
18 October 2002