Report of the Trade and Development Commission on its fourth session

The Commission,

1. Takes note of the report of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development on its fourth session (TD/B/C.I/MEM.2/20); the report of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Services, Development and Trade: the Regulatory and Institutional Dimension on its fourth session (TD/B/C.I/MEM.3/12); the report of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport and Trade Facilitation on its fourth session (TD/B/C.I/MEM.1/12) and the reports of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy on its eleventh and twelfth sessions (TD/B/C.I/CLP/12 and TD/B/C.I/CLP/18);
    
2. Expresses its appreciation for the presentation of reports on the Multi-year Expert Meeting on International Cooperation: South–South Cooperation and Regional Integration on its fourth session; for the summaries by the secretariat at member States’ request on the work undertaken in each of the multi-year expert meetings in their four sessions since 2009; and for the secretariat’s progress reports on the implementation of the provisions of the Accra Accord related to international trade in goods and services, commodities and transport and trade facilitation, as well as cross-divisional capacity-building, and to further strengthen synergies within the secretariat and among its three pillars of work;
    
3. Underlines the importance of promoting and strengthening synergies among the three pillars of UNCTAD’s work;
    
4. Emphasizes that, consistent with the Accra Accord and the Doha Mandate and their terms of reference as established by the Trade and Development Board, the various expert meetings continue to facilitate a rich and constructive sharing of experiences and best practices, and networking among experts, with a view to enhancing substantive knowledge and providing valuable inputs to the Commission for its consideration on the links between trade and development in the important areas of commodities, services, transport and trade facilitation, South–South cooperation and regional integration, and competition and competitiveness, in accordance with paragraphs 201 to 206 of the Accra Accord.