Review of the technical cooperation activities of UNCTAD

The Trade and Development Board

1. Reaffirms the role of UNCTAD technical cooperation as a fundamental pillar of the organization and stresses the importance of coordination among the three pillars for better coherence and impact when providing technical assistance;
    
2. Takes note of the report by the Secretary-General of UNCTAD on the review of the technical cooperation activities of UNCTAD and their financing;
    
3. Recognizes UNCTAD’s assistance and requests the secretariat to continue ensuring that technical cooperation activities are in line with the Accra Accord and the Doha Mandate, and oriented towards addressing the post-2015 development agenda, which includes sustainable development goals, in coordination with other international organizations when appropriate;
    
4. Appreciates the quality of technical cooperation activities carried out by the secretariat in cooperation with the beneficiaries, development partners and other international organizations, and takes note that the funds received from both developed and developing countries in 2014 increased compared to previous years;
    
5. Appreciates also the tools provided by UNCTAD, such as the list of requests received from member States on technical assistance and the UNCTAD Toolbox, which provides member States and donors with a comprehensive overview of UNCTAD’s main products;
    
6. Reaffirms the importance of results-based management in the delivery of effective technical assistance, in line with United Nations guidelines, and welcomes the secretariat’s ongoing efforts in this regard;
    
7. Takes note of the rising level of demand for technical assistance from developing countries, which is not fully matched by current funding levels, and calls on developed countries and other development partners in a position to do so to make multi-year contributions to UNCTAD technical cooperation trust funds – such as the Trust Fund for Least Developed Countries – in order to work towards achieving adequate and predictable funding for effective planning and implementation of UNCTAD technical assistance programmes; underlines the relevance of non-earmarked trust funds; and requests the secretariat to explore innovative ways to broaden the donor base;
    
8. Encourages the secretariat to ensure, where possible, a balanced regional distribution of technical cooperation based on demand, taking into consideration the needs of Africa, least developed countries, landlocked least developed countries and small island developing States and, in this regard, invites UNCTAD to mainstream the technical cooperation aspects of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014–2024 and the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway, as agreed at the related United Nations conferences;
    
9. Welcomes UNCTAD’s leading role in the United Nations Inter-Agency Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity, and encourages a more in-depth inter-agency collaboration with cluster agencies for more coherence, effectiveness and impact at the national and regional levels in the context of “Delivering as one”, taking into account the development dimension;
    
10. Encourages UNCTAD to further access existing funding through One United Nations funds;
     
11. Calls upon member States to continue informal consultations to agree on a set of common goals and principles for the fundraising strategy, including the establishment of a multi-donor trust fund on trade and productive capacity to effectively scale up the efficiency and impact of technical cooperation delivered by the United Nations Inter-Agency Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity at the national and regional levels.