The Meeting will aim to discuss policy options that enhance the contribution of distribution services to growth, trade and development and also identify approaches that developing countries may follow in seeking access to global distribution channels for their goods and services as a means for their effective integration into the global economy. In that context, the Meeting will address the new realities of international trade in distribution services and current negotiations on services at the multilateral and regional levels, assessing their role in contributing to attainment of the national development objectives in this area. In accordance with the São Paulo Consensus, the Meeting will aim to assist developing countries in strengthening their capacities to increase their participation in global services trade, in particular in distribution services, and applying the insights gained to help strengthen domestic services capacity.
The Expert Meeting will provide an opportunity for actors from public and private sectors, including trade negotiators, to explore different facets of distribution services in an open debate at the international level in order to bring about a convergence of views on a set of options necessary to ensure further progress in GATS negotiations on distribution services, discuss what policies have to be pursued in liberalizing market access and facilitate trade in these services. High-level experts from academia and international organizations are expected to contribute to the debate. The aim is to contribute to UNCTAD´s objective of generating "greater understanding of the interface and coherence between international processes and negotiations on the one hand and the development strategies and policies that developing countries need to pursue on the other", as stated in the São Paulo Consensus.
