The Doha Mandate, adopted at UNCTAD XIII, stresses that development of services and access to them, supported by adequate regulatory and institutional frameworks, is important for sound socioeconomic development.
The objective of the expert meeting is to identify best-fit practices at the levels of policymaking, regulations, institutions and trade negotiations that link services, development and trade in a balanced manner, including strengthening national services regulation.
The fourth session of the expert meeting will examine practices and experiences in building coordination and coherence between trade negotiators, policymakers and regulators, and making regulatory and trade agendas mutually supportive in services sectors.
Services sectors are essential to the efficient functioning of all economies and strengthened productive capabilities and competitiveness. The quality of policies, regulations and institutional frameworks is the key determinant of services performance.
At the same time, increased trade in services negotiations have also raised concerns over the relationship between the liberalization and regulation of services, as certain trade rules could affect the degree of national regulatory autonomy and policy space to pursue development objectives.
Within this context, coherence between regulatory and trade agendas, and effective coordination between regulatory authorities, sectoral ministries and trade ministries, are crucial for trade liberalization to become pro-developmental.
The session will examine lessons that can be learned from various country and regional practices and experiences, including UNCTAD Services Policy Reviews, in building mutually supportive regulatory and trade strategies.
Related
Programme
Meeting series
Contact
UNCTAD secretariat
Intergovernmental Support Service
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Fax: 41 22 917 0214
E-mail: meetings@unctad.org
tel: 41 22 917 5866 / 41 22 917 4893 / 41 22 917 5526 and 41 22 917 5640
e-mail: aurangzeb.butt@unctad.org