Trade and Development Board, Sixty-sixth session

Inequality – a drag on reducing poverty and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals

There has been growing recognition in recent years of the need to address inequality as one of the impediments to achieving the global development agenda.

Of special significance is the focus on leaving no one behind that underlies the Sustainable Development Goals, which represent a new impetus towards fighting poverty, the universalization of the global development agenda and the accomplishment of the development aspirations and aims of the global community, especially for developing countries.

Developing countries face constraints in putting in place adequate policies and securing the diverse means required for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 10, which includes effective taxation policies, domestic resource mobilization, dealing with the challenges of attracting official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, all in support of inclusive economic advancement and poverty reduction.

At the fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14), through the Nairobi Maafikiano, the international community mandated the revitalization of the intergovernmental machinery of UNCTAD. Member States called for deeper thinking and more constructive engagement to strengthen consensus-building on key issues on the UNCTAD agenda.

The Trade and Development Board will thus examine what is needed, from different policy angles, to redress the disturbing inequality, which has long-lasting and potentially profound negative implications for global growth and the eradication of poverty by 2030.

On the eve of preparations for UNCTAD XV, the high-level segment should stimulate discussion and reflection to contribute to making the forthcoming quadrennial conference as meaningful and impactful as possible.

The forthcoming high-level segment of the Trade and Development Board will therefore focus on inequality as a drag on reducing poverty in developing countries through the lens of the mandate of UNCTAD, as the focal point in the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development and the interrelated issues of finance, investment, technology and sustainable development.

The discussions will address the following facets of this multidimensional challenge:

1. Means to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 10

2. Trade policies and their impact on inequalities

3. Digital development: Opportunities and challenges

4. South–South cooperation for trade, investment and structural transformation