Barbados

The climate emergency, a global cost-of-living crisis, debt distress, widening inequalities and other overlapping crises call for political leadership and multilateral action.

The world needs equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines so positive economic conditions can return to all countries and ensure well-functioning global value chains.

The event is the UN’s first major conference on trade and development amid the coronavirus pandemic and will help shape policy responses for a better recovery from COVID-19.

The pandemic has, however, resulted in mixed fortunes for some e-commerce companies, reversing the profits of firms offering services such as ride-hailing and travel.

Preliminary data for 2020 from three major economies shows the growing reliance on digital technologies could boost imports and exports of communications devices, which fell in 2019.

New projections show stronger growth than expected in 2021, but the untackled problems of inequality, indebtedness and weak investment threaten hopes for a more resilient future.

UNCTAD Secretary-General sets down roadmap for health, productivity, prosperity and fixing a fractured global economy scarred by the coronavirus pandemic ahead of its October 2021 quadrennial conference in Barbados.

The pandemic has sent shockwaves through global maritime transport and laid the foundations for a transformed industry and associated supply chains. UNCTAD expects a return to growth in 2021

UNCTAD15, the UN trade and development body's fifteenth quadrennial conference, will take place under the theme “From inequality and vulnerability to prosperity for all” as the world seeks solutions for a global new normal.