Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed said she expected her country's hosting of the fourteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in July to be a "roaring success".
Ms. Amina Mohamed was speaking as she led a delegation to the UNCTAD secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, comprised of Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Investment and Trade Adan Mohamed and Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism Najib Balala.
Taking place in Nairobi on 17–22 July 2016, UNCTAD 14 is an unrivalled opportunity for heads of State and government, ministers and other prominent players from the business world, civil society and academia to drive forward the 2030 Agenda for development. The conference includes the World Investment Forum, Youth Forum, Commodities Forum and civil society events.
The Kenyan delegation announced that Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta will attend the gala opening ceremony of UNCTAD14 on 17 July. UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi thanked the ministers present for helping to fast-track preparations for the conference and said they had "gone beyond the call of duty" in their levels of "enthusiasm and engagement".
Ms. Mohamed noted that the world had recently made commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for development financing which makes UNCTAD14 particularly timely.
"UNCTAD14 represents a turning point to translating our heightened development ambitions and commitments into concrete actions," she said.
In opening remarks, Ms. Mohamed strongly condemned deadly terror attacks in Cote d'Ivoire and Turkey in recent days, expressing Kenya's sympathy as a country that had also been the victim of terrorism. She said that such attacks on the "civilised way of life" were to be resisted in no uncertain terms by the international community standing together.
The Kenyan delegation made its presentation during the opening session of the fourth meeting of the UNCTAD 14 Preparatory Committee of member States.
For his part, Mr. Adan Mohamed said: "One of the causes of low levels of industrialization in developing countries has been an overreliance on commodities. The Commodities Forum at UNCTAD 14 will discuss how countries can break the chains of commodity dependence."
He added: "The World Investment Forum at UNCTAD 14 will help map out impact-oriented private sector solutions to overcome investment challenges to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals."
Mr. Najib Balala in his remarks said: "Tourism is not just pleasure. It's also a business of selling and buying services. That's why tourism is critical in trade." He said that trade in services such as tourism was an important topic for UNCTAD 14, while at the same time promoting Kenya as a vacation destination.
Later, Ms. Mohamed opened an exhibition within the United Nations complex dedicated to "cultural, investment and business opportunities" in Kenya. As well as showcasing Kenyan products such as tea and coffee, the National Museums of Kenya hosted a stand with replicas of early humanoid skulls found in Kenya.
Quick link: Watch video on YouTube
