Global leaders urge policies and partnerships to harness the fast-growing services economy for sustainable and equitable development.
© Shutterstock/Anjas fibriansyah | Bali, Indonesia. Tourism, a key pillar of the services sector, is an economic lifeline for many developing countries.
At the 16th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), global leaders called for stronger cooperation and smarter policies to harness the fast-growing services sector as a driver of inclusive, sustainable and resilient growth.
Opening the Global Services Forum on 23 October, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Deputy Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno said services were now “centre stage in the global economy,” accounting for about two-thirds of global GDP, over half of foreign direct investment and more than half of the global workforce.
“Between 2014 and 2024, global services exports grew by an average of 5.3% per year – more than twice the rate of goods exports,” he said.
“Services are embedded in almost every product and transaction: they power mobile banking for smallholder farmers, digital platforms for local artists, and healthcare access for rural communities.”
He warned that the benefits of this rapid expansion remain uneven.
“Many developing economies continue to rely heavily on transport and travel exports, while developed economies dominate digitally deliverable and knowledge-intensive services,” he said.
Services as a new frontier
Kunal Sen, Director of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research, said services could become the “new frontier of economic transformation.”
“For a long time, manufacturing has been seen as a route to economic prosperity,” he said.
“However, manufacturing may not be the only route to equitable, inclusive and sustainable development.”
He described services as “the big job creator for developing countries,” employing one in two workers there.
“Services is the new manufacturing,” he said, pointing to digital trade that allows “technicians in Nairobi to fix machinery in Germany.”
He urged policymakers to invest in digital infrastructure and “recognize that manufacturing and services are not substitutes – they are complements.”
Building skills and competitiveness
Angola’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Rui Miguêns de Oliveira outlined reforms to promote private-sector-led growth and digital financial inclusion.
“Human skills are very key in services,” he said.
“We are investing in technology parks and entrepreneurship to bring the best opportunities to the Angolan market.”
From Panama, Minister of Commerce and Industry Julio Moltó said the services sector was a “core pillar of inclusive growth,” with exports surpassing $9 billion in the first half of 2025.
“A small economy such as ours can generate growth through trade and services, especially if we manage resources effectively,” he said.
Panama’s strategy focuses on “exporting IT, cybersecurity, creative services and telemedicine,” while ensuring all efforts “are sustainable, inclusive and have a climate focus.”
Tourism for transformation
Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais, Secretary-General elect of UN Tourism, said tourism was “not just an experience, but an economy, a livelihood and in many countries a lifeline.”
For developing nations, she said, it offers “one of the most immediate and inclusive pathways to opportunity.”
“Investment in this sector is not about building more resorts or airports – it is about building resilience,” she said.
She urged countries to mobilize blended-finance partnerships that de-risk private capital, and “invest in people as much as in place,” and ensure “every dollar invested in tourism leaves a destination better than it was found.”
A call for coordinated action
Speakers agreed that services can power economic diversification and sustainable development, but success depends on investment in digital infrastructure, skills and coherent policies.
The Forum underscored that global growth in services trade offers an unprecedented opportunity for developing countries – if they can move up the value chain and ensure the transformation is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.