Over 80 per cent of world merchandise trade is carried by sea, making maritime transport the backbone of the global economy, yet global and regional supply chains are facing mounting disruptions from pandemics, geopolitical tensions, climate-driven extreme weather and rapid shifts in trade policy. When transits through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed by nearly 95 per cent in early 2026, energy and fertilizer prices, freight rates, insurance premiums and transport costs were affected within days and weeks, with repercussions for the supply and price of food and essential goods and the sustainable development prospects of vulnerable economies, including the LLDCs, LDCs and SIDS.
With supply chain disruptions becoming increasingly frequent, United Nations and other International Organizations can play an important role in assisting governments and industry stakeholders to shift from reactive crisis management to proactive preparedness, resilience and risk management.
This roundtable aims to showcase solutions that strengthen supply chain resilience across transport, ports and trade logistics. Building also on insights from the First Global Supply Chain Forum (Bridgetown, 2024), it provides an opportunity to highlight tools, best practices and lessons learned, and identify scalable, replicable approaches that respond to the needs of developing countries across regions, including LLDCs, LDCs and SIDS.
Questions for discussion
- What solutions and tools developed by Organizations have measurably helped to improve supply-chain resilience across transport, ports and trade logistics and how can these be transferred and scaled to meet the needs of developing countries, including the most vulnerable, such as landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS)?
- Which best practices have been identified and proven to be most effective and what made them work? What recurring lessons emerge across countries and disruptions? Where do gaps remain?
- What initiatives and partnerships should be pursued collectively by UN and other international Organization in collaboration with Governments and Industry as a matter of priority?
Programme
Opening remarks: Secretary-General of UNCTAD
Followed by a Panel, with participation of heads of international organizations.
Moderator: To be determined
Format: Davos-style
