[Video message]
A farmer in Rwanda checking prices on her phone.
A young entrepreneur in Jordan selling software to clients she will never meet.
A small business in Bangladesh accessing finance that no bank branch could have offered.
This is what the digital economy makes possible – when it works. Making it work is why our partnership matters.
Secretary General Al Yahya, excellencies, friends,
It is a pleasure to address you as you open your 5th General Assembly.
At UNCTAD's ministerial conference (UNCTAD16) in October, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO).
But let me be clear about what that document represents.
This is a work plan – a commitment to ensure the digital economy becomes a force for development, not a new frontier of division.
That work is already underway.
Together, we are building the evidence base that good policy requires.
Digital trade is growing faster than our ability to measure it.
Data gaps are wide precisely where the stakes are highest.
UNCTAD has developed tools – handbooks, manuals, new statistics on e-commerce and digital services – that help countries see where they stand and where they can go.
DCO’s Digital Economy Navigator and Trends Report draw on this shared foundation. Really good work.
Good data is the bedrock of good policy.
We are laying it together.
But measurement is only the beginning.
Through our eTrade Readiness Assessments, we help countries translate diagnosis into action – national strategies, regulatory reforms, the practical steps that turn digital potential into digital reality.
Several DCO members – Bangladesh, Jordan, Oman, Rwanda, among others – have already worked with us in this way.
And we share a commitment to ensuring that digitalization does not leave half the population behind.
UNCTAD's eTrade for Women initiative supports women entrepreneurs and innovators across the digital economy. This is an area where our partnership can deepen.
In a world where digital technology shapes trade, investment, and daily life, no country and no institution can meet these challenges alone.
We need shared principles, shared tools, and shared spaces. That is what this partnership offers.
I thank Secretary General Al Yahya, all DCO member states, and our technical teams for their work in turning our agreement into action. I look forward to what we build next.
Thank you.