The Fifteenth Quadrennial Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XV) concluded today, October 7th, 2021. The Conference was hosted by Barbados under the theme “From Inequality and Vulnerability to Prosperity for All” October 3rd-7th, 2021, in a hybrid of in-person and virtual format. The Conference is the highest decision-making body of UNCTAD, where Member States assess key trade and development issues and formulate global policy responses, and determine the organization’s work priorities for the following four years.
The Honourable Hugh Hilton Todd, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in his current capacity as Ministerial Coordinator of the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) delivered brief remarks at the Closing Ceremony of UNCTAD XV.
In his statement, Minister Todd noted that this year’s UNCTAD XV Conference has significant meaning for the members of GRULAC, since it was held by a member of the region and came at a time when many members states are still struggling to recover from the socio-economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On October 3rd-5th, 2021, His Excellency President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, led a high-level delegation to the formal opening of the Conference and participated in the “World Leaders Summit Dialogue III: Building a more prosperous development path: Matching the Scale of the Moment”.
In his address to the Conference, President Ali called for reform of the multilateral system and underscored that such reform is needed to promote fairer trade, reduce global imbalances, and deliver on the promises for greater financing for development. President Ali added that International trade reform must ensure developing countries enjoy greater market access to developed markets and prohibit unilateral actions by rich countries to restrict imports from developing countries which can have harmful effects on specific economic sectors. The President further expressed his belief “that together with actions at the national level, reforms to the multilateral system are essential to ensuring a path to prosperity.”
The main outcome documents of UNCTAD XV are the Bridgetown Covenant and the Conference’s Political Declaration entitled “The Spirit of Speightstown” which set out the priorities and programme of action for the next four years and beyond.
During the closing remarks, Minister Todd noted that the outcome from the conference is expected to support developing countries’ recovery efforts and he further called for deeper commitment by stakeholders to ensure that development is more inclusive and sustainable.
Guyana’s delegation to the Conference included officials from the Office of the President, Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Tourism, Industry and Commerce and Public Infrastructure, as well as the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Permanent Mission of Guyana to the United Nations in Geneva.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
October 7, 2021
