UNCTAD is organizing an open consultation with member States and leading experts, to gather views on the structure and content of a primer on data for trade in services and development policies.

Member States, in the Bridgetown Covenant, stated that UNCTAD should “support and promote activities and initiatives in developing countries through the improvement in trade in services”.

The services sector represents an important share of output, jobs and investment and an increasing share of trade. Services have linkages with other sectors, and therefore play a role in promoting economic diversification. A better understanding of the contributions of trade in services provides a relevant basis for policymaking. However, data on trade in services remains limited, particularly in developing countries.

Following the ninth session of the Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Trade, Services and Development, UNCTAD convened an informal working group on data for services trade and development policies in 2023–2024, aimed at addressing pressing needs in bridging gaps in services trade data and sharing good practice examples, particularly in the innovative use of existing data. The report of the working group, including a number of suggestions, was presented at the eleventh session of the Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Trade, Services and Development, in July 2024, and delegates welcomed the report and its findings and suggestions. One of the suggestions was to produce a primer on data for trade in services and development policies, to provide an overview of key issues related to services trade statistics and trade-related policymaking, with a focus on economic diversification and structural transformation.

Participation

Logistics