The Trade and Development Board oversees the activities of UNCTAD. It meets in Geneva up to three times a year in executive sessions to deal with urgent policy issues, as well as management and institutional matters.

High-level segment

The 77th executive session of the Board will include a high-level segment entitled "Looking at the future: Getting the economy back on track and addressing the most pressing challenges" on 20 October at 3 p.m. CEST.

A once-in-a-generation global cost-of-living crisis has been unfolding since 2020 and, with the war in Ukraine, it is now at critical levels.

In the last three years, the number of people who are food insecure has almost tripled to 350 million people. Poverty has risen by 70 million people in just the first three months of the year. Thirty per cent of middle-income countries and 60 per cent of low-income countries are near debt distress. Inflation is at multi-decades highs. Trade is being disrupted, social unrest is rising, and peace and security are under threat.

These challenges are all interconnected. The high-level segment discussion aims to enhance political will and cooperation to face the current pressing challenges, through systemic and transformative action that allows economies to get back on track.

The discussion will be led by UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebecca Grynspan and will include Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, Sigrid Kaag, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Netherlands, and Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Watch the high-level segment live on UN Web TV.

Other topics on the agenda

The 77th executive session will also focus on the following:
 

• Interdependence and development strategies in a globalized world.
   
• Investment for development: International tax reforms and sustainable investment.
   
• Economic development in Africa: Rethinking the foundations of export diversification in Africa: The catalytic role of business and financial services.
   
• Activities carried out in the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries.
   
• Report on UNCTAD assistance to the Palestinian people.
   
• Report of the Working Party on the Programme Plan and Programme Performance.
   

Participation

The session is open to all member States of Trade and Development Board.

Other participants (i.e. representatives of members of UNCTAD that are not members of the Board, and representatives of specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental bodies wishing to attend as observers) are also eligible to participate in the session as observers and should register online using the link provided.

Registration

Registration should be completed online and is required in order to be included in the list of participants.

Logistics

If conditions permit, the session will be held with physical participation, in room XVII of the Palais des Nations, and remote participation, through a simultaneous interpretation platform, in the six official languages of the United Nations.

A link to the formal virtual meeting will be sent to registered participants, at the email address used for registration, one day in advance of the start of the session.