13th June, 2024
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has commended the works of the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) agency 60 years after its establishment.
Guterres gave the commendation in his address to mark the diamond anniversary of the UN agency on Wednesday while addressing the UN Trade and Development Global Leaders Forum.
According to him, the right to development is inextricably linked with trade, which the world’s poorest countries – now “mired in debt” through no fault of their own – have every right to pursue on much fairer terms
The secretary-general, however, highlighted the multiple challenges against a more sustainable and inclusive global economy for all.
“New and protracted conflicts are having a ripple effect across the global economy.
“Global debt has soared while key development indicators, including poverty and hunger, have regressed,”
On a visit to Switzerland, Guterres reprised previous warnings that the world’s international financial architecture “has been exposed as outdated, dysfunctional, and unjust”.
”It has ‘failed to provide a safety net for developing countries mired in debt’, the UN chief insisted.
He also issued the worrying assessment that the international trading system faced pressure “on all sides”, to the extent that it is now “teetering on the verge of fragmentation”.
Against this deeply concerning backdrop, and amid escalating geopolitical tensions, rising inequality and soaring debt, Guterres insisted that the role of UNTAD was more relevant than ever in working for a more sustainable and inclusive global economy, through trade and investment.
The UN agency cannot be neutral on development problems – “just as the World Health Organization could not be neutral on malaria”, the UN chief said, referencing the famous words of Raul Prebisch, UNCTAD’s first Secretary-General.
“Trade has become a double-edged sword: a source of both prosperity and inequality; interconnection and dependence; economic innovation and environmental degradation,” Guterres said.
He urged greater dialogue between nations in the face of a near-tripling of trade barriers since 2019, “many driven by geopolitical rivalry, with no concern for their impact on developing countries”.
He added: “The world cannot afford splits into rival blocs. To implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and to ensure peace and security – we need one global market and one global economy, in which there is no place for poverty and hunger.”
(NAN)