UNCTAD's role to reduce poverty; Accra conference coming.(Commercial Review)(Conference news)

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY has a "special duty" to spread recently promising global economic growth to the "poorest of the poor," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said recently. The UNCTAD XII conference, scheduled for 20-25 April in Accra, Ghana, is a good place to advance this aim by galvanising support for a more development-friendly global economic, trading, and financial system," the head said. "Accra must also articulate an effective strategy to leverage, trade, and investment for poverty reduction and economic growth." The year 2008 should be "the year of the bottom billion," Mr Ban told the TDB's 43rd executive session. Globalisation is still leaving the extreme poor behind, especially in SSA, he said, and the Millennium Development Goals, which include halving extreme poverty by 2015, will not be met at current rates of progress. "Now is the time for new ideas and fresh approaches. In the coming weeks and months, I will dedicate myself to strengthening the UN's role in development."

UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpadki said proposals recently submitted by Mr Ban to the General Assembly to strengthen the "development pillar" of the UN and to "address the critical capacity gaps faced by the Secretariat, including UNCTAD," are welcomed by UNCTAD and should help the organisation advance its work and expand its resources. He described UNCTAD's role as "helping countries accelerate development and poverty reduction by maximising gains from globalisation."

Mr Supachai said UNCTAD XII should provide "a balanced and pragmatic set of policy guidance to speed up growth and reduce poverty." He added, "We see the Accra Conference and its preparatory process as contributing to the UN's development agenda. Economic growth and poverty reduction are two sides of the same coin."

The theme of the Accra conference is "addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development." Panel discussions will be held on least-developed countries and the situation in Africa, reflecting concern that while developing countries have averaged good economic growth for the past five years, the benefits do not appear to be reaching the extreme poor. Mr Ban said "not a single country" in SSA is on track to achieve the MDGs on time. He called the situation "alarming" and said efforts "must involve all our partners, from international financial and development institutions to NGOs to the private sector."

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