The UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) meeting in Nairobi is expected to raise Sh1.4 trillion ($14 billion) in fund mobilization in its World Investment Forum by the end of the week.
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Noting that Nairobi hosted an UNCTAD session just over four decades ago, the Secretary-General said that while much has changed in 40 years, numerous challenges raised at UNCTAD IV remain on the global agenda.
The week-long meeting which started on July 17, 2016 brings together heads of state and government, ministers and other prominent representatives of business, civil society and academia to tackle global trade and economic development issues.
The President, who spoke during the second day of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), also called for a reformed United Nations to make it more effective.
While the global trade slowdown and a lack of productive investment have sharpened the deep divides between those who have benefited from globalization and those who continue to feel left behind, the Secretary-General stressed, many actual and would-be leaders are embracing protectionism and even xenophobia, rather than working to change the economic model for the better. You need to be as early as possible.
Commodity exports may account for up to 90 percent of a developing country’s total export earnings, he said, adding that the study generated fresh lines of enquiry to understand the problem of illicit trade flows.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurated UNCTAD 14 with a speech delivered in the presence of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD.
The conference is being held under the theme, “From decision to action: Moving towards an inclusive and equitable global economic environment for trade and development”.
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UNCTAD 14 will continue until the 22 of this month and will be participated in by delegates from the 194 United Nations member states, government and non-governmental representatives, various regional and worldwide organizations, and civil society organizations.
