Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/.  The 15th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development quadrennial ministerial conference (UNCTAD15) themed ‘From inequality and vulnerability to prosperity for all’ is being held virtually in Bridgetown, Barbados and Geneva, Switzerland on October 4-7, 2021. 

As a pre-conference event, the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 and China was held online with the participation of foreign affairs and trade ministers of the Group of 77 countries, exchanging views on global trade, development and post-pandemic recovery in developing countries.

During the meeting, Mongolia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs B. Battsetseg delivered a speech, representing the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries. She noted that UNCTAD15 is providing an opportunity to discuss policies and measures required to overcome the crisis, build resilience and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and underscored that the session needs to address the issues of LLDCs.

The Minister also stressed that the common challenges facing LLDCs and the high cost of trade remain high, leading to reduction of the competitiveness of landlocked countries in the world market, increase of the prices of imported goods, and noted the need of UNCTAD to support the search for innovative approaches to facilitate transit, transport and trade.

She stated that over 60 percent of the export earnings of 26 landlocked developing countries depend on raw materials, and efforts to diversify and restructure exports are needed to overcome this dependency and achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. Expressing the LLDCs group’s supports for UNCTAD’s Productive Capacities Index (PCI) practical tool, the Minister called on the organization to create and develop a specific program or center for productive capacities.

Established as a permanent intergovernmental body in 1964 by the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade. Its work focuses on the following main areas: least developed countries and special programmes; globalisation, interdependence and development; international trade and commodities; investment and enterprise; and technology and trade logistics.