A New Partnership for the Mediterranean Region
Carlos Fortin, Deputy Secretary General and Officer-in-Charge of UNCTAD and Henry Roux-Alezais, President of the Institut de la Méditerranée, signed a Memorandum of Understanding Monday to explore how knowledge-based economies (KbEs) can be implemented as development tools in the Mediterranean region, especially in Morocco and Tunisia.
As the work of the Institut de la Méditerranée has shown, KbEs can generate growth and development without the need for the large-scale accumulation of (...)
Progamme promotes knowledge-based economy in Tunisia
From Tunisia Online/AllAfrica Global Media
Tunis, Nov 29, 2004
"La Tunisie, a fait observer M. Figueredo, est le seul pays de la région à faire de la promotion de l'économie du savoir l'une de ses priorités"
M. Mohamed Ghannouchi, Premier ministre, s'est entretenu avec M. Reinaldo Figueredo, directeur du Programme onusien (UNCTAD-Undp) pour la globalisation, la libéralisation et le développement humain durable.
A l'issue de l'entrevue, M. Figueredo a indiqué que l'entretien a (...)
Programme hightlights importance of energy issues to development
Reinaldo Figueredo, Director of the Global Programme, told an OPEC seminar yesterday that energy issues were essential to national development and were closely bound to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Figueredo was addressing the seminar in Vienna on behalf of Jose Antonio Ocampo, UN Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
He emphasised the importance that recent UN conferences had placed on energy access against its varied distribution in (...)
The Programme is planning a new phase: We look forward to your feedback
The Global Programme is currently in its second phase, which ends in December 2004.
It is now in discussion with its main partners and other stakeholders to design a new phase. This phase will need to reflect the latest priorities of low-income and transition economies in their global integration and reflect developments in the international environment. It should also add further value to the work of its core alliance, who are UNDP and UNCTAD, in their respective mandates.
The full (...)
Viêt Nam: UNCTAD Secretary-General Ricupero and Minister of Trade launch eLangViêt
At a ceremony yesterday in Hanoi, UNCTAD Secretary General Rubens Ricupero and Viêt Nam Minister of Trade Trân Dinh Tuyen, jointly launched eLangViêt.
eLangViêt, meaning literally e Vietnamese Farmer, will bring trade, production, health and education know-how to the grassroots populations of seven villages in the six provinces of Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang, An Giang, Ha Tay, Thai Binh and Nghe An. These provinces represent a range of economic and geographical situations.
(...)
Algeria: Ensuring competitiveness and social efficiency for oil-exporting developing countries
Reinaldo Figueredo, Director of the Global Programme, yesterday warned oil-exporting countries not to seek economic liberalization as an end it itself.
Speaking in Algiers during the Algerian Energy Week, he said that while liberalization was important, any outward-looking development strategy required sustainable domestic investment and sound civil and political institutions as a prerequisite for global integration.
He also offered specific advice for oil-exporting (...)
Global Programme approach presented at UNCTAD XI
The Global Programme organised a side-event at UNCTAD XI aht took place during lunchtime on Tuesday the 15th of June (click here for the meeting page). 60 persons attended the event, from developing countries, developed countries and the International Community.
Mr. Reinaldo Figueredo, as Director of the Global Programme, presented the approach followed by the Programme and its critical path of action. Mr. Juan de Castro, Consultant to the Programme, made a presentation on (...)
Former EU Ambassador Paul Trân Van Thinh: Viêt Nam must unite to win war on poverty
Speaking in Geneva yesterday, former European Union Ambassador, Paul Trân Van Thinh, called for Viêt Nam to unite behind the war on poverty, in the same way it had done before winning its war for independence and freedom.
Trân was addressing the 50th anniversary commemorations of the 1954 Geneva Accords, on Viêt Nam's options for economic and social development at the dawn of the third millennium. The event was organized by the Swiss lakeside city and attended by witnesses to (...)
Global Programme and Government of Viêt Nam finalise eLangViêt study
The Global Programme and the Government of Viêt Nam met on 19 March 2004 to finalise the pre-feasibility study on eLangViêt on promoting sustainable human development through the grassroots with the use of information and communication technologies.
The meeting brought together the six provinces and seven villages involved in the project, along with Viêt Nam's development- and economic-oriented ministries.
In addition, the three pillars of authority in Viêt Nam were represented, with (...)
Programme calls on developing countries to tackle head-on challenges of globalization and energy resources
Reinaldo Figueredo, Director of the Global Programme, called yesterday for developing countries to tackle head-on the political and economic challenges of globalization.
Speaking in Rabat at a Maghrebian trade conference organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the Arab Maghreb Union, he said that developing countries needed to be more aware of the extent to which services would become a significant factor for them in future international trade, but added that (...)
Ministers, CEOs and Opinion leaders discuss governance and competitiveness in Asia
The Global Programme, in partnership with the International Institute for Trade and Development (IITD ) is launching a series of high-level seminars to explore new models of governance that respond effectively to the fast-flowing movement of goods, services, capital and knowledge.
The first event, for the Asia region brought together leaders and decision-makers in business, government and civil society: Ministers, CEO's and influential people in civil society and the media.
The (...)
Call for more flexibility at WTO in trade matters for developing countries
Participants at a high-level seminar on how provisions for Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) in the Doha Round could benefit development, called for more flexibility for developing countries.
Convened jointly with the International Centre for Trade and Development the meeting brought together senior trade figures in national Governments, trade negotiators in Geneva and representatives of civil society to flesh out opportunities ahead of the Cancun Ministerial summit. The dialogue (...)
Global Programme and Viêt Nam Government to bring market information to rural and mountainous communities
The Global Programme has announced the launch of a pre-feasibility study to examine how information and communication technologies can best be used to bring market information to rural areas of Viêt Nam.
Operated in conjunction with the Government of Viêt Nam and with UNDP New York, this pilot-project will operate from telecentres in one village in each of the six provinces of Bac Kan, Thai-Binh, Tuyên Quang, Nghê, Ha Tây and An Giang. The Ministries of Trade and of Agriculture and Rural (...)
Asian regional meeting in Bangkok on governance and competitiveness postponed due to SARS.
Following the imposition of severe travel restrictions to combat the spread of SARS, the Asia regional seminar on globalization, governance and competitiveness has been postponed to a later date.
The Global Programme decided on this action after being notified by a large number of participants that the restrictions would prevent them from attending.
The Programme's partner in Thailand, the International Institute for Trade and Development, will continue to monitor the situation closely (...)
Heads of agencies renew support for trade as best way out of poverty
The heads of four UN agencies working in the field of trade and development yesterday renewed their support for trade as the best way to tackle world poverty.
Speaking at a specially convened session of the UNDP Executive Board in Geneva, Mark Malloch-Brown of UNDP, Mike Moore of WTO, Carlos Fortin of UNCTAD and J. Denis Bélisle of ITC called for more funding and collaboration for enabling countries to integrate better into the global trading system.
At the heart of this is the (...)
Global Programme invites suggestions for topics to debate on talkdevelopment.info
The Global Programme will soon be launching www.talkdevelopment.info, its online platform for knowledge-sharing in the field of globalization and sustainable human development, and is seeking your ideas for what it should discuss.
Talkdevelopment is a multi-level platform composed of: discussions open to all who wish to participate; two-way debates between selected individuals; and specially commissioned ad-hoc papers.
However, unlike similar forums, the views and conclusions of the (...)
Expert Meeting on Best Practices in the Transfer of Technology
Experts met at the Palais des Nations, Geneva on 11 April 2002, to identify policies favouring technology transfer and increased productivity in developing countries.
The meeting, organised by UNCTAD's Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development and funded by the Global Programme, focused on three case studies of sectors in selected developing countries. The studies were of aircraft manufacturer Embraer in Brazil, the South African automobile industry, and the Indian (...)
Asia Region Seminar to Promote the Linkages between SMEs and TNCs.
SENIOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT OFFICIALS meeting in Tianjin, China, called for policies to encourage greater subcontracting to domestic firms by the affiliates of transnational corporations (TNCs). They pointed out that greater integration into international supply chains will allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to tap into the technological expertise of TNCs, thereby boosting their international competitiveness.
The meeting, for the Asia region, was co-funded by the Global (...)
Members of Government and civil society in Mali agree to comprehensive national action plan
Senior Government officials, academics and representatives of civil society meeting in Bamako, 9 to 10 Januray 2002, have agreed to a comprehensive national action plan for Mali.
The plan includes measures for trade expansion and capacity-building, as well as for the simplification of the business environment, investment promotion, support for SMEs and micro-finance and development of a communications infrastructure.
The proposals are the outcome of a national workshop chaired by Mr. (...)
Meeting on policies to attract foreign direct investment and boost export competitiveness in Asia.
Senior Asian trade and investment officials, academics, and representatives of development agencies and NGOs met in Tianjin, China, from 11 to 13 December to discuss policies for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and boosting export competitiveness.
The meeting was held at a time of unprecedented competition in investment and export markets and a repositioning of international supply chains as a result of technological intensification, e-commerce and global insecurity.
(...)
Meeting to identify the research and training needs of Africa region trade policy makers and negotiators.
This was the third and final regional meeting in a broad networking effort aimed at strengthening the capacity of developing countries to participate more effectively in multilateral trade negotiations. Previous meetings were held in New Delhi for Asia, in November 2000 and Santiago de Chile for Latin America, in November 1999. The meeting was attended by the main training and research institutions in the African region, as well as existing academic networks involved in international trade (...)
Global Programme launches second phase: Belgium pledges support.
On behalf of Hon. Eddy Boutmans, Secretary of State for International Co-operation of Belgium, Ambassador Jacques Scavee, speaking at the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board this morning, pledged USD1million to the UNCTAD/UNDP Global Programme on Globalization, Liberalization and Sustainable Human Development. This contribution is to be spread over three years. The Global Programme is a partnership between UNDP and UNCTAD aimed at assisting developing countries to manage their integration (...)
Global Programme completes national workshop in Tunisia, generating dialogue and consensus among stakeholders.
THE TUNISIA NATIONAL WORKSHOP WAS held in Tunis on 25 and 26 September 2001 to discuss the findings of the Tunisa country assessment. It highlighted the twin challenges of the end of the quota system under the multi-fibre agreement in 2004, and a free trade treaty with the European Union in 2007.
The workshop brought together 80 members of Government, civil society and academia, and widened the circle of people investigating how Tunisia can best seize the opportunities of integration (...)
Regional meeting on research and training needs in international trade in African countries
THE GLOBAL PROGRAMME will convene a meeting to identify the research and training needs of trade policy makers and negotiators in the Africa region.
This initiative is part of a broad networking effort aimed at strengthening the capacity of developing countries to participate more effectively in multilateral trade negotiations.
The agenda will include the following:
Developing and least developed Asia-Pacific countries perceive globalisation as a threat
The Global Programme has published the conclusions of its "Regional Meeting on Research and Training Needs in International Trade in Asia-Pacific Countries". It details the "strong threat perception in most participating countries as to the implications of increased globalisation". This is due to a variety of factors, which include an inadequate understanding of Uruguay Round commitments, worries about adapting national legal systems and economic policies to conform to commitments made (...)
The Global Programme to launch its second phase
BUILDING ON WHAT has been achieved so far, the Programme enters its second phase in 2001, with a multi-year contribution from the Government of Belgium.
It will seek to widen and deepen previous activities, by assisting willing countries to draw up national action plans, build their capacity in order to draft investment, competition and SMEs development policies, and undertake activities aimed at reinforcing negotiating skills.
A regional approach will be adopted to take into account (...)
Jamaica National Workshop: The Challenges Ahead
Workshops were held in Kingston and Montego Bay on 20 and 21 February 2001 to discuss the Jamaica country assessment. The workshops and country assessment will help to raise the capacity of Jamaican people, institutions and enterprises to manage issues related to globalization.
The assessment praised the island's relatively positive human development record and its demographic structure, which has yielded a productive labour force. It stressed the need to emphasise industries such as (...)
