United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
 UNCTAD
website on LDCs
UNCTAD
has been contributing substantively to follow-up of LDC-III, including
drafting
a roadmap and a tentative set of indicators for effective implementation
of the Global Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries
for the Decade 2001-2010 (POA). The roadmap and the set of indicators
serve as the basic outlines for UNCTAD to operationalize the implementation
of the POA within its mandate and competence. It could also be an
important starting point for the Office of the High Representative
for its UN-wide coordinating and monitoring activities for the implementation
of POA.
(i)
Contribution to the work of the Committee for
Development
Policy (CDP) and ECOSOC
UNCTAD
has participated in and contributed
to the CDP's work on the revision
of the criteria and methodology for inclusion in and graduation
from the UN list of LDCs. In this context, UNCTAD produced various
papers.
Among them, was a note on the benefits associated with the LDC status
and the question of graduation (2001/CRP.5 and Add.1). Bearing
in mind its new substantive role regarding LDCs and in response
to ECOSOC resolutions 2000/34 and 2001/43, UNCTAD has initiated
an analysis of the effective benefits derived from the Least Developed
Country status, and of the question of "smooth transition"
for graduating countries, which are subjects of particular importance
for assessing the impact of international support measures to the
LDCs, and for enhancing the capacity of these countries to draw
greater benefits from their LDC status.
(ii)
ODA and Debt Relief
Analytical
work on debt and ODA flows has provided the basis of discussion
in the General Assembly and contributed, from a development prospective,
to the debate on the pressing needs for providing debt relief for
LDCs and the requirements of official capital flows to accelerate
development of these countries.
(iii)
Contribution to UN-NADAF
and NEPAD
The
substantive research undertaken by UNCTAD for the preparation of
Economic Development in Africa: Performance, prospects and policy
issues (2001) contributed to the final review and assessment of
the implementation of UN-NADAF. UNCTAD provided to the NEPAD Secretariat
two papers: on resource flows and on market access issues of African
countries including LDCs. Furthermore, it contributed to G-8 Summit
a paper on obstacles to trade and investment in Africa for G-8’s
own Plan of Action in support of NEPAD.
(iv)
The Impact of FDI on Development
Given
the recent decision on trade and investment at the WTO Doha Ministerial,
UNCTAD has intensified its efforts to deepen the analysis on the
impact on development of FDI policies and investment instruments,
giving special attention to the development, trade and financial
needs of LDCs. Analysis of the impact of FDI on LDC’s development
has been focussed on the contribution of FDI to
their trade competitiveness and the enhancement of their supply
capacity, as well as to upgrading of technological capacity, including
in the service sector.
(v)
Least Developed Countries Report 2002
The
first part of the Least Developed Countries Report 2002 reviews
recent developments in LDCs, including trends in financial flows
to these countries and their external trade. The second part of
the Report responds to the new challenges set by the Programme of
Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010
(POA), in particular the central goal of poverty reduction. Since
the internationally comparable data on poverty trends are presently
unavailable, the Report seeking to rectify this deficiency by constructing
a new data set on poverty in LDCs by combining national accounts
and household survey statistics. On this basis, it describes the
specificities of poverty in LDCs, and analyses the complex interrelationships
between growth and poverty, and the ways in which these are affected
by international trade. It pays particular attention to the relationship
between commodity dependence and poverty. It also considers the
implications of the analysis for making poverty reduction strategies
more effective.
(vi)
Technical Cooperation
(i)
With financial support of a number of donors, UNCTAD assisted in
the implementation of POA commitments in the following areas:
·
Investment and enterprise development;
·
International trade and commodities
·
Services infrastructure for development
and trade efficiency
·
Solution to the debt problems.
(ii)
Investments and Enterprise Development
In
this field, UNCTAD has provided technical assistance to LDCs in
the framework of two programmatic sectors: (1) Attracting investment
and benefiting from it and (2) Strengthening enterprises
and technology capacity.
(1)
Attracting investment and benefiting from it:
This
sector includes:
(a)
Participation in a multi-agency technical assistance programme (UNCTAD,
FIAS, MIGA, UNIDO), to facilitate FDI in the target countries like
Cambodia, Mali, Mozambique, UR of Tanzania and Uganda:
(b)
Technical assistance to improve the national investment climate
by preparing Investment Policy Review (United Republic of Tanzania,
Ethiopia, Cambodia, Lesotho, Mauritania, Nepal and Senegal), and
by promoting good governance in investment promotion and facilitation
(Ethiopia, Lesotho, Maldives, Mali and UR of Tanzania). A workshop
on Efficient and Transparent Investment Promotion Practices will
take place in Geneva on 6 and 7 June 2002.
(c)
Intensive training programme in international investment agreements
and negotiating bilateral investment treaties and double taxation
treaties. 15 LDCs have participated in different training courses
since LDC III. A round of bilateral investment treaties negotiations
for a group of LDCs was organized in Bonn, Germany, in October 2001.
This event brought together 7 LDCs (Cambodia, Eritrea, Malawi, Mozambique,
Sudan, Uganda and Zambia) and 5 development partners (Belgium, Luxembourg,
France, The Netherlands and Sweden), which resulted in 13 bilateral
investment treaties.
(d) Preparing
of investment guides, public-private sector dialogue and Investment
Advisory Council for LDCs. The investment guides for Uganda and
for Mozambique were already published. A number of investment guides
will be prepared and published over the next 3 years. A meeting
of the UNCTAD/ICC Investment Advisory Council, (IAC) for LDCs was
organized, in cooperation with the Global Compact and the governments
of Germany and Norway, took place during the UN Finance for Development
Conference in Mexico on 20 March 2002. The meeting focused on the
role of investment in helping the implementation of NEPAD. The high-level
segment of the meeting was chaired by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations. The President of Senegal, the Prime Minister of
Mozambique and Ministers from a number of LDCs participated in the
meeting. The event provided an opportunity for business leaders
exchanging views and interaction between and government leaders.
A number of projects, aimed at improving the investment climate
in African LDCs were proposed. Progress on the implementation of
these projects will be reported at the next meeting of IAC in Johannesburg
in September 2002.
(2)
Strengthening enterprises and technology capacity
This sector includes:
(a)
UNCTAD Linkages Promotion Programme (with special attention to women
entrepreneurs). Project proposals were prepared for Ethiopia and
Uganda.
(b)
Building productive capacities in LDCs through EMPRETEC. The programme,
called Enterprise Uganda, was officially launched in December 2001.
A project proposal was prepared and is being discussed for funding
purposes with the commission of Portuguese-speaking countries and
UNDP for the implementation of EMPRETEC in Portuguese-speaking LDCs.
(vii)
International trade and commodities,
LDCs
have been provided in (i) diversification of their commodities
export base; (2) trade negotiations and commercial diplomacy;
(3) trade and competition policy, and (4) trade, environment
and development.
Commodities
In
this sector, LDCs have been assisted in intensifying horizontal
and vertical diversification of their commodities export base and,
in particular, the implementation of the project on "capacity
building for diversification and commodity based development".
The recommendations of the workshops in the framework of this project
call for specific activities to be implemented in individual LDCs.
In this connection, a workshop on "link between artisan fisheries
and world markets" was organized in Gambia in April 2002, and
a workshop on horticulture sector development is planned for Guinea
in June 2002. UNCTAD has been organizing the African Oil Conference
on an annual basis. Most LDCs in Africa have participated in the
Conference. The next African Oil conference is planned for September
2002.
Trade Negotiations and Commercial Diplomacy
In
terms of policy-oriented work on market access issues concerning
LDCs, most Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP) handbooks have
been updated since all initiatives in favour of LDCs such as the
EU's "Everything But Arms" (EBA), the United States "African
Growth and Opportunity Act", (AGOA) have been taken in the
framework of the GSP schemes. These updates are disseminated to
LDCs and their enterprises, including during national workshops.
National seminars on GSP and rules of origin were implemented for
several LDCs including Yemen, and Cambodia. Major efforts were made
on assisting LDCs in preparing for the negotiations leading to the
Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar (November 2001),
including within the context of capacity building and training technical
assistance. This included support to the preparation and organization
by the Government of Tanzania the meeting of Ministers responsible
for Trade of Least Developed Countries, held in Zanzibar (Tanzania),
22-24 July 2001. The meeting enabled LDCs to submit concrete proposals
on issues of interest to them at Doha Conference.
Within
the framework of the Commercial Diplomacy programme, training on
a number of human resources on trade and trade-related issues have
been conducted in which LDCs have benefited. Trade-related technical
assistance including capacity building was provided to LDCs in the
process of acceding to the WTO: building human capacity training
of trade negotiators, workshops on specific issues in the WTO accession
negotiations, and providing advisory missions to acceding countries
to support their preparations for these negotiations. The main beneficiaries
included Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Samoa, Sudan and Yemen.
Trade and Competition Policy
In
the area of competition policy, UNCTAD has implemented a capacity
building programme on competition law and policy which is tailored
to the needs of the LDCs. Activities are designed with the purpose
of improving the ability of enterprises in the LDCs to compete effectively,
both domestically and in international markets, and make
markets work better for the poor. Activities are demand-driven
and are implemented for LDCs and their regional integration groupings
(which aim at establishing regional competition policy), such as
UDEAC or UEMOA. Beneficiaries included: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso,
Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Malawi, Madagascar, Mali,
Mauritania, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam and Zambia.
Support was also provided to LDCs to participate more effectively
in multilateral discussions on competition policy. UNCTAD co-organised
with the Academy of international law, a one-week intensive course
on the International Trading system and its interface with Competition
Policy with some thirty participants from the LDCs. Within the framework
of a regional TRAINFOR TRADE project, a first experiment on Distance
Learning of Training of Trainers on Competition Law and Policy was
held for Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali on formulation and on implementation
of competition law and policy to train high-level officials from
these countries. A one-week intensive course on WTO rules and Competition
policy was organised jointly with the University of Geneva (June
2001), in which six LDCs were sponsored by UNCTAD.
Trade, Environment and Development
In
this area, a range of activities have already been carried out:
The
French version of a TRAINFOR TRADE package has been further developed
in cooperation with SOLAGRAL, a French NGO. A training workshop
in Burkina Faso (for Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso) was organized.
At the request of Haiti and Madagascar, certain topics (in particular
in the areas of trading opportunities for organic agriculture and
traditional knowledge) are considered in the context of preparations
for the respective Integrated Frameworks. The problems of trade
and environment were discussed at the Community of Portuguese-speaking
Countries, (CPLP)/UNCTAD Seminar on Technical assistance to the
LDCs among the CPLP Countries, held in Geneva. This component of
the proposed Trade and Environment Programme for LDCs was discussed
with relevant partners in Uganda. These include the Government,
Civil Society and the UN system in Uganda, in particular UNDP, FAO,
UNIDO and the World Bank. At the invitation of the Government of
Cambodia, a mission was undertaken to Cambodia to assess training
and other capacity building needs. Discussions were also held with
the Government in Nepal.
In
the field of services infrastructure for development and trade efficiency,
LDCs have been assisted in (1) Human Resources Development and
Trade Point Programme, and (2) Transport, trade facilitation
and customs.
Human Resources Development and Trade Point Programme
In this Sector, UNCTAD has developed an international network
of cooperation grouping universities and institutions of higher
learning that are responsible for training in the field of international
trade. It has also developed new courses and organized sessions
for Training of Trainers, implemented the new Distance Learning
Strategy and consolidation of the basis of the Trade Point programme.
In the area of human resource development, UNCTAD organized several
workshops within the Trainfor Trade project for strengthening training
capacities in the field of international trade for Benin, Burkina
Faso and Mali. These relate to the following subjects: negotiations
on international agreements; multi-modal transport; competition
law and policy; trade and environment and investment promotion.
In
the port sector (Port Certificate Programme) two regional training
of trainers seminar have been organized. The first in Ghent (Belgium)
for French-speaking countries of Africa with the participation of
Benin, Cameroon, Comoros, Guinea and Togo, and the second one in
Cape Verde, for the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa (Angola,
Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique) and Timor.
A first experiment on a distance training cycle was held in November
2001, during four half-days sessions over a period of one month,
on e-competition law and Policy. Pedagogic material was specifically
prepared for this delivery. It comprised a participant’s manual,
user’s guide, a CD-ROM with multimedia presentations, videos and
case studies adapted to local situation. Thirty high-level Officials
(ten from Benin, ten from Burkina Faso and ten from Mali) were trained
simultaneously. This preliminary seminar was followed by a traditional
seminar held in Burkina Faso where participants, selected from the
previous distance learning exercise, received an in depth training.
From 1st October 2001 until 1 march 2002 a pilot exercise was undertaken
in Geneva, Marseille, Senegal and Comoros for the delivery of the
e-Port Certificate distance learning course to middle managers based
in Senegal and Comoros. Trainees were provided with a CD-ROM, user’s
guide, the participant’s manual, videos, a day-by-day detailed working
plan. Consultations with the Director of studies and the instructors
were made through an Internet forum once or twice a week. At the
end of the course trainees were to invited present a thesis in Geneva.
Transport, Trade Facilitation and Customs
In this sector, UNCTAD's assistance aims at improving
capacity of LDCs to generate efficient trade-supporting services
and to benefit from the opportunities generated by the expansion
of Electronic Commerce. A number of LDCs, including Bangladesh,
Burkina Faso, Nepal, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, have been
assisted in provision and installation of the Advance Cargo Information
System, (ACIS), a transport management tool which tracks cargo and
transport equipment on rail, at ports and on rivers and generates
transport statistics. In customs reform, national administrations
in LDCs (e.g. Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia,
Madagascar, Maldives, Malawi, Nepal, Sao Tome and Principe, Yemen
and Zambia) have benefited through the implementation of the Automated
System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).
Solution to the debt problems
UNCTAD has promoted effective, development-oriented and durable solutions
to the debt problems of LDCs. The Debt Management and Financial
Analysis System, (DMFAS) Programme has provided technical assistance
in debt management. This assistance includes advice on institutional
legal and administrative issues, and training in DMFAS and debt
management. 12 LDCs (Angola, Burundi, Bangladesh, Central African
Republic, Chad, Haiti, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Uganda,
Yemen, Zambia) have received this assistance from UNCTAD. Another
4 LDCs (Cambodia, Central African Republic, Djibouti and Ethiopia)
are in the pipeline for assistance. Most recently, UNCTAD has taken
the initiative to develop a post-UN LDC III
Framework for a comprehensive technical cooperation strategy for LDCs.
This Framework aims at providing a focused, coordinated and more
effective delivery of technical assistance by UNCTAD to these countries.
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