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MISSION AND OBJECTIVES HOW ITC WORKS PRIORITY COUNTRIES AID FOR TRADE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS WORKING WITH ITC ITC CAREERS CORPORATE DOCUMENTS PRESS E-SHOP
ITCS MISSION ITC's mission is to foster sustainable economic development and contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in developing countries and countries with economies in transition through trade and international business development. ITCS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
Building awareness and improving the availability and use of trade intelligence Strengthening TSIs Enhancing policies for the benefit of exporting enterprises Building the export capacity of enterprises to respond to market opportunities Mainstream inclusiveness and sustainability into trade promotion and export development policies
For more details, see ITCs Strategic Plan 2012-2015. ITC AT A GLANCE
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In the early 1960s, growing concerns about the place of developing countries in international trade led many of these countries to call for the convening of a full-fledged conference specifically devoted to tackling these problems and identifying appropriate international actions.
The first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was held in Geneva in 1964. Given the magnitude of the problems at stake and the need to address them, the conference was institutionalized to meet every four years, with intergovernmental bodies meeting between sessions and a permanent secretariat providing the necessary substantive and logistical support.
Simultaneously, the developing countries established the Group of 77 to voice their concerns. (Today, the G77 has 131 members.) The prominent Argentinian economist Ral Prebisch, who had headed the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, became the organization's first Secretary-General.
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Economic interdependence in the world increased greatly. In the light of these developments, UNCTAD multiplied efforts aimed at: strengthening the analytical content of its intergovernmental debate, particularly regarding macroeconomic management and international financial and monetary issues. broadening the scope of its activities to assist developing countries in their efforts to integrate into the world trading system. In this context,
the technical assistance provided by UNCTAD to developing countries was particularly important in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, which had begun under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1986. UNCTAD played a key role in supporting the negotiations for the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
UNCTAD's work on trade efficiency (customs facilitation, multimodal transport) made an important contribution to enabling developing economies to reap greater gains from trade. UNCTAD assisted developing countries in the rescheduling of official debt in the Paris Club negotiations. promoting South-South cooperation. In 1989, the Agreement on the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP) came into force. It provided for the granting of tariff as well as non-tariff preferences among its members. To date, the Agreement has been ratified by 44 countries.
addressing the concerns of the poorest nations by organizing the first UN Conference on Least Developed Countries in 1981. Since then, two other international conferences have been held at 10-year intervals.
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Foreign direct investment flows became a major component of globalization. UNCTAD highlighted the need for a differentiated approach to the problems of developing countries. Its tenth conference, held in Bangkok in February 2000, adopted a political declaration "The Spirit of Bangkok" as a strategy to address the development agenda in a globalizing world.
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In recent years, UNCTAD has further focused its analytical research on the linkages between trade, investment, technology and enterprise development. put forward a "positive agenda" for developing countries in international trade negotiations, designed to assist developing countries in better understanding the complexity of the multilateral trade negotiations and in formulating their positions.
Expanded work on international investment issues, following the merger into UNCTAD of the New Yorkbased United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations in 1993.
expanded and diversified its technical assistance, which today covers a wide range of areas, including training trade negotiators and addressing trade-related issues; debt management, investment policy reviews and the promotion of entrepreneur ship; commodities; competition law and policy; and trade and environment
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.
World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP's network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these Goals. Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of: Poverty Reduction and Achievement of the MDGs Democratic Governance Crisis Prevention and Recovery Environment and Energy for Sustainable Development UNDP helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women. The annual Human Development Report, commissioned by UNDP, focuses the global debate on key development issues, providing new measurement tools, innovative analysis and often controversial policy proposals. The global Report's analytical framework and inclusive approach carry over into regional, national and local Human Development Reports, also supported by UNDP.
In each country office, the UNDP Resident Representative normally also serves as the Resident Coordinator of development activities for the United Nations system as a whole. Through such coordination, UNDP seeks to ensure the most effective use of UN and international aid resources.
UNDP at a Glance
Since 1966, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been partnering with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of live for everyone. UNDP works in four main areas: poverty reduction and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); democratic governance; crisis prevention and recovery; environment and sustainable development.
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Helen Clark became the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme in 2009, and is the first woman to lead the organization. She is also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group.
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Supporting Global Progress UNDP has decades of concrete development experience in countries ranging from fragile States to middle-income countries like Brazil and Indonesia. This, combined with our four focus areas, make us uniquely situated and qualified to answer the UNs call for a better and more sustainable future.
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. UNCDFs mandate from the UN General Assembly (1966) is to assist developing countries in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants and loans. The mandate was modified in 1974 to focus on first and foremost the least developed among the developing countries. This original mandate -- to promote economic development in the least developed countries remains highly relevant today. Economic growth is necessary to enhance living standards, reduce poverty and cope with the worlds growing population. And it must be socially and environmentally sustainable to deliver maximum benefits for current and future generations. Within its economic development mandate UNCDF focuses on public and private financing mechanisms. Effective and efficient finance in both the public and private sectors -- can spur economic growth and make it more sustainable and inclusive. UNCDFs focus on financing mechanisms has special relevance for least developed countries, where public financial management is often weak, and private financial systems often underdeveloped and inaccessible to poor people.
Public Sector: strengthening public investment at the local level. UNCDF supports decentralization and strong financial management within decentralized systems. This leads to improved allocation of scarce public resources, stronger and more responsive local governments and, ultimately, better public investment in roads, marketplaces, irrigation systems and other basic infrastructure that improves peoples lives and lays the foundations for economic growth.
Private Sector: ensuring financial services reach poor people and small businesses. Inclusive financial systems promote private sector driven, pro-poor growth. By ensuring formal financial systems include poor people with savings, credit, payments, insurance, remittances UNCDF helps poor families and small businesses generate income, build assets, invest in opportunities and strengthen resilience to setbacks.
UNCDFs support is ultimately designed to promote sustainable and inclusive growth that empowers people and countries to unleash their potential.
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UNCDF was created in 1966 by the UN General Assembly. It is an autonomous, voluntarily funded UN organization, affiliated with UNDP. UNDPs Executive Board serves simultaneously as UNCDFs Executive Board. The Executive Board formally the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board meets three times a year and is made up of 36 member states from regional groupings, serving on a rotational basis. Programme countries comprise roughly two thirds of the Executive Board, and donor countries one third. The Executive Board falls under the authority of the Economic and Social Council and, ultimately, the General Assembly of the UN. UNDPs Administrator serves simultaneously as UNCDFs Managing Director. Authority for managing most aspects of UNCDF has been delegated to the Executive Secretary. UNCDF raises its own funding, separately from UNDP. Funding comes from UN member states, foundations and the private sector. UNCDFs funding has increased substantially in recent years, with total income now roughly $60 million per year. Private foundations are now among UNCDFs largest donors.
Created by the General Assembly in 1966 to promote economic development, UNCDF began focusing the worlds least developed countries in 1974. For the next twenty years UNCDF financed stand-alone capital infrastructure -- roads, bridges, irrigation schemes -- mostly in Africa. It received about $40 million in core funding per year and operated out of UNDP country offices. In the mid-1990s UNCDF began to focus to the role local governments could play in planning, financing and maintaining capital investments. Promoting effective infrastructure investment and service delivery via decentralized public financial management has been UNCDFs mainstay ever since. UNCDFs other major area of expertise microfinance also dates to the mid-1990s, when many of its rural development project had credit components. Today UNCDF operates in two broad areas:
Public Finance for Local Development: decentralization and public financial management for local investment, service delivery and economic development; and Financial services for the Poor: the range of financial policies and products designed to empower poor families and small businesses, including savings, microcredit, micro-insurance and remittances.
UNCDF has also begun work on catalyzing domestic finance for public-private-partnerships geared to stimulating economic growth at the local level. UNCDFs resources remain modest compared to many multilateral organizations. But it has developed a considerable track record of going where others do not, and then leveraging in larger sources of public and private capital. In the words of a 2008 assessment by the Government of Sweden, UNCDF should be seen as a development actor that paves the way for others, rather than a financing mechanism. UNCDFs traditional business model centralized in New York, funded by a small number of core donors has also evolved. Since 2005 UNCDF has:
Moved 50 percent of its staff to the field; Doubled its number of donors; Doubled its annual income; Significantly expanded and diversified its programmes. UNCDF today operates in 40 of the worlds 49 least developed countries. 70 percent of its portfolio is in Africa, 50 is in percent in post-crisis countries. Two of UNCDFs largest donors are private foundations. Its annual budget is $60 million and growing. In 2011 UNCDF received the highest score in the SmartAid index, a measure of over overall effectiveness in microfinance.