 Supachai Panitchpakdi, UNCTAD Secretary-General and Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General |
The international community has a "special duty" to spread recently promising global economic growth to the "poorest of the poor," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this afternoon during a special address to UNCTAD's Trade and Development Board (TDB).
The UNCTAD XII conference, scheduled for 20-25 April in Accra, Ghana, is a good place to advance this aim by galvanizing support for a more development-friendly global economic, trading, and financial system," the Secretary-General said. "Accra must also articulate an effective strategy to leverage globalization, trade, and investment for poverty reduction and economic growth."
UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpadki, responding to the speech, said proposals recently submitted by Mr. Ban to the United Nations General Assembly to strengthen the "development pillar" of the United Nations and to "address the critical capacity gaps faced by the Secretariat, including UNCTAD," are welcomed by UNCTAD and should help the organization advance its work and expand its resources. He described UNCTAD´s role as "helping countries accelerate development and poverty reduction by maximizing gains from globalization."