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UNCTAD15 Barbados Press Conference 06 October 2021 Evening CONTINUITY
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12:15
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904.1 MB
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNOG , UNCTAD
UNCTAD15 Barbados Press Conferences 06 October 2021
Building on the theme of the UNCTAD14 conference, which emphasized the need to move from decision to action, UNCTAD's 15th quadrennial conference, UNCTAD15, seeks a concrete decade of action in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. The conference is focused on reducing inequality and vulnerability by ensuring trade works for all and that development remains high on the global agenda. The theme, “From inequality and vulnerability to prosperity for all”, is a clarion call to work to fix the fractures across the world in favour of prosperity for all. UNCTAD15 takes place online, hosted by Barbados, from 3 to 7 October, 2021.
Teleprompter
Good afternoon, good evening.
Welcome to this afternoon's press briefing from Barbados, our third day of the 15th session of the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development on Ted 15.
Here we provide daily briefing on the conference debate and state of the negotiation as well as participants and events with regard to the negotiations.
Firstly, we are joined by Honourable Central Husband, Minister of Foreign Trade of Barbados, representing Prime Minister Motley in Geneva, also a site for Ontad 15 and who will give us an update on the negotiation of the outcome for Ontad 15.
Minister Husband, you have the floors.
Good.
Thank you very much.
Now we can hear you.
Yes, and we're so happy to be here with you in Geneva.
It's still a little bit cold, but believe me, here at the Palais our hearts are still warm and we had a very exhilarating day today.
We worked on completing the Bridgetown Covenant.
And I want to say to the President of the Committee of the Whole, I really want to thank her for the tremendous work that she did because we were able to gavel the Bridgetown Covenant within the Committee of the Whole.
So I really want to thank her for the tremendous work.
And to all of our Member States, the representatives worked hard, they worked together and they were able eventually to produce a document that everyone felt they could get behind.
And so I really want to sincerely thank them.
It's my understanding that this is the first time that the covenant or the outcomes document which forms the working programme, has finished so early.
So we really appreciate the extra effort.
We're still working on the political declaration and our Member States will get back to us and we will be able tomorrow then to proceed with all the things that we want to do in the closing session of the conference.
Let me say that this is historic in so many ways and I feel really privileged to have the opportunity to represent Barbados here at this time in the tail end of the negotiations because this Ant tad will be the first that was ever held virtually.
This is going to be the first time that the UNCTAD Secretariat has been headed by a female.
And so there are a number of wonderful firsts that have occurred here.
And we Barbados, we will be the first SIDS to have the honour of being the president of the conference at this time.
And so it's a historic time and therefore, I believe it portends for us that in our tenure in this new COVID situation that we're in that it presents us with an opportunity maybe to do some new things and do things, keep them on track to help us get to where we want to go in terms of the the SDG code.
So I want to just thank everyone for helping us to do this.
And the the team here is eager and looking forward to the work after the conference to sit down and really begin to put plans together that will help us to take developing countries forward.
So again, thank you so very much.
And again, we celebrate the fact that we have been able to complete the Bridgetown Covenant and that we're still working on our political declaration.
Thank you.
Thank you, Minister.
The important breakthrough you just announced today clearly reflect the commitment of our Member States to have a transformational outcome to on that 50 and meet the challenge of our time.
And we know your leadership was very important, the leadership of Barbados and the PM Motley as well.
Thank you.
Now going on with our press briefing of today, just updating you on yesterday ONTAD and Barbados sign an agreement were $2.1 million to facilitate trade through the implementation of an electronic single window system with the assistance of Ontad's flagship technical assistance programme, the automated system for custom data.
Asikuda as Sekuda is 1 of Ongtad's largest corporation programme used by around 100 countries and territories around the world to improve customs and the efficiency with which government collect revenues, clear good for release and generate statistical trade to improve international trade flows.
The single window will make it easier and cheaper for small, medium and large Barbados enterprises to import and export goods by using an electronic one stop shop to comply with all the requirements of Barbados Customs and other government agencies.
A news article is placed on the ONTAD website for further information.
Yesterday, the world Leader's dialogue continued with the Prime Minister of Barbados, Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, the United Nations **** Commissioner for Human Right and the Executive Director of Oxfam International.
They called for recognition of COVID-19 vaccine as a public good, urging support for the UN Secretary General call for a global vaccination plan to ensure vaccine reached 70% of the world's population by the first half of 2022, which imply sharing health expertise, data, knowledge, treatment and flexibility in trade agreements to ensure policy space in keeping with the rights to help and sharing the benefits of scientific progress.
After which Ontad Secretary General Rebecca Greenspan, the President, Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Imran Khan, the President of the Republic of Kenya, Kenyatta, the President of Guyana, the vice president of Dominican Republic, the executive secretary of the United Nation Economic Commission for Africa, the executive director of the Joint United Nation Programme of HIV, AIDS and the president of the Inter American Bank, Mauricio Clever Caron discussed the current multilateral system and international corporation.
They agreed the world need a strong more networked multilateralism and delivers for all that delivers to all countries equally, regardless of their size.
All leaders made a strong call against the unequal access to vaccines in the context of COVID-19 pandemic and stressed the urgent need to address debt relief and climate finance.
Today we held 3 ministerial roundtable, one on scaling up financing for development, a second one on reshaping global and regional value chains and a finally one on regional integration for resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.
The Secretary General of ONTAD, Rebecca Greenspan basically highlighted on the financing for development and particularly on debt.
The strategic the the striking statistic that in many cases the cost of servicing countries debt absorb up to 13 to 18% of export earnings in low and middle income countries and a staggering third in small island developing states.
The first Ministerial roundtable started today at 8:00 PM Barbados time and 2:00 PM Geneva and address financing for development with the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Economic Affair and Investment of Barbados, Honourable Mia Motley, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affair and Digital Transformation of Spain, Miss Nadia Calvino, the Minister of Economy of Argentina, Mr.
Martin Guzman and Professor at Columbia University and Nobel Laureate Mr Joseph Stiglitz.
They debated the key issue of debt financing for development and the global global economic architecture and who makes decision on these major issues.
They were followed by a second Ministerial roundtable starting started at 10 AM Barbados in 16 Geneva time, which addressed reshaping global and regional value chain for recovery where we earned intervention from Minister of State for Industry of Republic of Uganda, Mr.
David Bahati, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development of the United Arab Emirates, Mr Mohalid Ali Al Shurafa Al Hamadi, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economic Affair and Energy of Germany, Miss Elizabeth Winklemeyer Baker and Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, Mr.
John Denton.
Finally, the third Ministerial Roundtable of today that just completed started at 12 Barbados time in 6:00 PM Geneva time and addressed the uneven recoveries from the COVID pandemic and how regional economic integration has become more critical than ever to help developing country, particularly the most vulnerable bounce forward stronger, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable from this crisis.
In that last Ministerial roundtable, we heard from Minister it of in the Economic Affairs and Investment of Barbados, Miss Marshall Caddo, Vice Minister, Ministry of Commerce and Industry India, Mr Kishore, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Miss Patricia Scotland, the Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining of the African Union Commission, Mr Albert Muchanga and the Walter G the Renberg Professor of Trade Regulation of New York University School of Law, Miss Eleanor M Fox.
As you can see, it was a very insightful day and we will be preparing summaries of these talks and they're all available on on Type 15 platform.
I remind Indeed the media that content is uploaded every day on this website and invite you to visit and register to address question directly to speakers.
As this debate take place tomorrow, we will have two ministerial round tables, one on harnessing frontier technology for shared prosperity and the second one on supporting productive transformation for greater resilience in the post pandemic world.
These will be followed by a closing plenary and closing ceremony that will feature adoption of the negotiated outcome and ONTAD 15 Ministerial Declaration, the Declaration on LDCSLLDCS, as well as presentation from the Civil Society Organisation, the Youth Forum, the Gender Forum and the Creative Economy Forum that have been held in preparation for ONTAD 15.
And we will also add a final press briefing tomorrow afternoon at and let me just verify the time to make sure I say the right time here at 11:30 AM Barbados time 1730 Giovaniva time.
And we invite all of you to follow us.
Thank you.