Input on trade, development focus of UN strategy session

The state of play of key economic issues, ranging from international trade negotiations to progress toward the Millennium Development Goals and means to revive stagnating world trade and economic growth was the focus of a meeting between United Nations officials and representatives from Member States over the weekend in New York.

Saturday's meeting between officials from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and representatives to the United Nations also aimed to ensure better interaction between the substantive work undertaken in Geneva and international debate on economic and social issues taking place in New York, according to the agency's Secretary-General, Rubens Ricupero.

UNCTAD serves as a resource for developing countries in improving their trade capabilities, including in trade negotiations, as well as bolstering productive capacity so as to take full benefit of their results. The agency is also a major think tank on international policy issues and agenda, ranging from trade and development to world investment, as well a variety of specialized topics.

The agency has worked over the last decade to help developing countries establish a "positive agenda" in negotiations held in the context of the World Trade Organization. A key WTO ministerial meeting in September in Cancun, Mexico, is expected to assess the progress on a new round of global trade negotiations.