Barbados and the United Arab Emirates have joined forces to co-host
major United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) events
in 2020.
Barbados will host the 15th UNCTAD quadrennial conference in Bridgetown,
while the United Arab Emirates will host the World Investment Forum and
the first eCommerce Week for Asia in Abu Dhabi. The two countries will
co-chair the events.
UNCTAD’s trade and development board unanimously endorsed the two
countries’ generous offers on 25 June. The decision will be submitted to
the UN General Assembly for approval.
“The two countries’ agreement to co-host our main global gatherings
next year demonstrates south-south cooperation,” Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD
secretary-general said.
Barbados and the United Arab Emirates had made separate offers to host
next year’s quadrennial conference but mutually agreed to co-host the
events.
“I thank them for their leadership in arriving at this win-win solution
that expresses mutual respect between the two countries,” Kituyi said.
The quadrennial conference is the highest decision-making body of UNCTAD
at which member states make assessments of current trade and development
issues, discuss policy options and formulate global policy responses.
The conference also sets the organisation’s work priorities.
