Barbados has officially handed over the presidency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Quadrennial to Switzerland.
Barbados was the first small island developing country to host an UNCTAD ministerial ocnference (UNCTAD 15), four years ago, in the middle of the pandemic.
Under the theme, Shaping the Future: Driving Economic Transformation for Equitable, Inclusive and Sustainable Development, the 16th ministerial conference will run from October 20 to 23 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNCTAD is an agency of the United Nations that works to sustainably integrate developing countries into the global economy through trade.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley delivered the opening statement at the ministerial conference via a video message.
Her address was introduced by Minister of Training and Tertiary Education Sandra Husbands. Husbands is leading the Barbados delegation with Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations Matthew Wilson; Deputy Permanent Representative Kay Sealy; Director of Foreign Trade Paula Byer, and representative from the Barbaods Port Authority Ade O’Neal.
In her video presentation, Mottley stated: “Our international system is experiencing tectonic shifts that if not carefully navigated could result in an unravelling of the international order. Multilateralism, as we have known it, is under threat. Truth is under threat.
“Many of our shared human values, such as gender equality and the power of diversity, are under question. The United Nations, which has been an imperfect but essential beacon of hope for 80 years, is being shaken.”
The Prime Minister asserted that now is not the time to retreat but to reinvent and reinvest in multilateralism.
“Multipolarity without agreed rules and guardrails increases uncertainty and can only reduce prospects for sustainable economic growth and peace or security.
“Multipolarity is a concept to lean into — not to discard or to fear — and UNCTAD has a key role to play in this rebuilding.”
Minister Husbands represented Barbados at the ministerial meetings of the Group of 77, China, and the small island developing states.
Ambassador Wilson, who was elected as one of the vice chairs of the Conference, will also participate in the session Beyond GDP and in the Youth Forum. He also served as the Friend of the Chair for the outcome document in the areas of trade and productive capacities and transport and logistics.
In partnership with the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. in Brussels, the Permanent Mission of Barbados in Geneva took advantage of Minister Husbands’ visit to host an event for We Gatherin 2025 with the diaspora in Switzerland and ambassadors from Caribbean countries.
(BGIS)
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