20 April 2016 – Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, Permanent Representative of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, has begun the process of negotiations for one of the Subthemes of the 14thUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIV).
Ambassador Rebong was selected as one of the “Friends of the Chair” to help facilitate negotiations on the outcome document for UNCTAD XIV that will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on July 17 to 22. The objective of that meeting is to chart the work of UNCTAD for the next four years.
Ambassador Rebong is leading discussions on the Subtheme entitled “Contributing to the effective implementation of and follow-up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and relevant outcomes from global conferences and summits, as related to trade and development.” She was selected by the former President of the Preparatory Committee for UNCTAD XIV, Ambassador Pedro D’Alotto of Argentina, given her key role as chair of the Geneva Chapter of the Group of 77 and China last year as well as her long experience and deft diplomatic skills. Ambassador D’Alotto of Argentina has since been replaced by Ambassador Alfredo Suescum of Panama, who likewise welcomed the opportunity to work with Ambassador Rebong.
UNCTAD holds a ministerial level meeting every four years to chart the course of its work and see what issues it will focus on. The process is driven by member States of the United Nations and they will decide on the work of organization based on the on-going negotiations that started on April 11 and will culminate with a ministerial level conference in Nairobi on July 22 that aims to adopt a comprehensive outcome document.
The main theme for this year’s conference is “From Decision to Action: Moving towards an inclusive and equitable global economic environment for trade and development.” Ambassador Rebong, in the first round of negotiations during the week of April 11 to 15, said that “the issues we are discussing under this Subtheme are of crucial importance since we will be focusing on how UNCTAD can help all countries achieve the universal development goals that all UN member States agreed to last September in New York.”
Ambassador Rebong added that “I hope all UN member States present here in Geneva will work together in order to come up with meaningful agreements that will guide UNCTAD so it may help us achieve the 17 goals and 169 targets, given that the organization can make significant contributions to trade and development, and the interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development.” END