During the 66th regular session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, Turkmenistan was unanimously elected a permanent member of the Council. As the 157th member of the Council, Turkmenistan was added to the list of group “A”, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
In its official online statement, the UNCTAD said:
Welcome to our Trade and Development Board, Turkmenistan! The central Asian nation bordered by the Caspian Sea, joined our highest decision-making and governing body today at our weeklong annual meeting at the at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964. Its headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland, and it has offices in New York and Addis Ababa. UNCTAD is part of the UN Secretariat and United Nations Development Group.
“Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on priority areas of cooperation” was signed on November 13, 2017 in Ashgabat. The document outlined three main vectors of cooperation: investment promotion; modernization of customs, transport and logistics; and facilitating the study of the question of accession to the WTO.
Working at the national, regional, and global level, UNCTAD efforts help countries to:
- Comprehend options to address macro-level development challenges
- Achieve beneficial integration into the international trading system
- Diversify economies to make them less dependent on commodities
- Limit their exposure to financial volatility and debt
- Attract investment and make it more development friendly
- Increase access to digital technologies
- Promote entrepreneurship and innovation
- Help local firms move up value chains
- Speed up the flow of goods across borders
- Protect consumers from abuse
- Curb regulations that stifle competition
- Adapt to climate change and use natural resources more effectively
The highest decision-making body of UNCTAD is the quadrennial conference, 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 organization’s mandate and work priorities.
