UNCTAD 54th Session
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Closing meeting,
Item 10: Matters requiring action by the Board in the follow- up to the eleventh session of the Conference and arising from or related to reports and activities of its subsidiary and other bodies.


This item is divided into three sub-items:
The first deals with the Report on UNCTAD XII multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Jennifer Ferro presented the first matter: a Report on ICTs. She points out four different points:
- Partnership on free and open software:
Opportunities to explore the development production together with UNITAR;
Policies issues for open technologies.

- Partnership on merging ICTs for development, made up of 10 International Organizations:
improvement of ICT data of Members States;
development of an international agreed call list of ICT indicators (this is one of the main achievements);
Cooperation between International Organizations (ask all countries to use this ICT indicators specially developing countries);
a memorandum as been signed; focus on assisting developing countries in establishing ICT data;
Creation of a new ICT website launched last 2006.

- Partnership on e-tourism:
elaboration of joint activities within the context of e-tourism trough the use of ICTs (active financial collaboration of the Canadian Minister of Tourism).

- Virtual Institute Partnership launched at UNCTAD XI was success:
from 5 to 21 members (i.e. Mozambique);
we’re try to have partnerships with the national Universities;
professional development workshop on the issue,
collow ship program and Curricular advice,
establishment of study tools for students and involvement of academics in international conferences, teaching progress,
links research and policy making.

Then their was presentation of the Division on Investment by the Director of this issue. He said they did a number of concrete actions such as:
- establishment of links with the Common Wealth Business Council: Business forum on Asia/Africa held this year in China this year;
- Partnership between China and Africa: investment of China in Africa.
- Partnership with Japan Bank for International Cooperation: promoting investment in Africa
- Since São Paolo strengthening of cooperation with WIPO.
- Partnership with University of Fribourg.
- Partnership with OECD to engage the developing countries in increasing their economy.
- Partnership with World Tourism Organisation: investment promotion in the tourist sector: there is no need for us to recruit staff, we use the one of WIPO.
- Technical Assistance Project on pharmaceutical abilities in Africa with Uk and Germany.
- Partnership with UNDP, ILO.
- 80 Small and Medium Enterprises + 11 trans-national cooperation
- Side events during UNCTAD XII

Finally Mr. Thomas from the Trade Development presented his Report on partnership commodities:
- development of international agency cooperative network: UNCTAD and UNDP Conference on Commodities in Brazil in May 2007; UNCTAD collaboration with private sector, World Bank, annual intergovernmental forum on Mining; collaboration with civil society (Institute of Sustainable development).
- give assistance to the LDCs of Africa to be linked up with buyers of most influent countries (Migros).
- establishment of Task Force on Commodity: BUT due to a lack of funds it has failed, but we nonetheless did a number of activities.

Angola was the only country to take the floor. The Delegate seek for more information about le the lack of funds for the Task Force.


The second sub-item, Hearing with the civil Society and private sector, in accordance with paragraph 117 of the São Paolo Consensus, was presented by Mrs. Anne Laure Constantin from IATP NGO.
- Need for new regionalism: multiplication of regional agreements.
- Urges UNCTAD to work with ACP Countries (African, Caribbean and Pacific)
- Deplores that 20% of the global population enjoins 80% of the world resources.
- Need to establish employment policies for gender equity.


Finally the third sub-item, Report of the Working Party on the Medium-term Plan and the Program Budget on its resumed 54th session was presented by Mr. Christophe Guiyou (? Not sure about the name) the Chair of the Working party, from the PM of France:
- Need to ensure that all regions benefit from the funds.
- Access for every body to web pages of UNCTAD.
- Improve the quality and transparency of UNCTAD documents.
- Commodities insurances and work of the Secretariat.
- Invites the Council to take note of the report.


Ismaila Pedro FAYE