Permanent Mission of India
Geneva

Statement by India
at the 63rd session of the Trade and Development Board (on 6 December 2016)
Geneva, 5-9 December 2016
Mr. President,
Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD,
Excellencies and Distinguished Colleagues,

At the outset, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for Ambassador Alfredo Suescum for the praiseworthy work accomplished during his tenure as the President of the Trade and Development Board. Delegation of India would also like to congratulate you andthe other members of the Bureau on their election.

2.      We wish to thank Dr. Kituyi and the UNCTAD Secretariat for the preparation of this meeting.India would like to align itself with the statement made by the Group of 77 and China and the Asia Pacific Group. 

3.      The memories of the successful Fourteenth Quadrennial UNCTAD Conference are still fresh in our minds including that of the couple of sleepless nights we spent in Nairobi, where we witnessed the spirit of multilateralism, prevail.

4.      As we look back, it was worth the effort which resulted in the consensus document - the Nairobi Maafikiano - A Mandate which paves the path for UNCTAD’s work in the period before the next UNCTAD Conference.

5.      A mandate which is a reflection of our collective desire, our collective commitment to translate important multilateral decisions taken in the last year into concrete actions especially the Addis-Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.

6.      The challenge in front of us is how to implement this mandate, in a manner which is in sync with UNCTAD’s raison de etre.

Mr. President

7.      UNCTAD 13 which was held in Doha in 2012, agreed by consensus that UNCTAD should implement and follow up, as appropriate, relevant outcomes of global conferences and summits on development.

8.      My delegation has taken note of the Secretariat's report highlighting the progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations Conferences and Summits, covering the period during the period July 2015 to June 2016. We would like to commend UNCTAD for the same.

9.      India would like to see UNCTAD play an enhanced and unique role in providing contemporary policy guidance to the developing and least developed countries so that they can formulate their strategy as per their differential developmental needs and challenges.

Mr. President

10.    The timing of discussion in this 63rd session of TDB on the subject “Evolution of the international trading system and its trends from a development perspective” is very opportune. The document highlights how international trade can best serve developmental challenges faced by countries with special focus on developing countries and LDCs.

11.    There is no denying the fact that there is a need to revitalise and reenergise trade by the adoption of a futuristic, forward looking Trade Agenda, especially in the current scenario where there is a persistent slowdown. 

12.    In this context service sector in global trade, its resilience and its growing competitiveness could provide new opportunities for substantial trade. Services are central to for many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

13.    In order to achieve these goals we need to rethinking the traditional approach to policymaking, and need a vision in which national and international policies work in a synchronous manner to address the pressing concern to both developed and developing countries.

14.  India recognise UNCTAD’s central role in this process through its core pillars of work namely, Research and Analysis, Consensus-building and Technical Cooperation.

15.    We hope that the deliberations in this TDB will provide suggestions on policy options and guidance to UNCTAD for implementation of the Nairobi Maafikiano Mandate.

16.    India would like to reiterate its full support to UNCTAD and express its readiness to work with other member states towards achieving the desired outcomes.

With these words, I thank you, Mr. President

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