Eminent persons panel releases report on UNCTAD

UNCTAD Panel of eminent persons gathered in Helsinki 6-7 June, 2006.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) should be a "think tank on development issues", firmly anchored in its three working pillars of research and analysis, consensus-building and technical cooperation, say a group of eminent persons appointed by the Secretary-General of UNCTAD in a report released on 21 June in Geneva.

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen served as a member in the Panel of eminent persons, which was established in autumn 2005 and tasked with developing new strategies for the organization aimed at heightening its impact.

The group consisting of eight people was chaired by Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil. Other members were Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania, Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique, Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and former Director-General of the World Health Organization, Lawrence Summers, President of Harvard University and former US Treasury Secretary, Jagdish Bhagwati, Eminent Professor of Economics at Columbia University, and Long Yongtu, former Trade Representative of China.

UNCTAD has been established in 1964, and it’s the focal point of the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development.

UNCTAD Panel of eminent persons