UN Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTAD is the United Nations' leading forum dedicated to shaping a fairer and more inclusive global economy. Delegates deliberate on trade, investment, finance, and sustainable development to help economies grow, connect, and prosper together.

UNCTAD — the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development — was established by the UN General Assembly in 1964, holding its first session in Geneva from March to June of that year, against the backdrop of decolonization and growing calls from newly independent nations for a fairer global economic order. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, UNCTAD operates as a permanent intergovernmental body within the UN system, with a mandate to promote the integration of developing countries into the global economy on equitable terms. It conducts research, provides technical assistance, and serves as a forum where developed and developing nations negotiate on trade, investment, finance, and technology policy. Over six decades, UNCTAD has been instrumental in shaping debates on issues such as preferential trade access for developing countries, debt sustainability, and, more recently, digital trade and the economic dimensions of climate change. As global supply chains and trade rules face renewed pressure from protectionism and geopolitical fragmentation, UNCTAD's role as a voice for the Global South remains as relevant as ever.