António Guterres at UNCTAD16

UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16)
The 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) takes place from 20 to 23 October 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, with the theme "Shaping the future: Driving economic transformation for equitable, inclusive and sustainable development".

Hosted by Switzerland and UNCTAD, the conference convenes Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Trade and Economy, Nobel Laureates, leaders of international organizations, representatives of civil society and renowned experts to engage in high-level dialogue on global trends and policy perspectives on trade, investment, development and the digital economy.

REMARKS TO UNCTAD XVI CONFERENCE

Geneva, 22 October 2025

[bilingual as delivered]

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Over 60 years ago, in this very city, UNCTAD emerged from a simple truth.

Development is not automatic.

Development requires deliberate action.

It requires policies, institutions and investments that serve people.

And that deliver justice for the developing world for trade and through trade.

But trade alone is not enough.

Trade also requires institutions that set parameters, rules and a level playing field.

And it requires finance, investments and technology that can help all countries participate and prosper.

Excellencies,

After decades, UNCTAD’s many achievements have helped steer the global trade system towards justice.

From the creation of the Least Developed Countries category.

To the adoption of the Principles and Objectives for a New International Economic Order.

To the establishment of the Common Fund for Commodities.

And let’s not forget your ongoing work to close gaps in the global trading system, and propose concrete solutions.

Your longstanding calls to reform the international financial architecture.

And your creation of the Global Crisis Response Group in 2022, led by Secretary-General Grynspan, to keep trade flowing in the midst of war.

Today, as UNCTAD returns home for its sixteenth conference, we are reminded of the urgent need to continue shaping the future.

We face a whirlwind of change.

Three-quarters of global growth now comes from the developing world.

Services trade is surging, growing nine per cent last year.

Digital commerce crosses borders at the speed of light.

Frontier technologies are adding trillions to the world economy.

Regional trade agreements have multiplied sevenfold since the 1990s.

And south-south collaboration is increasing through value chains, technology transfer and cross-border investment.

But in this radically different new world, some things — sadly — remain the same.

Developing countries continue to be short-changed.

Uncertainty is growing.

Investment is retreating.

Supply chains are in turmoil.

Trade barriers are rising, with some least developed countries facing extortionate tariffs of 40 per cent, despite representing barely one per cent of global trade flows. Maybe protectionism might be in some situations inevitable but at least it should be rational.

While services trade is growing, we see a rising risk of trade wars for goods.

And military expenditure trends show that we are increasingly investing more in death than in people’s prosperity and well-being.

Meanwhile, geopolitical divisions, inequalities, the climate crisis, and new and protracted conflicts are rippling across the global economy.

Global debt has soared.

Poverty and hunger are still with us.

The international financial architecture is not providing an adequate safety net for developing countries.

And the rules-based trading system is at risk of derailment.

Excellencies,

The outcome document you’re crafting will be a blueprint to respond to these headwinds.

I see four areas of action.

First — we need a fair global trade and investment system.

In 2024, countries adopted the Pact for the Future, which includes a global recommitment to the multilateral trading system.

The Pact aspires to promote export-led growth in developing countries through preferential trade access and special and differential treatment, as well as vital reforms to the World Trade Organization.

We must help countries move beyond commodity dependence, and build links to global value chains that drive jobs and prosperity.

And we need new tools that allow developing countries to compete and benefit from the explosive growth in services trade.

Second — financing.

For many developing countries we see that they are victims of limited fiscal space, slow growth, and the debt crisis.

3.4 billion people now live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education.

At June’s Financing for Development Conference in Sevilla, leaders emerged with a consensus to unlock more finance for developing countries.

To strengthen their capacity to mobilize domestic resources.

To triple the lending power of multilateral development banks to make them bigger and bolder.

To leverage more private finance.

To ease debt burdens with new instruments to reduce borrowing costs and risks, including from climate shocks, and speed-up support for countries facing debt distress.

Simultaneously to reform global financial institutions so they better represent today’s world and the needs of developing countries.

Third — technology.

Technology, high-quality data and innovations can drive economies forward.

But not every country has the access or technology they require to compete.

The Global Digital Compact, adopted last year, includes a number of actions to close the digital divide and ensure that frontier technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain become more accessible to all countries, not just rich ones.

Excellences,

Quatrièmement, nous devons aligner les politiques commerciales avec nos objectifs climatiques et veiller à ce que le commerce soutienne une action climatique ambitieuse et une transition juste.

Cela demande d’intégrer pleinement les stratégies commerciales dans les nouveaux plans climatiques nationaux qui doivent être présentés en amont de la Conférence des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques au Brésil le mois prochain.

Cela implique d’aider les pays en développement à tirer parti de la puissance et du potentiel illimités des énergies renouvelables, notamment par un soutien financier et technique accru.

Cela commence par l’élaboration d’une feuille de route crédible nous permettant de mobiliser, d’ici 2035, 1 300 milliards de dollars par an en faveur de l’action climatique dans les pays en développement.

Et cela suppose de rendre le système de production et de commerce plus juste pour les pays en développement.

Trop de pays et de communautés en développement ne bénéficient pas de la révolution énergétique mondiale – et ce même lorsqu’ils possèdent de vastes réserves de minéraux critiques indispensables à la transition.

L’année dernière, j’ai créé le Groupe chargé de la question des minéraux critiques pour la transition énergétique, qui a pour mission d’élaborer un ensemble de principes directeurs visant à permettre aux populations locales de tirer profit des ressources qui se trouvent sur leur sol – dans un esprit d’équité, de transparence, de durabilité et de respect des droits humains.

Je remercie la CNUCED de participer à cette initiative importante et j’invite les gouvernements, les entreprises et les membres de la société civile à collaborer avec l’ONU pour mettre ces principes en œuvre.

Excellences,

La CNUCED est née de la volonté des pays en développement de faire entendre leur voix dans un système conçu sans eux.

Depuis, vous les avez accompagnés et avez soutenu leurs appels en faveur d’une plus grande équité.

Nous devons poursuivre ce travail essentiel.

Et veiller à ce que tous les pays puissent tirer parti du potentiel offert par le commerce et le développement pour faire avancer leurs économies.

Je vous remercie.

-ends-