The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UNCTAD 16 Rebeca Grynspan Stake Out - 23 October 2025
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8:19
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MP4
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517.1 MB
Teleprompter
Good evening, everybody, and thank you for joining us at this uncommon hour.
It's midnight in Geneva, Central European time for the closing media stakeout on the occasion of the 16th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on that 16 with US Secretary General of UN Trade and Development Rebecca Greenspan, Secretary General.
Thank you so much, everybody.
It's very late here, but we are very happy.
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We have just concluded in that 16, the 16th Conference of the United Nations on Trade and development, a very important moment in the UN calendar, which takes place only once every four years.
I would like to describe it as a conference of renewal, showing a renewed organisation whose reform began four years ago, renewed ideas and initiative and renewed and strong support from Member States of all regions.
The conference that has just charted a path for Angkat and for our work on trade and development and on finance, debt, investment and technologies on a stronger mandate to work with least developed countries, seized in landlocked developing countries.
Anktat 16 has been a success of participation, of agreement and outcomes.
So let me say several things for each of this.
First, on participation, 170 delegations have taken part.
This is historic participation for an Anktat conference.
According to all our records, this is the highest ever in our 60 years of history.
We have heard from 80 ministers and Vice Ministers of Trade and Economy, over 3300 participants and 230 speakers that are leading voices in the private sector, in civil society, youth, women in trade and we have had 67 events and ministerial meetings.
We have had a strong participation from developing countries, least developed countries, small island developing States and land log developing countries from the Global South and from the industrialised economies such as the European Union, and key global actors in trade such as India.
Their presence and engagement underscores the importance of antag in a multilateral space that matters now more than ever.
Throughout this week, across regions and different viewpoints, countries came together to confront shared challenges and to look ahead together towards the opportunities that the world also provides.
We also saw tangible support for Angstat's work and mandate.
So let me continue with the details on the agreement that we have reached here in Geneva.
We leave Regina, Geneva with two powerful results.
First, the outcome document, which charts Antac's path forward with concrete mandate, a clear and actionable road map to our work in the years ahead.
And 2nd, a political declaration, the Geneva Consensus for a Just and Sustainable Economic Order.
This declaration reaffirms the fundamental values that unite us, the belief that development must leave no one behind and commits us to build a more inclusive global economy.
The political significance of what was agreed here is profound.
On trade, countries reaffirm the centrality of a rules based, open, transparent and equitable multilateral trading system.
On investment, we address heads on the decline and uneven distribution of global investment flows, committing to facilitation measures, policy frameworks that lower the cost of capital and that support domestic and international ecosystems that can absorb and multiply for investment.
And on debt and financing for development, we witnessed a real breakthrough with the launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt yesterday alongside the UN Secretary General and the Minister of Finance of State of Spain.
In addition, Member States agreed to establish a Borrowers Forum, a new space for developing countries to build collective capacity, share experience and strengthen their voice in global debt discussions.
Creditors coordinate, borrowers must too.
Finally, on outcomes, several governments made new commitments supporting and funding and that that will help help US move from dialogue to delivery.
So Switzerland pledged new funding to strengthen our work on e-commerce and the digital economy, recognising that digitalization is the next frontier of development.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host and fund the Global Supply Chain Forum in Riyadh in November 2026, a new ANTAC initiative to build more resilient and inclusive supply chains.
Finland has pledged support for LDCs and small island developing states to ensure their presence was seen and their voices heard.
And Qatar will support the next World Investment Forum, advancing sustainable investment for the benefit of all.
This commitment reflects confidence in a renewed on that which much continue to be, which this commitment commitments reflect confidence in a renewed and that that continues to be more agile and responsible, responsive to the global context and the needs of countries.
It also reflects a shared determination to act.
So that is why I'm pleased to say that thanks to Member States, our staff in a shared belief in the key role of an agile, renewed Anta, ANTA 16 has delivered very positive results.
That is why I am calling it it as a conference of renewal, showing a renewed, agile and effective organisation, showing that cooperation works, multilateralism delivers and countries can reach agreements.
The Geneva Consensus sends a clear message.
We can build a more just, inclusive and sustainable global economy together.
[Other language spoken]