NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS UNCTAD'S TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND ASSEMBLY'S SECOND COMMITTEE TO HOLD VIDEOCONFERENCE ON KEY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

22 October 1997

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS UNCTAD'S TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND ASSEMBLY'S SECOND COMMITTEE TO HOLD VIDEOCONFERENCE ON KEY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

19971022 Topics of Unprecedented Joint Session To Include Implications of Electronic Commerce for Developing Countries

A videoconference of a joint session of the Trade and Development Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in Geneva, and the Second Committee of the General Assembly, in Conference Room 2 at Headquarters in New York, will be held on Thursday, 23 October, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It will be the first time that two intergovernmental bodies in different locations hold a joint meeting through a live video hook-up, thus breaking down the barriers of time and distance that have previously separated them.

Appropriately, the topics to be debated will be the implications of burgeoning electronic commerce for developing countries and the establishment of practical "partnerships for development" with the private business community and civil society.

The Second Committee, chaired by Oscar R. de Rojas (Venezuela), will join the afternoon session of the Board's high-level segment, which concludes the annual meeting of the UNCTAD governing body. The segment will be chaired by Jan Pronk, Minister for Economic Cooperation of the Netherlands, and attended by ministers and other top officials from many of UNCTAD's 188 member States.

The decision to hold a joint session of the two intergovernmental bodies was hailed by Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, as "an important step forward in enabling UNCTAD's conceptual, and practical, work on development issues to be incorporated into delegates' thinking in New York".

Through the increased use of teleconferencing, UNCTAD and the Second Committee will bring greater synergy and effectiveness to their work, enabling two major centres of the United Nations work to benefit from their respective perspectives.

For audio/video hook-ups, contact Jim Ludlum at (212) 963-7650. For media accreditation, contact Sonia Lecca at (212) 963-6934.

For further information, contact Harris Gluckman at (212) 963-6895.

* *** *