Minister Hautala to attend the UN Conference on Trade and Development in Qatar
Press release 86/2012
18 April 2012
Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala will attend the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIII) on 20–23 April. Among her other activities there, Minister Hautala will be one of the main panellists at the Ministerial Round Table Addressing the policy challenges for investment and enterprise development, exploring the links between foreign trade and poverty.
One of the issues straining relations between developing and industrialised countries at the Conference is discussion of the green economy, which developing countries experience as a way of hindering them from becoming prosperous.
“These apprehensions are understandable. We must be able to demonstrate that it is possible to reduce poverty within the environmental carrying capacity. At the same time, rich countries must themselves be an example of sustainable development. I await discussions on this topic with enthusiasm,” Minister Heidi Hautala states.
The Thirteenth Ministerial Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will be held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on 21–26 April. The intention is for the Conference to decide on UNCTAD’s work programme for the next four years. The themes of the work programme include the avoidance of protectionism, the promotion of employment, gender equality, financial market regulation, the role of the State in economic affairs as well as climate change.
Finland has been one of the most active member countries in negotiations on the revision of the organisation’s working methods. Finland considers it especially important that, as a result of the Conference, UNCTAD undertakes to improve the effectiveness and impact of its work.
President Tarja Halonen will also be attending the Conference. Halonen serves as co-chair of a high-level panel examining the international economic system. In Doha, she will participate in high-level panel discussions and will present an international women’s entrepreneurship award.
UNCTAD, established in 1964, is a Conference subordinate to the UN General Assembly. Its mission is to assist the integration of developing countries in the world economy.
Additional information: Commercial Counsellor Kent Wilska, tel. mobile +358 40 530 4889 (in Doha 19–26 April) and Press Officer Pasi Nokelainen, mobile tel. +358 50 339 5860 (in Doha 21–26 April)