UNCTAD secretary general: Global economy recovering

ACTING UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) secretary-general Isabelle Durant said the global economy is recovering from covid19.

She made this statement during a virtual news conference on Thursday about the UNCTAD 15 meeting, which will be co-hosted virtually by Barbados and Switzerland from October 3-7.

Durant said, "The global economy is recovering faster than initially expected. It is projected to grow by close to five per cent in 2021.. a growth rate not seen in more than a decade."

She said while this is good news, "The recovery is also highly uneven, as (is) countries’ capacity to invest in response and recovery policies."

Durant said this is one of the issued that will be examined at UNCTAD 15.

"The most vulnerable countries continue to be the hardest hit by the pandemic, at a time when they were already not doing well." Durant said, "The pandemic has exposed existential challenges to globalisation and will have a lasting impact on future efforts by developing countries to gainfully benefit from the global economy."

She said estimates indicated that 119-124 million people fell into extreme poverty in 2020, with an additional 143-163 million people expected to follow this year.

Durant said covid19 has revealed these issues and "UNCTAD 15 will give a window of opportunity to build systemic changes needed to ensure a better recovery, as countries have realised the devastating limits of current development practices."

She said the recovery will have to be "resilient, green, just and digital – but it must also be for all peoples and all countries, not just those who can afford it."

Durant also said UNCTAD 15 "must offer hope and prospects to vulnerable small island developing states facing lost tourism and travel revenues."