Ambassador Mai Phan Dũng, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, WTO, and other international organisations in Geneva, chairs the 14th session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission — VNA/VNS Photo

GENEVA — Ambassador Mai Phan Dũng, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the UN, WTO, and other international organisations in Geneva, who was elected as the Chair of the 14th session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission, presided over the session that started in Geneva on April 29.

The session provides an opportunity for member states and investment and development stakeholders to discuss major and emerging issues in the fields of investment, business and technology, and their impacts on the sustainable development process, while exchanging effective solutions and policies for all parties to refer to.

The main contents of this session include the latest developments in trends and policies in the fields of investment, business and science and technology for development, directions in using digital business and investment support tools for e-government activities, and the utilisation of blockchain technology for sustainable development, as well as the challenges that developing countries face in applying blockchain technology.

Participants gave several proposals on all issues.

The Group of 77 and China highly valued UNCTAD's work and analysis on foreign direct investment (FDI) and other investment flows in the annual World Investment Report (WIR), and expressed concern about the insufficient investment capital to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They highlighted the urgent need to increase public and private investment to achieve the SDGs ahead of 2030 as scheduled.

The Asia-Pacific group supported UNCTAD's initiatives on investment facilitation, welcoming the topic of blockchain technology at the meeting. They noted that although significant progress has been made, the ASEAN region has yet to secure the space to improve, attract, facilitate, and maintain investment.

The African group reaffirmed the need for strategic and sustainable investment in the continent to address FDI volatility, as well as critical infrastructure gaps. Representatives of the group also highly valued the important role of technology and digital trade in helping countries overcome barriers to attract sustainable investment following three pillars of society, economics and environment.

Participants are also scheduled to discuss and approve two reports of the commission, namely one on investment, innovation and entrepreneurship to improve production capacity and sustainable development and the other from an intergovernmental working group that gathers experts on international accounting and reporting standards.

The fact that Việt Nam was elected for the first time as the Chair at a session of a UNCTAD commission shows the high evaluation of this agency and its member states for policies and achievements that Việt Nam has applied in attracting investment in sustainable development in recent years, especially priority areas such as digital transformation, green transformation, science - technology, and artificial intelligence.

This is also an opportunity for Việt Nam to demonstrate its positive and proactive role at UNCTAD in particular and other international forums of the United Nations in general. — VNS