Actions carried out and/or planned by UNCTAD to support States in the recovery of their trade and industries after overcoming the Pandemic
67th Session of the Trade and Development Board
Statement by
Mr. Behzad Azarsa
Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Item 3: Actions carried out and/or planned by UNCTAD to support States in the recovery of their trade and industries after overcoming the Pandemic
67th Session of the Trade and Development Board
3rd July, 2020
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Mr. President,
My delegation listened with interest to the Report of the Ms. Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD on the actions carried out and the envisaged plans to support States in the recovery of their trade and industries after overcoming the pandemic.
My delegation associates itself with the statement made by the distinguished Ambassadors of Zambia and Iraq in their capacity as coordinators of G77 and Asia-Pacific Groups under this agenda Item. Before making my comments, I share with distinguished delegates my thought that it would be more fruitful if we would discuss the recovery of trade, industry and agriculture in the current situation and after overcoming of the Pandemic, due to the fact that Covid-19 is on rise again in some parts of the world and it may continue to exist, as a major threat to humanity, for a long period of time.
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The worldwide experience of Coronavirus outbreak imposed unprecedented lockdowns, isolations, higher rate of unemployment, sharp drop in GDPs and production, distortion of trade, and led to the hospitalization, death and suffering of millions of people worldwide. Simultaneously, it offered plenty of lessons to learn.
It taught that considerable numbers of challenges, like this pandemic, are global and require international solidarity, sincere cooperation and forward-looking solutions. Threats are not merely and necessarily, what we were thinking of. In order to find a solution, multilateralism would be the best umbrella, under which the diplomats and other stakeholders could get together, negotiate and find the ways and means to meet collectively the existing and emerging challenges.
We are of the view that there is a need for revision of the national and international plans related to trade and development to adapt ourselves with the new living conditions emanating from the Covid-19 outbreak and other well-known factors. UNCTAD could and should play a major role in this regard through its three pillars. That is why we think the current and future sessions of TDB and the forthcoming Ministerial Session in Barbados are of great importance.
It seems, the Pandemic is pushing us to new methods of living conditions with fewer physical contacts and less public appearance. It requires more minimization of the human-made barriers and maximization of the international cooperation to develop science, technology and innovation to the benefit of mankind and the Mother Nature. Production, distribution and utilization of digital devices in a safer manner, cost-effective, and with affordable prices are needed more than ever before. The new circumstances demand allocation of more financial resources and equipment to national health systems at the time of planning and launching national and global strategies. The Pandemic alarmed that the reaction of natural environment to the aggressive human-induced activities could be devastating. It indicated how much human being is vulnerable and its survival is dependent on a healthy and sound environment on Earth. The Pandemic recommended the reduction in mobility and introduced, once again, sustainable development as the best context for our future activities, particularly those related to sources of energy and transportation facilities. No doubt that in this process, more attention should be paid to the adverse impacts of trade of goods and commodities on the environment.
I thank you, Mr. President;