Bridgetown, Barbados – His Excellency Ambassador Chad Blackman, Barbados’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva, has held talks with the recently appointed UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General, Ms. Isabelle Durant.

Ms. Durant, whose substantive post is Deputy Secretary-General, was appointed acting Secretary-General on 16 February 2021, following the resignation of Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, which took effect on 15 February 2021.

One of Ms. Durant’s early actions on assumption of her new responsibilities was to meet with Ambassador Blackman to discuss the way forward for the UNCTAD 15 Conference, which is scheduled to be held in Barbados from 3 to 8 October 2021.

The two sides have committed to work in close partnership towards the success of the Conference in these challenging times.

The Conference is the highest decision-making body of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and is held every four (4) years. It was initially scheduled to be held from 18 to 23 October 2020. However, those dates were later pushed back to 25 to 30 April 2021, and subsequently to 1-8 October 2021 because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Conference, policymakers assess the current trade and development issues, discuss policy options and formulate global responses to the challenges affecting States – particularly developing states. The Conference also sets the organization’s mandate and work priorities.

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