4 April 2014: The UN Conference on Trade and Development hosted the second in its series of Geneva Dialogues, engaging Member States, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector in informal discussions around trade and the post-2015 development agenda. This meeting, titled ‘The Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda: The Road from Bali,’ considered how trade can be an enabler of inclusive and sustainable development.

The Second Geneva Dialogue, held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 4 April 2014, highlighted the importance of ongoing trade discussions in two processes: the negotiations for a post-2015 development agenda, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) post-Bali processes addressing follow-up to the Doha Development Round. Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General, said “We have to try to find synergies between the two processes to maximize their impact on economic development.” Kituyi also called for country positions to be coherent between the post-2015 and post-Bali processes.

Speakers highlighted linkages between trade and development issues, referring to trade as an “enabler” of development and a necessary component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Trade should be recognized more broadly as a development policy instrument,” said Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Participants also referred to trade as a cross-cutting dynamic and an underlying foundation for the SDGs, as it is able to lift people out of poverty and create better standards of living. Discussions explored ways to create synergies between the trade and sustainable development negotiations, and to make sure that the two processes do not contradict each other.

The meeting follows UNCTAD’s First Geneva Dialogue in November 2013, in which participants called for Geneva-based trade experts to contribute to the post-2015 development agenda process. [UNCTAD Meeting Details] [UNCTAD Press Release] [Meeting Program]