United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTAD aims at enhancing the capacity of SIDS to find beneficial economic opportunities in globalization forces, and to prevent the further marginalization of these countries from the global economy. This action involves research and analysis, policy advice to individual SIDS and to the category as a whole, and technical assistance in areas ranging from "smooth transition strategies" for SIDS graduating from LDC status, to trade and investment policies.
UNCTAD has been dealing with the particular problems faced by small island developing States (SIDS) since 1974. It was actively involved in the Barbados Global Conference in 1994, and in the Mauritius International Meeting (MIM) in 2005. UNCTAD's ongoing support to the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy has been guided by: (i) the five General Assembly resolutions that followed the MIM; and (ii) the Accra Accord from UNCTAD XII (2008), which cites SIDS six times.