Fresh insights from UNCTAD's quadrennial conference on how South–South partnerships, a significant driver of economic resilience and growth, can go from strength to strength.Leaders and experts from across the developing world called for stronger South–South partnerships to drive investment, trade and sustainable development in a fast-changing global...
Global leaders are convening at the Palais des Nations in Geneva for the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) from 20 to 23 October 2025.The conference comes at a time when trade, investment and technology are reshaping economies at high speed. For developing countries, the stakes are clear: to secure access to ...
The 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) opens next Monday, 20 October, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva under the theme: "Shaping the future: Driving economic transformation for equitable, inclusive and sustainable development”.Hosted by Switzerland and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the conference...
On 2 October 2025, Indonesia issued Minister of Investment Regulation No. 5 of 2025, reducing the minimum paid-up capital requirement for foreign-owned limited liability companies from IDR 10 billion (approximately $640,000) to IDR 2.5 billion (approximately $160,000). The regulation entered into force upon its issuance on 2 October 2025.Nature of measure:...
Following the call from stakeholders at the High-level IIA Conference 2024, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is in the process of developing Guiding Principles for IIA Reform, to facilitate IIA reform for sustainable development. The principles build on UNCTAD’s leading role as the convening forum on IIA reform, core policy guidance developed since 2012,...
In 2025, global maritime trade continues to navigate an environment marked by volatility, rerouted flows and uncertainty. Persistent geopolitical tensions and trade policy changes have altered shipping patterns, with many routes redirected away from traditional chokepoints.While containerized trade is expanding, especially along extraregional cor...
The United States has implemented new, differentiated tariffs on imports from almost all trading partners, with developing countries facing the steepest hikes.The new measures signal a tectonic shift in US trade policy and a departure from rules that have underpinned the international trading system since the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO),...
Trade policy uncertainty has become a major source of global instability. Sudden shifts in tariffs, subsidies or restrictions fuel volatility.Policy changes in one country can send shockwaves across the globe, disrupting suppliers, manufacturers and markets. The United States’ recent policy shifts illustrate this. As the world’s largest importer, even mo...
The new tool maps over 400 treaties since 2010, offering a clear and comparative overview of global and country-specific investment policy trends.© Shutterstock/Agnieszka Gaul |Nairobi, Kenya. Investment facilitation remains key to boosting vital areas like infrastructure for sustainable development.UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is seeking to help cou...
Plastics have fueled global growth across various industries, but at an increasing environmental, economic, and social cost.Today, plastic pollution represents a systemic and transboundary crisis, disproportionately affecting developing countries that have limited capacity for waste management.$1.1 trillion in plastic trade, but 75% ends up as wasteIn 2023...
