The sixteenth session of the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD 16) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from Monday, October 20, to Thursday, October 23, under the theme “Shaping the Future: Driving Economic Transformation for Equitable, Inclusive and Sustainable Development.”

UNCTAD sessions are convened every four years, and this session marked the first in-person conference in nine years since 2016.*

※ UNCTAD is an intergovernmental body under the United Nations, established in 1964 to promote developing countries’ industrialization and participation in international trade. All UN Member States are its members (a total of 195).

  - UNCTAD supports research on trade and development policies and provides technical cooperation to developing countries. The Republic of Korea joined UNCTAD in March 1964.

  - Pursuant to a UN General Assembly resolution (1964), the UNCTAD Member States are classified into Group A (Asia and Africa), Group B (developed countries), Group C (Latin America), and Group D (Russia and Eastern Europe). Korea was moved from Group A to Group B by the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board (TDB) in 2021.

* The 14th session was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2016. The 15th session was originally scheduled to take place in Barbados in 2020 but was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted in a hybrid format in 2021.

On day 1 (Monday, October 20), Deputy Minister Kim, in his capacity as head of delegation, delivered a statement emphasizing that trade and investment remain key drivers of sustainable global economic growth, and that multilateral cooperation has become even more important in addressing uncertainties in the international political and economic environment that constrain trade and investment.

In particular, he noted that sustained and inclusive economic growth will depend on how the international community responds to major transformations currently underway, including those related to artificial intelligence (AI), demographics and energy. He also shared Korea’s relevant efforts as the APEC Chair this year, including the promotion of deliverables in the areas of AI and demographic changes.

Later in the day, Deputy Minister Kim held a meeting with UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan. He underscored UNCTAD’s strength in incorporating diverse perspectives from the international community and advancing discourse on trade and development. On that note, he stated that Korea will continue to actively play a bridging role between developed and developing countries.

In response, Secretary-General Grynspan highlighted that Korea, having transitioned from a developing country to a developed economy, serves as a model case that developing countries within UNCTAD should emulate. She added that Korea’s successful development experience should be actively shared and disseminated.

On day 2 (Tuesday, October 21), Deputy Minister Kim was invited to participate as a panelist in a ministerial-level roundtable on artificial intelligence (AI). During the session, he stressed that while maximizing the opportunities presented by AI, efforts must be made to address the challenges arising from its rapid advancement. He highlighted Korea’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable governance and responsible innovation of AI, as demonstrated by the Korean President’s chairing of the UN Security Council open debate on AI in September.

He further introduced Korea’s plan to implement initiatives designed to strengthen AI capacity and foster an inclusive AI ecosystem at both regional and global levels, including the promotion of the APEC AI Initiative* this year and the establishment of an AI hub in the Asia-Pacific region, based on the principles of “safety, innovation and inclusion” emphasized at last year’s AI Seoul Summit.

* One of the key deliverables of the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the initiative focuses on △ strategic AI transformation, △ AI capacity-building at all levels, and △ promoting AI infrastructure development based on private-sector investment.

Later in the day, Deputy Minister Kim participated in a side event on digital government, co-hosted by Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety and UNCTAD on the margins of the session. He expressed hope that Korea’s e-government policy experience would be widely shared with developing countries, and emphasized his expectation for close cooperation with UNCTAD to this end.

The Korean government assesses that by participating in the UNCTAD session, it actively contributed to international discussions on joint responses to major global challenges, while effectively sharing its policies on key issues such as AI, demographic structure and energy, and thereby garnering broad understanding and support from the international community.