Geneva

Estonia is a member of UNCTAD since 1991. Estonia participates in the work of UNCTAD actively, as we regard the trade and development and related topics, as well as the integration of developing countries into the world trade a very important catalysts to achieve the global development and prosperity for all.

Since its membership, Estonia has taken several key roles in UNCTAD. The Permanent Representative, H.E. Mr. Jüri Seilenthal worked actively as the President of the Trade and Development Board in 2012-2013. In 2015, Estonia stood up as the Group D regional coordinator during the preparatory process of UNCTAD XIV Conference, acted as one of four main group negotiators to reach the Nairobi Maafikiano outcome, and fills this position since then. Also, Estonia has filled the position of the Vice President of UNCTAD Trade and Development Board during the period of 2015-2019 (Mr. Taavo Lumiste, Permanent Mission of Estonia in Geneva). For several years, Estonia was a member of UNCTAD Working Party and Advisory Board.

Estonia’s priorities in UNCTAD are the empowerment of women and young people, the promotion of entrepreneurship and job creation, the promotion of the digital economy, trade facilitation, and the active sharing of Estonia’s e-government experience with developing countries. Estonia is a founding member of UNCTAD’s e-Trade for All initiative (UNCTAD XIV conference in Nairobi in 2016) through its e-residency program. The UNCTAD XIV conference established a group of independent government experts to promote e-commerce and the digital economy. Experts from the Estonian Centre of Registers and Information Systems advise UNCTAD on the creation of e-solutions for public administration through a long-term cooperation project, and Estonia’s experience has been successfully passed on to several countries through UNCTAD.

Beyond this, Estonia is of course an active participant in supporting the European Union action in development issues. The European Union and it member states are amongst the major financing contributors to UNCTAD.