Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development, 16th session
Mrs. Luz María de la Mora, Director of the Division on International Trade and Commodities at UN Trade and Development, delivers the opening remarks at the 16th session of the Multi-Year Expert Meeting. The session provides a platform for sharing national experiences and successful strategies to promote domestic value addition in commodity-producing developing countries. Over two days, experts will examine the strategic shift needed for countries to move from exporting raw materials to building domestic processing and manufacturing capacity. This transition aims to diversify economies, create jobs and strengthen national incomes—reducing commodity dependence while enhancing resilience and sustainability. Discussions focus on the importance of defining sectoral priorities, deploying targeted policy instruments, strengthening governance frameworks and tailoring diversification strategies to national and regional contexts. Experts will also explore how to leverage global trends—including renewable energy, digitalization and circular economy principles—to support long-term structural transformation. The programme includes four panel discussions covering global commodity market developments and the theme “Strategic diversification for commodity-dependent developing countries,” with each day dedicated to a specific commodity category: • Food and agricultural commodities • Extractive commodities, including energy resources, minerals, ores and metals Photo credit: William Albors/UN Trade and Development More info: <a href="https://unctad.org/meeting/multi-year-expert-meeting-commodities-and-development-16th-session" rel="noreferrer nofollow">unctad.org/meeting/multi-year-expert-meeting-commodities-...</a>
