Message from Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi
Secretary-General of UNCTAD

The Conference will review the experience gained over the last 25 years in the application of the Set, exchange views on important matters related to its implementation, consider proposals for improving the Set and decide upon the direction of future work which will ensure that competition policy contributes fully to development and poverty reduction.  In this connection, the Conference will also hold for the first time two voluntary peer reviews on the competition policy systems of Jamaica and Kenya.  The peer reviews will provide an in-depth discussion on the challenges faced by these countries' competition authorities today and define the types of measures needed to strengthen their capacity to enforce effectively their national competition laws.  This process will also strengthen UNCTAD's analytical and policy work by creating synergies between the Investment Policy Reviews and Peer Review on Competition and enhance coherence between different national development strategies and the evolving global economic processes.

The Conference will provide an occasion for heads of competition authorities and senior officials of developed and developing countries, including LDCs and economies in transition to establish direct contacts and networking among themselves for informal and voluntary cooperation.  Finally, the Conference is expected to strengthen UNCTAD's ability to deliver effective and result-oriented capacity building to interested developing and least developed countries, to enable them to maximize gains from trade and investment, and ensure that competition policy enhances competitiveness and development.