Science Fair Project Encyclopedia United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964 as a permanent
intergovernmental body, UNCTAD is the principal organ of the
United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment
and development issues. The organizations goals are to "maximize
the trade, investment and development opportunities of
developing countries and assist them in their efforts to
integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis." (from
official website). Currently, UNCTAD has 191 member States and
is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. UNCTAD has 400 staff
members and an annual regular budget of approximately US$50
million and US$25 million of extrabudgetary technical assistance
funds. The inter-governmental work is done at 4 levels of
meetings : - The UNCTAD Conference - held every 4 years, the
last one was UNCTAD XI in Sao Paulo in June 2004 ; - The UNCTAD
Trade and Development Board - the Board