UNCTAD was established in 1964 as a branch of the United Nations (UN) system to deal with issues pertaining to trade and development. The principal objective of UNCTAD is to assist developing countries to access and fully benefit from the global economy and trade by helping these economies with evidence-based analysis and technical assistance.

UNCTAD’s assistance is more geared toward the global and regional levels of assistance to all the 195 member countries.

UNCTAD has been assisting ECOWAS on several fronts particularly providing technical assistance to the region.  Some of UNCTAD’S assistance to ECOWAS include the formulation of the Common Trade Policy, The Services Policy Review, The e- readiness of some of the ECOWAS Member States, and the report on Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) in the region.

Visit UNCTAD website for more information