In Accra, Ghana, the 12th ministerial conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII) will be convened between 20 and 25 April 2008. The session will be attended by heads of state or government, ministers for development and the economy from 193 UNCTAD member states, high representatives of the UN and other international organisations (WTO, UNIDO, ITC), and representatives of development agencies and non governmental organisations. The Slovenian delegation will be headed by Žiga Turk, Minister of Development, and Andrej Šter, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The aim of the conference is to review the work of UNCTAD from the last ministerial conference in Sao Paolo four years ago and to discuss orientations for the next four-year period. The UNCTAD XII ministerial conference will adopt an outcome document outlining the activities of the organisation for the next four years in the areas of trade and development, and related issues from the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development. Institutional reform of UNCTAD will also be discussed, as well as methods of implementing assistance to developing countries facing the challenges of globalisation for their faster economic progress and the reduction of poverty.