The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has enrolled the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) as the 39^th member of its Virtual Institute with the Department of Economics as lead representative.

UNN brings the number of countries represented in the Virtual Institute to 13 in Africa and 42 worldwide. The Virtual Institutewill cooperate with UNN’s Department of Economics in the Faculty of Social Sciences.

A foundation department in the institution since 1960, the Department of Economics offers B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D degrees in economics, with courses available in international economics, monetary economics, financial markets and institutions, fiscal policies, problems and policies of development, and petroleum economics. The research covers a range of macroeconomic and trade issues, such as economic partnership agreements, the ECOWAS common external tariff, foreign portfolio investment, exchange rates, and the links between trade policy, gender and poverty.

UNN’s cooperation with the Virtual Institute will be coordinated byHyacinth Ichoku, a senior lecturer at the Department of Economics who is responsible for courses on macroeconomic policies, economics of international trade, and foreign direct investment. His research covers health economics as well as various aspects of poverty analysis.

The Virtual Institute is a capacity-building and networking programme for academic institutions in developing and transition countries. UNCTAD Virtual Institute’s aim is to help higher institutions strengthen their teaching and research capacity in the area of trade, investment and development, and increase the policy orientation and relevance of their work.

This development comes as a boost to the institution as it serves as a step further toward achieving its goal of being a globally competitive, research-focused university, responsive to the needs of society and delivering world-class education and knowledge, according to the Vice Chancellor Prof Bartho Okolo.

Okolo said that as part of its institutional advancement and internationalisation scheme, UNN had signed alliances or affiliations with over 110 global institutions, from universities to research institutes. UNN is hosting the UNESCO Category2 International Centre for Biotechnology.

Congratulating UNN on the enrolment, Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Umunna Orjiako urged the University to use the opportunity to further the mission of the founding fathers of the institution.

In a message to Vice-Chancellor Prof Bartho Okolo, Dr Orjiako stated that the development provides opportunity for global exposure and competitiveness in research and training. “It is my hope that membership of the Virtual Institute will reposition the university to achieve its foundational goal of delivering world-class education and imparting the skills and knowledge direly needed by Nigeria to upgrade its place in the Community of Nations,” he stated.

TheUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. It provides a forum where developing countries could discuss problem relating to their economic development.

The organisation’s goals are to “maximise the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to enter into the world economy on an equitable basis.” The creation of the conference was based on concerns of developing countries over the international market, multi-national corporations, and great disparity between developed nations and developing nations.

In the 1970s and 1980s, UNCTAD was closely associated with the idea of a New International Economic Order (NIEO).

UNCTAD grew from the view that existing institutions like GATT (now replaced by the World Trade Organization WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), andWorld Bankwere not properly organised to handle the particular problems of developing countries.

The primary objective of the UNCTAD is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. The Conference has its permanent secretariat in Geneva.

•Photo: UNN Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bartho Okolo.