Global Commodities Forum 22 - 23 March 2010
Complete Program [PDF]
Registration Form [Doc]
Venue: United Nations, Palais des Nations, E-Building, Geneva, Switzerland
Target Audience: Ministers and high-level government officials in charge of mineral resources, corporate leaders in the area of hydrocarbons and metals, commodity trade and finance, academia and NGOs working on commodity problematique.
Objective: The Forum will launch a neutral and integrated platform addressing in a holistic way such perennial issues of the modern commodity economy as functioning of commodity markets and performance of commodity supply chains, effectiveness of commodity policies and sustainability of modes of production and use of commodities. Themes of the first meeting include: (a)current status and prospects of hydrocarbons and metals markets; (b)volatility of prices and instability of markets; (c)effectiveness of commodity policies; (d)commodity economy and sustainable development; (e)commodity trade finance and risk management; (f)commodities and logistics;
Invitations: Sent to ministers and high-level policymakers of many UNCTAD member countries, business leaders and their associations, to authoritative members of academia and other civil society. All plenary speakers received personal invitations of the UNCTAD Secretary General Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi.
Conference Rooms: XVII , XXV and XXVI
Interpretation: The conference is interpreted simultaneously in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Documentation: It would be appreciated if papers and written presentations, apart from being in original language, would be also delivered in English or French.
Day One: Monday 22 March
09.45 -11.00 Opening Inaugural Plenary
Statements by ministers and heads of international agencies on the importance of multi-stakeholder dialogue on the perennial issues of commodities to find better policy frameworks and market mechanisms for the future global commodity economy.
Opening Statement: Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
11.00 - 13.00 Plenary Session Two
Boom, Bust and Partial Recovery in Oil, Gas and Other Energy Markets
• Recent developments in oil, gas and other energy markets;
• International trading arrangements in oil and gas;
• Fundamental and non-fundamental factors in oil and gas pricing;
• Terms of trade changes for energy exporters and importers.
• Long term trends in supply and demand for hydrocarbons;
13.00 - 15.00 Lunch Break
15.00 - 16.30 Plenary Session Three
Current State and Prospects for Minerals
and Metals
• Recent developments in iron ore, steel and non-ferrous metals markets;
• International trading arrangements in metals;
• Fundamentals and non-fundamental factors affecting metals' prices;
• Changes in terms of trade for metals exporters and importers.
• Changing supply and demand patterns in mining;
16.30 - 18.00 Plenary Session Four
Building Modern and Sustainable Supply Capacity in Extractive Industries • Real investments in productive capacities: developing sustainable projects with modern technologies;
• Investing in productive capacities as a part of effective revenue management;
• FDI, contract negotiations and rent distribution in extractive industries;
• G-20/multilateral and bilateral initiatives to augment access to commodity finance;
• Aid for Trade - prospects for building up commodity trade related infrastructure.
GCF participants will also have the opportunity to attend parallel sessions on: Commodity Finance; Commodities and Sustainable Development; Commodities and Logistics. Please see the complete program [PDF] | Day Two: Tuesday 23 March
09.00 - 10.15 Plenary Session Five
Causes of Commodity Price Volatility
• Fundamentals, speculation and other factors: The recently increased price volatility: a new trend or an episode?
• Relationship between commodity trading, financing arrangements and prices;
• Regulated commodity exchanges, versus unregulated over the counter (OTC) markets;
• Speculation and commodities as financial asset classes;
• Investment in commodity futures and investment in productive capacities: is there a crowding out effect?
10.15 - 11.30 Plenary Session Six
Addressing Volatility: Options for Regulation
• Options for the regulatory and market mechanisms mix;
• What next for major commodity exchanges and OTC markets?
• Complementing better commodity trading rules with better regulatory oversight;
• Addressing issues of commodity trading arrangements and market stabilization;
• Prospects for commodity exchanges in developing and transition economies;
11.30 - 13.00 Plenary Session Seven
Policy Challenges for Energy and Mineral Exporting Countries
• The policy options for minerals, metals and energy producers;
• Foreign investors' contribution to the economy;
• Good governance, transparency and accountability;
13.00 - 15.00 Lunch Break
15.00 - 16.00 Plenary Session Seven (continued)
• Dealing with competition within the supply chain;
• Strategies for value addition and diversification;
• Extractive industries' linkages with the rest of the economy
16.00 - 17.00 Plenary Session Eight
Policy and Institutional Frameworks in Extractive Industries
• Dialogue on better market and regulatory frameworks and improved pricing mechanisms for hydrocarbons;
• Dialogue on building up a sustainable energy matrix for the future world economy;
• Dialogue on sustainable mining practices;
• International cooperation between commodity producers and users.
17.00 - 18.00 Concluding Plenary Session
The Chair of the forum will present to participants the main approaches expressed at the forum and will explore the possibilities of improving the policy and institutional frameworks, both nationally and internationally, to meet the future challenges of developing extractive industries and maintaining good rules and practices in production and distribution of oil, gas & metals, including better multilateral trade rules and improved principles for the financing of extractive industries.
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