Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the 29th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development. Thank you to the ministers, delegates and experts joining us this week.
At its core, this commission exists to answer one question: who benefits when technology leaps forward – and who gets left behind?
Before I yield the floor, I want to make two points. First, on the scale of the divide we face. Second, on what this commission can do about it.
I will start with the divide.
Artificial intelligence is now a general-purpose technology reshaping how we produce, learn, connect and govern. UNCTAD's Technology and Innovation Report 2025 projects the global AI market will grow from $189 billion in 2023 to $4.8 trillion by 2033 – an economy larger than Japan's, built in a single decade.
Yet the capacity to build and shape AI remains concentrated in a handful of economies and a handful of firms. Training advanced AI systems demands massive investment – in computing infrastructure, in energy, in specialized talent. For countries still fighting hunger, malaria and tuberculosis, these investments are out of reach. The risk is clear: the most transformative technology of our generation could widen the very gaps it has the power to close.
This brings me to my second point – what we can do.
Last year, at UNCTAD's 16th ministerial conference, 195 countries adopted the Geneva Consensus, urging stronger international cooperation to harness science and technology for development, and concrete capacity-building support for developing countries.
This commission is where that cooperation takes shape. Since 1992, the CSTD has served as a trusted space for honest dialogue on technology and development. And its mandate is growing.
The General Assembly and ECOSOC have called on the CSTD to lead on data governance through the Global Digital Compact, to follow up on the World Summit on the Information Society and to strengthen institutions in developing countries. These are not small tasks. They require ambition, fresh thinking, and – I would add – a willingness to think outside the box this week.
Excellencies,
Let me assure you of UNCTAD's full support to this commission and its secretariat – a role we have proudly held for 24 years. The technology is moving fast. Our cooperation must move faster.
Thank you.