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A much-needed new examination of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), fully covering its history and current activities.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), held in Geneva from March 23 to June 16, 1964, was a diplomatic event of major importance—and aturning point in the evolution of international organization. It was the largest and most comprehensive intergovernmental conference ever held, involving 2,000 delegates from 119 countries. It was the first major conference in which the lines were drawn sharply on a North-South rather dian on an East-West basis. And, what is of more lasting significance, it gave birth to continuing machinery that has already had a profound impact both on international institutions and national policies.

The effective transfer of skills and resources to less developed countries through multilateral as well as bilateral channels is a central element in the UN Development Decade. But the utility of international institutions in the economic field does not stop there. They are also proving to be indispensable in coping with related challenges to the United States in its trade relations with other nations—challenges posed by a rapidly changing world economy. The first challenge is to reduce the trade barriers which presently mpair the economic efficiency and political unity of the free world, particularly the North Atlantic Community and Japan. The second challenge is to find additional ways to deal with the special problems which affect the trade of the less developed countries. International organizations are now the focus of efforts to cope with both of these challenges.

Adapted from his book entitled, "In pursuit of world order: U.S. foreign policy and international organizations.".