Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), today announced that the Second UN Global Supply Chain Forum will be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2026.
The announcement was made at the UNCTAD16 ministerial roundtable, where Ms. Grynspan warned that global supply chains are undergoing a structural reconfiguration driven by geo-economic, environmental, and digital pressures, with developing nations bearing the sharpest costs.
The 2026 Forum will be held in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services and the Saudi Port Authority (Mawani), following the success of the inaugural event in Barbados in 2024. The announcement was formalized by a handover ceremony with His Excellency Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, and His Excellency Suliman bin Khalid Al-Mazroua, President of Mawani.
Ms. Grynspan detailed the triple pressures facing international trade—geo-economic disruptions, the zero-carbon transition in shipping, and new digital vulnerabilities like cyber-risk. She emphasized that these shocks are masking a deeper structural reconfiguration in which countries are rethinking sourcing, production, and economic integration.
UNCTAD research indicates that while strategies like nearshoring, concentration, and friendshoring all peaked together in 2023, only friendshoring has sustained its growth, expanding by approximately 3% last year. This trend reflects a global shift where geopolitical considerations increasingly override pure economic logic.
The Secretary-General stressed that the costs of these transitions are disproportionately absorbed by developing countries, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).
“When freight rates spike or routes shift, these countries lack the capacity to adapt quickly,” Ms. Grynspan stated. UNCTAD models show that higher freight rates impact SIDS inflation at five times the global average. LLDCs also face transport costs up to three times the global average, highlighting their extreme vulnerability to disruptions.
Ms. Grynspan issued a call for coordinated global action to ensure that the “triple transition” to zero-carbon shipping, digital systems, and resilient trade routes is a just transition. This must include investments in:
- People: Training and supporting the 1.9 million seafarers, many from developing nations, for digital and low-carbon systems.
- Infrastructure: Investing in ports to ensure climate resilience and digital connectivity.
- Connectivity: Ensuring reliable transit corridors for landlocked countries.
UNCTAD’s work, including the upcoming Review of Maritime Transport 2025 and its involvement in the Black Sea Initiative, provides crucial data and technical cooperation to help countries build capacity and strengthen trade facilitation. The 2026 Forum in Saudi Arabia will serve as a key platform to translate this recognition into concrete actions promoting resilient supply chains for development.
