The UNDP Round Tables and the private Sector. An issue Paper

UNDP Round Tables have been traditionally used to facilitate the dialogue between recipient governments, chiefly in the least developed countries (LDCs), and their main donors. In this document, written for UNDP as part of an evaluation of its Round Table process, we investigate the possibilities of using this mechanism also to encourage external private flows and to promote the development of the local private sector. We first look at the evolution of the financial resources going to LDCs and Round Tables countries and investigate the reasons these countries have not benefited as much as others from the recent increase in private sector financing. We then present the main ideas that came out of interviews we had on these issues with representatives of the private sector in developed countries. An analysis of the role of UNDP and UN agencies in promoting private investment through the Round Table process is then carried out. We conclude by making a few recommendations with regards to possible modifications of the Round Table process to attain the proposed objectives.