countries (E/C.lJ/1990/15), and on the activities of the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations and the activities of the joint units established with the regional commissions (E/C.l0/1990/16), which includes information on the Centre's comprehensive information system. 116. In his introductory statement, the Director of the Advisory and Information Services Division of the Centre noted that the provision of pertinent information and data was a critical component of the Centre's advisory services to host countries in their dealings with transnational corporations and served as an input in evaluating policies or strategies for foreign direct investment, assessing proposed business arrangements and their international market context and mapping out negotiating strategies. 117. The Director briefly referred to the collection of laws, contracts and studies, information sources and data bases that constituted the basis for the provision of information services by the Centre. He drew attention to how, in recent years, the C~ntre had assisted developing countries in the creation of their own information systems. The Centre's assistance had been directed to t~e development of bodies of information and data which covered specific aspects of the activities of transnational corporations, rather than to the creation of an all-encompassing centralized information system. That activity constituted a new direction in the Centre's information services. From originally supplying data and information material, the Centre had now moved into providing developing countries with the tools for obtaining, securing and multiplying their own access to the sources themselves. 118. One delegation commended the Centre's efforts to provide assistance to member countries in developing their information systems -efforts that could be helpful in the formulation of policies aimed at enhancing the role of, and improving the climate for, foreign direct investment. The Centre was also commended for its efforts to standardize data and to improve the utilization of resources through 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations and its activities in providing information and data to developing countries on transnational corporations. The Centre's efforts are aimed at helping developing countries formulate policies and strategies for foreign direct investment. The text also mentions the Centre's assistance in developing countries' own information systems.

**Category**
International trade, Industry