role in increasing trade, transfer of capital, technology and managerial expertise. The Director-General briefly indicated some of the main issues concerning the role of transnational corporations that required the attention of the international community. He referred specifically to the role of transnational corporations in tackling such global problems as the protection of the environment and the solution of the debt crisis. The Director-General also indicated the need to deal on a priority basis with such emerging problems as the role of foreign direct investment in services, the implications of regional integration processes, the role of transnational corporations in the development of the least developed countries and the consequences of developments in Eastern Europe for patterns of foreign direct investment flows. 161. He stressed the continuing need for agreed international norms and standards concerning the conduct of transnational corporations, as well as the need for monitoring the role of transnational corporations in different national economies with a view to identifying areas of action for ensuring congruence between the business interests of transnational corporations and the socio-economic objectives of host countries. B. Attendance 162. The following States members of the Commission attended the session: Argentina, Brazil, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, German Democratic Republic, Germany, Federal Republic of, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zaire and Zimbabwe. 163. The following expert advisers attended the session: Jose Maria Basagoiti (Mexico), Ernst-Otto Czempiel (Federal Republic of Germany), Peter Frerk (Federal Republic of Germany), Roland Guyvarc'h (France), Kamal Hossain (Bangladesh), Laurence McQuade (United States of America), Alexis Sierralta (Venezuela), 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the role of transnational corporations in international trade, foreign direct investment, and global problems such as environmental protection and debt crisis. It also mentions the need for international norms and standards for their conduct. These themes suggest that the text is related to economic development, international trade, and perhaps environmental issues.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade