World Trade Organization members backed a declaration seeking additional funding and private-sector partnerships to help developing economies implement trade rules and expand their participation in global commerce, the WTO said on Oct. 30.
The agreement is the first multilateral outcome on the topic in 20 years, said Peru's Ambassador Elmer Schialer Salcedo, chair of the Committee on Trade and Development. The WTO published the announcement on Oct. 30 under the title “Global Review concludes with a declaration on partnerships for trade and development”.
The declaration recognised the importance of technical assistance and training to help developing economies implement WTO rules and take part in the global trading system. It included least developed countries among the economies needing that support.
Members acknowledged changes in development cooperation and the need to find, attract and expand additional resources for trade and development. The declaration called for exploring several forms of funding to support effective partnerships with private businesses.
Those sources included grants, concessional finance, or funding offered on favourable terms, and blended finance, which combines different types of funding. The declaration linked their use to efforts to bring private-sector partners into trade and development cooperation.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed the agreement and described it as part of efforts to renew the organisation. She said members now needed to turn the declaration into practical opportunities for growth and development.
“The challenge now will be to make it count,” Okonjo-Iweala said. She called on members to carry their cooperation beyond the meeting and create opportunities that people could use.
Schialer Salcedo credited engagement by all members for the declaration and singled out Australia and Barbados for their leadership. He said the agreement gave fresh momentum to the initiative after the long gap between multilateral outcomes.
Members also considered an Indian communication on assistance to build trade-related skills and capabilities. It described India's cooperation with other developing countries and projects involving additional partners, including through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme.
The programme has helped strengthen the skills of more than 80,000 participants since 2014, India said in the communication. That was the only participation figure given for the assistance discussed.
Schialer Salcedo called for continued work on partnerships to widen trade opportunities. He said the two days of discussions demonstrated what sustained support could achieve while also showing that further work was needed.
The declaration's formal text had yet to be issued under document reference WT/COMTD/AFT/2. The WTO Secretariat said its account did not cover every issue raised at the meeting and directed readers to formal minutes for a complete account.
