The European Union (EU) has announced a significant contribution of €1 million (approximately CHF 950,000) for the period of 2024-2025 to support training programmes for government officials from developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs). This funding will be channelled through the World Trade Organization (WTO) Global Trust Fund, aiming to enhance these countries' expertise on WTO issues and strengthen their capacity to effectively implement trade rules.

The investment underscores the EU's commitment to bolstering the global trade system by empowering developing economies and LDCs with the necessary skills and knowledge. The Global Trust Fund, a key instrument in this endeavour, facilitates around 280 activities annually, primarily consisting of tailor-made training delivered at both national and regional levels. These activities cover a wide range of trade-related areas, including trade facilitation, and have been pivotal in enhancing the trade capabilities of participating countries.

Since its inception, close to 2,800 activities have been organised under the fund, demonstrating its extensive impact over more than two decades. The EU's latest contribution brings its total investment in various WTO trust funds to €34.6 million (CHF 33 million) over this period, reflecting its ongoing support for trade development and capacity building within the WTO framework.

“The EU remains strongly committed to the WTO and to further integrating developing countries—especially least-developed countries—into the multilateral trading system. We are pleased to continue supporting their economic development through the WTO. We believe our financial contribution is particularly timely in view of the current need for enhancing multilateral trade governance,” said the European Commission's executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis.

“I thank the European Union for generously supporting the WTO's capacity-building programmes which aim to equip policymakers in developing economies and LDCs with solid trade-related skills. The objective is to help them widen their countries' trading opportunities so that more people may benefit from sustainable economic development and growth,” said WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)

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