EU Funds Trade Knowledge in Developing Economies and LDCs with EUR 1 Million

The Global Trust Fund supports approximately 280 activities each year, focusing on custom training programs at national and regional levels in various trade-related areas such as agriculture, services, and trade facilitation. Over the past two decades, nearly 2,800 activities have been organized and implemented through this fund.

At the recent 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis of the European Commission reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the WTO and the integration of developing countries, especially least-developed countries, into the multilateral trading system. The EU continues to support the economic development of these countries through the WTO, with a financial contribution that aims to enhance multilateral trade governance.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressed gratitude to the European Union for its generous support of the WTO’s capacity-building programs. These programs are designed to equip policymakers in developing economies and least-developed countries with valuable trade-related skills, enabling them to expand their countries’ trading opportunities and promote sustainable economic development and growth.

Over the span of more than 20 years, the EU has contributed CHF 33 million (EUR 34.6 million) to various WTO trust funds, demonstrating a long-standing commitment to promoting global trade and economic development.