The government of Sweden, on 21st December 2020, contributed SEK 19.2 million as part of its efforts to help developing countries improve their trading capacity and participate fully in global trade negotiations.
Sweden’s 2020 donation to the Global Trust Fund will be used to finance training workshops for officials to help them deepen their understanding of multilateral trade rules and strengthen their negotiating capacity.
Deputy Director-General Yonov Frederick Agah, who received the donation on behalf of the WTO said: “The Global Trust Fund plays an important role in building the negotiating capacity of the WTO’s developing and least-developed members and ensuring their voices are heard in global trade talks. I thank Sweden for its continued support and generosity.”
Sweden’s Ambassador to the WTO Mikael Anzén, also said: “Trade is central for achieving sustainable, inclusive economic development and poverty reduction, and for recovery and building back better in light of Covid-19. Supporting developing countries’ capacity to benefit from the multilateral trading system and their capacity to trade is more important than ever. That is why Sweden is proud to continue to be an active contributor to the WTO’s Global Trust Fund”.
The Global Trust Fund is the flagship WTO trust fund providing support to a wide range of trade-related technical assistance activities. More than 2,500 workshops have been organized since the creation of the fund in 2001.
Overall, Sweden has donated more than CHF 56 million to WTO Trust Funds since 2002.
This is the second time Sweden has donated to WTO in December 2020 alone. On 9th December 2020, the government of Sweden pledged SEK 40 million over the period 2020-2023 to help developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) participate more actively in agricultural trade.
The grant to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) aims to support developing countries in complying with international food safety, animal and plant health standards.
Four other countries have so far contributed resources towards developing trade in developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) in December 2020.
On 17th December 2020, the Czech Republic contributed CZK 550,000 to help developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs) implement the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in support of the objective of achieving full implementation of the Agreement by all WTO members.
The contribution to the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) will finance the capacity-building needed by developing countries to implement the Agreement.
Also, on 15th December 2020, the government of Ireland donated EUR 350,000 to help developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs) build their expertise across various trade-related areas. The objective is to ramp up their participation in international trade.
Similarly, on December 9, 2020, the government of Sweden pledged SEK 40 million over the period 2020-2023 to help developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) participate more actively in agricultural trade. Specifically, the grant given by Sweden aims to support developing countries in complying with international food safety, animal and plant health standards
Correspondingly, on December 1, the government of China pledged to renew its contribution of USD 500,000 to the WTO’s Least Developed Countries and Accessions Programme.
The WTO’s trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) activities aim to help developing countries build their trade capacity so that they can participate more effectively in global trade.
