World Trade Organization (WTO) Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang expressed his desire for the WTO to better support the trading capabilities of least developed countries (LDCs) according to a press release published by the WTO on Thursday.
“We all want the WTO to do more in helping LDCs become more active players in the multilateral trading system,” Zhang said during a workshop on LDCs' participation in the multilateral trading system, adding that the purpose of the event is to “spark ideas which can help LDCs strategize on their trade priorities.”
The workshop, held alongside the Annual Conference of the WTO Chairs Programme, featured LDC members and trade experts discussing how to further bond trade and development, as well as how to strengthen LDCs' involvement in the WTO's mission.
“We are well aware that LDCs' participation in global trade remains below 1 percent,” said Chair of the Sub-Committee on LDCs and Denmark Ambassador Erik Brøgger Rasmussen. “It is our shared responsibility to map out what more the international community can achieve to support a greater integration of LDCs into the multilateral trading system. An evolving trading landscape opens new horizons, offers new trade opportunities, and brings new hope for people living in LDCs and beyond.”
“The WTO was created to improve people's lives,” said LDC Group Coordinator and Djibouti Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan. "While some progress has been made to support LDCs in benefitting from global trade opportunities, we are yet to see the desired impact. We need to do more to help LDCs fully realize their trade potential".
Various speakers presented key findings from a study regarding the link between trade and development for LDCs, with covered topics including the need for transparency of trade policies and practices and the importance of monitoring trade data. Other topics of potential interest to LDCs included opportunities provided by digital trade. Representatives from the WTO Chairs of Nepal and Senegal spoke on their respective experiences with trade-related academic activities.