World Trade Organisation to Review Global Aid for Trade by July

The Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is billed to open the 8th Global Review of Aid for Trade scheduled for between July 27th and 29th, 2022 at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The review would bring to the fore, areas where developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) need support to overcome supply-side constraints limiting their participation in international trade.

According to the WTO, the hybrid event which would hold physically and virtually has as its theme: “Empowering Connected, Sustainable Trade.”

Aid for Trade provides support for developing countries, particularly LDCs to boost their trading capacities.
The global review helps galvanise support to address supply-side and trade-related infrastructure obstacles so that developing countries can derive maximum benefit from international trade.

The review would feature the launch of a joint publication by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the WTO entitled: “Aid for Trade at a Glance 2022: Empowered Connected, Sustainable Trade.”

It would delve into the responses to the self-assessment questionnaires that donors (bilateral and multilateral agencies), regional economic communities/transport corridors, South-South partners and developing and LDCs submitted over the last few months as part of the monitoring and evaluation exercise.

Under consideration in the exercise included aid for trade priorities and how these have changed since the last monitoring exercise, policies for sustainable development, and policies for women’s economic empowerment.

The exercise also focuses on understanding the opportunities that green growth and digital connectivity offer to meet multiple targets in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda while promoting economic and export diversification.