WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi signed a joint declaration, as they marked the twentieth anniversary of the WTO at its headquarters, in Geneva on Monday to further strengthen the collaboration between UNCTAD and WTO in key areas of their work. The agreement will also help build on Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed by the organizations in 2003 and 2013.UNCTAD and the WTO believe that trade should play a key role in supporting the implementation of the outcomes of the Third International Conference of Financing for Development, in the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, above all, in fostering inclusive economic growth for poverty alleviation.
The organizations plan to reinforce their cooperation on issues such as trade related-technical assistance, trade facilitation, trade and investment, debt and finance, global value chains, commodities, standards, non-tariff measures, and e-commerce, as well as the establishment of a Geneva Trade Statistics Hub, according to a WTO press note.
On the occasion, Kituyi said, "The signing of this declaration will deepen our collaboration in helping the least developed
countries. As we celebrate twenty years of achievement, we recognize that many least developed countries are still commodity dependent, which therefore exposes them to the vulnerability of the boom and bust cycle."
"Our organizations share a common goal of helping developing countries, and especially the least-developed countries, integrate into the global economy," Azevêdo said, adding that the declaration reaffirms and strengthens the collaboration of our two organizations to keep on promoting trade as a tool for development.
After the signing ceremony, Kituyi and Azevêdo jointly opened the event 'Twenty Years of Supporting the Integration of Least Developed Countries into the Multilateral Trading System' which looked at the key developments and decisions taken in favor of the 48 least developed countries (LDCs), the institutional support provided and the trade capacity-building initiatives put in place. Participants also discussed on how the international community could help the LDCs better integrate into the multilateral trading system.
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