The FINANCIAL — The government of China has pledged to contribute USD 500,000 (CHF 465,093) to the WTO’s Least Developed Countries and Accessions Programme (also known as the China Programme) for 2015.
Initiated in July 2011 under the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative, the China Programme aims to enable least-developed countries (LDCs) to better integrate into the global economy by strengthening their participation in WTO activities and helping those not yet members to join the Organization, according to WTO.
The China Programme provides financing to support:
WTO accessions internships
WTO accessions round table meetings
LDCs’ participation in WTO meetings
South-South dialogue on LDCs and development
LDCs’ Trade Policy Review follow-up workshops.
“Through this programme, China facilitates the accession of least-developed countries to the WTO and supports their integration into the global economy. I welcome this new donation,” declared WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo.
China’s ambassador Jianhua Yu stated: “China has been a consistent supporter of the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative and has provided trade-related technical assistance to LDCs under the China Programme over the past three years. The Programme has played a positive and effective role in facilitating LDCs’ integration into the multilateral trading system. Today, we renewed our commitment to the Programme with expanded forms of cooperation. This once again demonstrates our strong support for the development of LDCs within the South-South cooperation framework. We appreciate the cooperation of the WTO Secretariat and look forward to the successful implementation of the renewed Programme.”
Since 2008, China has donated to the various WTO trust funds a total of CHF 2,149,993.
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