WTO to champion importance of trade in supporting Least-Developed Countries’ economic dev’t

Trade will play a key role in helping countries meet the Doha Programme of Action for Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) over the next decade.

This is the message the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will deliver at the Fifth United Nations Conference on LDC5, taking place in Doha, Qatar, from 5 to 9 March.

Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang will speak at several events and the WTO will co-organize a number of sessions with other international organizations to discuss LDCs’ trade priorities.

DDG Zhang will join the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and over 30 UN principals on the eve of the Conference to explore ways for the international community to better support LDCs’ economic growth and development over the next decade.

On 5 March, the WTO will co-organize a session entitled “LDC trade development: towards new frontiers”. See the details here.

DDG Zhang will contribute to the high-level thematic round table entitled: “Enhancing the participation of LDCs in international trade and regional integration” on 7 March. He will also speak at a thematic roundtable on 9 March entitled “Supporting Sustainable and Irreversible Graduation from the Least Developed Country Category”.

The WTO’s partners at the Conference include the Enhanced Integrated Framework, the International Trade Centre and the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), among others.

The webpage about the WTO’s participation in the LDC5 is available here. It contains a range of useful resources on LDC trade and development, including new notes on the trade aspects of the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs and on the opportunities and challenges that digital trade brings to these countries. It will be regularly updated with photos and news stories reflecting the WTO’s participation in the Conference.