Trade offers up opportunities that developing economies can and should seize, said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the opening of the 9th Global Review of Aid for Trade on 26 June.
Over two and a half days, government officials, heads of international organizations and trade practitioners will share insights on how to better integrate developing economies into global trade. The opening also saw the launch of “Aid for Trade at a Glance 2024”, a co-publication of the WTO and the OECD.
In the opening plenary session, global leaders reflected on 18 years of Aid for Trade, an initiative that has unlocked USD 648 billion of investment since 2006 to help developing economies participate more fully in global trade.
The discussion focused on how the international community can help lower-income countries tap further trade opportunities.
In her opening remarks, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recalled that the WTO is marking its 30th anniversary this year, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Reflecting on the transformative changes over the decades, DG Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the significant achievements in global trade and economic development.
"One of the most remarkable changes since 1995 is that trade-enabled growth has lifted over 1.5 billion people out of extreme poverty," she said. This period also saw low- and middle-income economies nearly double their share in global exports from 16.5% to 32.2%, while the percentage of their populations living on less than US$ 2.15 per day has dropped from 40% to under 11%.
Despite these advances, the current global trade landscape faces several challenges. "We are now in troubled times. We see increasing protectionism, the return of industrial policy, and the shaping of a narrative about trade that casts it as anti-people and anti-planet. We see signs of fragmentation in the trade data, with like-minded countries beginning to trade more with each other than with others that are not so like-minded," she said.
DG Okonjo-Iweala also underscored the importance of creating an enabling environment for developing economies to leverage trade for growth, job creation and sustainable development. Key strategies include maintaining open global markets, enhancing Aid for Trade initiatives, crafting policies to support green trade, and reducing business risks through agreements like the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement.
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann highlighted the role of Aid for Trade investments in supporting open markets and a rules-based international trading system. He emphasized the importance of infrastructure development, private finance, and trade facilitation in leveraging trade for development and growth. More needs to be done to ensure everyone can benefit from the upside of global trade, he added.
He also noted OECD's efforts to promote high standards and corporate governance in official development assistance.
