2021 part 1

5/ Estonia donates EUR 20,000 to help increase trade know-how in developing economies

11 JANUARY 2021

Estonia has contributed EUR 20,000 (CHF 22,000) in 2021 to enhance the trading capacities of developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs). This donation to the WTO’s DDA Global Trust Fund will finance training workshops aimed at helping government officials better understand and implement WTO agreements and improve their negotiating skill-set.

Over 2,900 training activities have been organized since the fund was created in 2001.

Deputy Director-General Yonov Frederick Agah, who oversees development matters in the WTO, said: “This new donation from Estonia will provide essential support to developing countries and LDCs seeking to increase their expertise on trade policy issues. I thank Estonia for supporting the WTO’s technical assistance activities so that these countries can further integrate into the global trading system.”

Estonia’s WTO Ambassador, Katrin Saarsalu-Layachi, said: “Through its donation, Estonia aims to support developing countries and LDCs in building their expertise on WTO-related matters and international trade rules. Our objective is to allow as many countries as possible to engage in the rules-based global trading system so that the benefits of trade may be spread more widely. Trade has the potential to help economies grow, make businesses prosper and improve peoples’ lives across the world.”

Overall, Estonia has donated approximately CHF 400,000 to the various WTO trust funds over nearly 20 years.

Source: wto.org