| Piebalgs: Developing Nations need Trade, not Aid |
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Delegates, civil society members, and private sector representatives met in Geneva last week for the Third WTO Global Aid for Trade review. The aim of the meeting was to evaluate the success of the WTO’s Aid for Trade (AfT) Initiative in helping developing countries build their trade capacity. There was overwhelming support for AfT from world leaders, including the EU, who then called upon the international community to step up efforts to improve the mechanisms of AfT, so to harness the potential of the initiative. According to the joint report prepared by the WTO and OECD, “Aid for Trade At a Glance 2011: Showing Results”, AfT flows reached US $40 billion in 2009 — a 60% increase since 2005. More than €10.5 billion was allocated to AfT by the EU and its member states, serving to increase volumes of global flows substantially. The EU and its Member States accounted for 37%of global AfT in 2009. Africa accounts for the largest share of AfT from the EU and its Member States: commitments in 2009 amounted to €4.1 billion, corresponding to 41% of total EU AfT for that year. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy noted that there is an emerging body of research showing a positive link between the six-year AfT initiative and trade performance. Moreover, the Director General hailed the potential of AfT in long-term trade capacity building for developing countries and called for improvement in accountability of recipient countries. He further stressed the need for a greater ownership of monitoring and evaluation efforts by developing countries themselves. However, Lamy did note infrastructures need to be improved. “While liquidity has returned to the markets, longer term structural issues have become more apparent. Access is now the challenge, not availability, particularly in Africa,” he said. EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs represented the European Commission at the event. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Piebalgs highlighted the importance of the AfT Initiative to prepare developing countries for resilience in the international markets. He went on to state, “Aid is not sufficient for step change. Trade is”. However, Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General, urged donors to continue AfT efforts, but these should not be at the expense of current development assistance. “As we all know, this is a time of economic uncertainty. Budgets are tight. But difficult fiscal conditions are no excuse for letting up our efforts; they underscore the need for collective action” the Secretary General argued. Sources:
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