Denmark, Switzerland and the United Kingdom give CHF 1.9 million for the Integrated Framework

This contribution reinforces the commitment of support for the Integrated Framework (IF) expressed by trade Ministers in Hong Hong in December 2005,” said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy. “The IF is a unique instrument of coherence for mainstreaming trade priorities and facilitating the coordinated response provided by various agencies and donors to the trade related assistance needs identified by each least-developed countries’ government in the IF process. The establishment of an Implementation Unit will reinforce its operations”.

Denmark, Switzerland and the United Kingdom agreed to provide the necessary resources for the establishment of the IF Programme Implementation Unit for the period 2006 — 2007, thereby strengthening the IF Secretariat. The respective commitments are DKK 2,720,000 for Denmark, USD 400,000 for Switzerland and £ 350,000 United Kingdom.

Through this contribution, the donors stated that, they would like to reaffirm their strong support for the IF and its enhancement.

The Integrated Framework for least-developed countries is an international initiative through which the IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP, the World Bank and WTO combine their efforts with those of least-developed countries and donors to respond to the trade development needs of least-developed countries. The IF Secretariat is housed in the WTO.