Norway pledges 10 million Norwegian Kroner to WTO Technical Assistance

The Government of Norway made a contribution of 10 million Norwegian Kroner to help finance the implementation of the WTO Technical Assistance and Training Plan in 2006.

“Norway has for several years been a strong supporter of WTO trade-related technical assistance to developing, and in particular least-developed countries” said Norwegian Ambassador Eirik Glenne. “Contributing to the strengthening of the capacity of the developing and the least-developed countries to make full use of the multilateral trading system is an important political priority of the Norwegian government. Today’s contribution to the WTO Technical Assistance Plan for 2006 is a concrete expression of our continued commitment to the efforts of the WTO to this end.”

Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO, said: “I warmly thank Norway for this donation to technical assistance which is important in bolstering the capacity of poorer countries to get the best of the multilateral trading system. It will also advance their interests through their participation in the current talks for which the development dimension takes centre-stage on the agenda. Opening up markets and abolishing distorting measures represent enormous potential benefits for developing countries, especially in areas of particular interest to them.”

Norway is one of the biggest voluntary contributors to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund. This latest contribution brings the total amount donated by Norway to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) since its creation to more than 8.4 million Swiss Francs. The DDAGTF was created following the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, in November 2001, which launched a new round of negotiations.