Ireland is donating EUR 185,000 (CHF 228,000) for 2013 to help developing countries improve their expertise and capacity to analyse and implement international standards on food safety and animal and plant health.

Through a second donation of EUR 150,000 (CHF 185,000), Ireland will assist least-developed countries, low‑income developing countries and small and vulnerable economies build their capacity in areas related to trade policy.

Another donation of EUR 50,000 (CHF 61,700) will go to the Trade Facilitation National Needs Assessment to identify key areas for further simplifying the movement of goods across borders in developing countries.

A final donation of EUR 70,000 (about CHF 86,400) will be allocated to support the effective participation of least-developed countries in the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference.

“I welcome these donations, particularly at this opportune moment just weeks before the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali. This contribution illustrates Ireland’s commitment to help developing countries, including the least-developed countries, make full use of the multilateral trading system”, declared WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo.

Patricia O’Brien, Ambassador of Ireland, stated that “Since 2002 Ireland has continuously supported WTO trade-related technical assistance to developing and least-developed countries.  These donations underscore our commitment to assisting developing countries in expanding their trading capacities and using the potential of trade as a strong engine for development, growth and poverty reduction. They also seek to support a successful 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in December which has the potential to deliver positive outcomes, particularly for developing countries.”

This new donation brings Ireland’s total contributions to the various WTO Trust Funds since 2002 up to EUR 8,741,000 (CHF 10,786,000).