“With this contribution, Finland continues its strong support to LDCs in their efforts to integrate into the global economy and to fight poverty through trade” said H.E. Mr Alexander Stubb, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade.

He emphasized that the successful outcome at the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali was of particular value to small countries as it strengthens the multilateral trading system. “The EIF can play a strong role in supporting LDCs to fully participate and benefit from multilateral trade agreements”.

“We greatly appreciate the strong support that Finland has provided to the EIF since the start of the programme”, said Dr Ratnakar Adhikari, the EIF's Executive Director. “This contribution is particularly important as it comes at a critical juncture, where LDCs are increasingly rolling out projects that address productive capacity and supply-side constraints in the areas of agriculture, trade facilitation and services.”

Finland has been a long standing and active Partner of the EIF, a multi-donor programme that supports LDCs to be more active players in the global trading system by helping them tackle supply-side constraints to trade.

This contribution adds to the over € 6.5 million that Finland has already donated to the EIF since its inception

Finland also chairs the EIF Steering Committee, which gathers LDCs, Donors and Partner Agencies to provide overall strategic advice and guidance on the programme's implementation.