WTO news: what’s been happening in the WTO

WTO NEWS: 1998 PRESS RELEASES

PRESS/100
18 May 1998

Switzerland Increases Funding for WTO Technical Cooperation Activities

Switzerland has made a grant of CHF 1,500,000 to the WTO for the financing of a multi-year technical cooperation programme on behalf of developing and transition-economy countries.  These resources are primarily to be devoted to meeting the needs of least-developed countries.
The purpose of this aid is to help beneficiary countries to overcome the difficulties they face in implementing the WTO Agreements and to promote their integration into world trade.  The funds provided will make it possible to finance the necessary legal expertise for establishing national legislation in the specific WTO areas (in particular customs evaluation, technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures) as well as a large number of training activities.

This new contribution comes in addition to the annual grant of CHF 300,000 which Switzerland has made since 1991 for the organization of training courses for Central and Eastern European and Central Asian countries that are candidates for accession to the WTO.