"I welcome Madagascar's commitment to the WTO," DG Azevêdo said. "Development is central to this organization – especially meeting the needs of least-developed countries. We are working hard to ensure that the benefits of trade are more widely shared among our LDC members through technical assistance and capacity building work, and through delivering agreements that bring significant benefits to LDCs, including the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which Madagascar ratified in 2016. I look forward to working with the President in further enhancing trade as a key element of the country's development aims."

Madagascar became a member of the WTO on 17 November 1995, having joined the WTO's predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in September 1963.