The objective of this facility is to help developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs) establish and implement sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards in the areas of food safety, animal health and plant health and expand their ability to gain or maintain access to international markets.

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said: “This latest donation from Japan will help to sustain the WTO's important technical assistance work, which supports developing and least-developed countries to improve their trading capacities. I welcome Japan's generosity.”

Japan's Ambassador, Junichi Ihara, said: “Through SPS-related capacity-building projects — including those of the STDF — Japan helps developing countries to improve their implementation of standards for food safety, animal health and plant health so that these countries can participate more fully in the multilateral trading system. Through this new contribution, Japan recognizes the important role played by the STDF and SPS standard setting bodies — namely Codex, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) — in helping developing countries achieve growth and reduce poverty.

Since 2002, Japan has donated a total of CHF 9,994,393 to WTO trust funds.

The STDF is a global partnership working to increase awareness, mobilize resources, strengthen collaboration, identify and disseminate good practice and provide support and funding for the development and implementation of projects that promote compliance with international SPS requirements. Established by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the WTO, the STDF is financed by voluntary contributions. The WTO provides the Secretariat and manages the STDF trust fund.