This donation to the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) will finance training workshops for officials in Geneva and elsewhere to help them better understand and implement WTO agreements. Since the creation of the fund in 2001, more than 2,400 workshops have been organized.

Welcoming this new donation from one of the largest contributors to this fund, DDG Agah said: “I welcome Germany’s generosity in helping to enhance the participation of developing countries and LDCs in WTO training and capacity building activities, thereby ensuring that they can fully benefit from the multilateral trading system. Germany’s donation will significantly contribute to laying the ground for new business opportunities for farmers, manufacturers and service providers around the world.”

Germany’s Ambassador, Walter Werner, said: “Enhancing the awareness of WTO agreements in developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) is crucial as a means of helping these countries take full advantage of the rules-based multilateral trading system. In 2015, about 15,000 officials from over 130 WTO members and observers participated in WTO training activities, with over half coming from LDCs. We remain strongly committed to this fund as we believe it can help these countries use trade to achieve higher economic growth.”

Germany is the fourth donor to this fund in 2016. Earlier this year, the fund received contributions from Estonia, Austria and Liechtenstein. Overall, Germany has donated over EUR 23 million (nearly CHF 26 million) to WTO trust funds in over 15 years.