The donation to the Global Trust Fund will help developing economies and LDCs broaden their expertise in WTO matters and enhance their ability to negotiate trade rules at the WTO.

The United States Ambassador to the WTO, María Pagán, said: “We seek to promote a culture at the WTO where members are motivated to share success stories and challenges and where our partnerships and dialogues here help open the door to more effective development assistance cooperation at the national level.”

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “The United States has long supported the WTO Secretariat's work to build the capacity of government officials from developing economies to participate effectively in the multilateral trading system and help convert international trade opportunities into improved lives and livelihoods for people in their home countries. We are grateful for this new contribution to the Global Trust Fund, which is vital to maintain our technical assistance efforts.”

Close to 2,800 activities have been organised under this fund over more than 20 years.