Let me start with some good news — world trade in goods and services is expected to rebound in 2010 by 9.5% in real terms. This is a welcome return to growth after the unprecedented contraction by 12% in world trade last year. The WTO has proved its worth as an insurance policy against protectionist pressures. Trade contraction would have been catastrophic if we had slipped into the kind of protectionism that was witnessed in the 1930s. The system of trade rules which embody the WTO has demonstrated its value as a global public good.

The key now is to firmly anchor the recovery and trade has an important role to play in it. With sovereign debt reaching alarming proportions, trade offers a sustainable, non-debt creating source of growth and development. This is why we have to move towards the end game in the Doha Development Round. It is not in the interest of WTO members to delay its conclusion any longer. I also remain convinced of the case for more and better Aid for Trade to ensure that developing countries, especially LDCs [least-developed countries], benefit from the trade opening that the multilateral trading system creates. This is precisely what we all agreed to do to fulfil Millennium Development Goal number 8.

It is predicted that in 2010 export growth rates in the developing world will reach around 11%, outstripping that of developed economies (around 7%). The expansion of south-south trade will be even larger. But trade growth has not always been even and many countries are still not able to reap the benefits afforded by integrating into the global economy. This is mainly because of the constraints they face in supply side capacity and trade related infrastructure.

This is why maintaining the momentum on Aid for Trade is so important. Since we launched this initiative in 2005 we have seen an impressive response to the call for more Aid for Trade on the part of the international community. The Bank too has played a central role in this drive. The Bank’s Group trade-related activities more than doubled between 2002 and 2008 to reach over US$ 20 billion. Preliminary figures from the OECD estimate that Aid-for-Trade flows reached US$ 41 billion in 2008, an increase of over 62% from the baseline period of 2002-2005.

This growth in resources has been achieved without affecting ODA [official development assistance] in social sectors, and importantly has been driven by developing countries mainstreaming trade into their development strategies. By the time the next Aid for Trade Global Review takes place next year, we should also be able to trace out how this process supports economic growth and poverty alleviation, not least with results drawn from the Bank's own lending operations.

The international community will gather in September at the Millennium Development Summit. This will be an occasion to look at the positive role which trade and more robust productive capacity have played in helping poor countries resist the crises and lifting people out of poverty. On that occasion we need to commit to maintain our efforts on Aid for Trade beyond 2010. This would be the worst time to deprive poor countries of a source of growth.

We are not out of the woods yet. There remain serious risks for low-income countries, not least of exclusion from trade finance markets. We, therefore, need to ensure that the development banks, including the Bank Group, have the necessary resources to ensure that these risks do not materialize. Recapitalization of these banks and replenishment of IDA [International Development Association]-16 are clearly important elements in this regard.