Thank you Madam Chair, Ambassador O'Brien,
Ambassador Salleh,
Secretary-General Kituyi,
Executive Director González,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome. It is a great pleasure to be here today and as ever, we are very pleased to host this event.

Last year was quite significant as we were celebrating 50 years of the ITC.

This year we are marking the beginning of the organization's new Strategic Plan. And we are meeting at a moment when development is a big component of global debate in many ways, as:

• Next week we have the 5th Global Review of Aid for Trade, which is happening here at the WTO,
• In July we have the 3rd Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa,
• In September we have the summit on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, at the UN,
• We also have the UN Climate Change Summit in Paris,
• And of course, in December, we will be holding the WTO's Ministerial Conference, in Nairobi. This is the first time we will have a conference like this in Africa.

Therefore, the environment for our discussion today could not be more appropriate. I think it brings all of our work into focus and into perspective.

Since its creation, the ITC has been a very valued partner of the multilateral trading system.

And this year I think we are seeing the whole trade and development community come together to underline precisely the role that trade can play in delivering for developing and the least developed countries.

Over the last 25 years, an astounding 1 billion people have been lifted out of poverty around the world. And I have no doubt that trade has played a huge role in this success. And it must play its full role in cutting poverty even further.

But to achieve this, we must redouble our efforts to reach more deeply into those communities that have not benefitted as much as others from the growth of trade.

This is a mission that I think unites all our organisations.

And in this context the ITC's work to improve the institutional environment for prospective exporters in developing countries is more important than ever.

SMEs — which are central to the work of the ITC — are an important source of employment. In fact, those companies employ more than 60% of the private sector workforce around the world.

And when SMEs connect to global supply chains — this is an important phenomenon - the gains from trade often go to sectors of the economy that can be most marginalized.

This is something we are very mindful of.

There are many such groups who do not, at present, feel the full benefits of trade, such as women, or the young, for example — or those in remote rural areas, or the workforce in the informal sector.

It is therefore vital that the ITC's activities remain responsive to these challenges. And I am pleased to see that this is reflected in a positive way in the strategic plan of the ITC.  

At the WTO, we do value the ITC's support in ensuring that the multilateral trading system is inclusive.

Let me highlight some examples where I think this collaboration is particularly important.

I have already mentioned the Aid for Trade initiative. Aid for Trade is now integral to the ITC's institutional structure and service delivery — often being dubbed a “100% aid for trade organization”.

We are just a couple of days away from hosting the 5th Global Review of Aid for Trade. The theme this year is “Reducing trade costs for inclusive, sustainable growth”.

It will bring together participants from around the world: ministers, heads of organizations, representatives of the private sector, trade and development experts.

It will be a very rich gathering in that point in time and it will be a valuable opportunity to discuss how we can reduce high trade costs and spread the benefits of trade more widely.

So I am pleased to see that the ITC will be participating actively — sharing their lessons, and contributing to that debate.

While we are discussing trade costs, let me say a few words on the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

This agreement will tackle such costs, by delivering simpler, more predictable, and streamlined border procedures. 

It is estimated that it could bring a boost of up to 1 trillion dollars to the global economy and create 21 million jobs, 18 million of which in developing countries.

Another feature of this agreement is that it says that practical help must be provided, where needed, to support developing countries to implement it.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility was created to support this, and it has got off to a strong start.

The ITC has done very good work on this area, helping countries:

1. Categorize their TF commitments,
2. Raise awareness, and
3. Support capacity building.

So as we encourage capitals to ratify the agreement, we count on the ITC's support to take this effort forward.  

Another example of our collaboration is that the WTO and the ITC — along with UNCTAD as well — are partner agencies of the Enhanced Integrated Framework — the EIF.

The EIF supports LDCs to be more active and present in the multilateral trading system. It helps them address constraints to trade. To date, the EIF has reached out to 50 beneficiary countries, delivering concrete results on the ground.

Now, in recognition of this work, it is due to launch its second phase next week during the 5th Global Review.

So there are many areas where we will continue to work together and should seek to enhance our cooperation.

But beyond implementing these existing programmes and agreements, we must also deliver new development outcomes through negotiating new trade rules.

In this sense I think the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in December will be an opportunity to show once again that the multilateral trading system can deliver — particularly to the LDCs.

I will do everything I can, together with the Secretariat, to support members in this effort.

We have had a huge range of conversations so far this year — throughout the work of the negotiating groups, throughout consultations, and in meetings with members.

But as I told members last week, now it is time for political calls. We must map out a clear road to Nairobi, which will enable us to deliver very important outcomes.
 
A successful conference in Nairobi would be the ideal finale to this historic year for development. And it would provide a tremendous boost for all of our work, across all of the areas that I have described this morning.  

I think we share the responsibility to ensure that trade continues to play its full role in the development agenda, and in continuing to improve the lives of people around the world, in a very concrete and practical manner.

I look forward to continuing to work with the ITC — and UNCTAD — in this effort.

I wish you all a productive and lively meeting.

Thank you for your attention.