New Zealand donates CHF 50,000 to help LDCs take part in Ministerial Conference

New Zealand is contributing CHF 50,000 to help the least-developed countries (LDCs) within the WTO membership participate in the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), which will take place the week of 29 November 2021 in Geneva.

The LDC Trust Fund is set up for each Ministerial Conference, which is the WTO’s top decision-making body. The contribution will help defray travel expenses (i.e. ticket and accommodation) for officials from LDCs to participate in MC12. Multiple WTO members contribute to this fund.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “It is of the utmost importance that all the WTO’s least-developed countries are able to make their voices heard at MC12 to negotiate multilateral trade agreements that will bring growth and prosperity to their people. I thank New Zealand for helping to achieve this goal and for its generosity.”

New Zealand’s WTO Ambassador, David Walker, said: “New Zealand strongly supports the rules-based multilateral trading system and looks forward to a successful MC12 that delivers meaningful outcomes for all WTO members. Trade is a necessary tool for development and economic growth. Through our new contribution, we seek to help LDCs participate effectively in international trade and WTO decision-making.”

Overall, New Zealand has donated CHF 1.6 million to the various WTO trust funds over the past 20 years.