AID FOR TRADE: OCTOBER 2015

Workshop on the Sustainable Development Goals, Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Aid-for-Trade Initiative

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 and the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action adopted at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development recognize that international trade is an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction. The Agendas each set out a list of ambitious plans and action areas with the ultimate aim of eradicating poverty by 2030.

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Participation at the Workshop is restricted to WTO Members and Observers only

Aid for Trade is recognized as having an important role in supporting the promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and is cited as a specific area for action in both Agendas.

The Fifth Global Review discussed how Aid for Trade can promote inclusive, sustainable growth, particularly with regard to reducing high trade costs that hamper many developing countries', and in particular least developed countries', integration into the global economy.

The Workshop will discuss what the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action mean for the future direction of the Aid-for-Trade Initiative.

The Workshop on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Addis Ababa Agenda for Action (AAAA) and the Aid-for-Trade Initiative is the final dedicated thematic event foreseen in the 2014-2015 Aid-for-Trade Work Programme (WT/COMTD/AFT/W/51). The Workshop will provide an overview of the AAAA and the SDGs and discuss the implications of these global compacts for the Aid-for-Trade Initiative.

 

Agenda

15:00-15:05 — Introductory remarks

SESSION 1: THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

29 October, 15:05

15:05 –16:30

  • The WTO and the Sustainable Development Goals — Karsten Steinfatt, Counsellor, Trade and Environment, WTO 
    Presentation
  • Measuring progress against the SDGs and Addis Ababa Action Agenda — Miho Shirotori, Chief, Global and Regional Trade Analysis Section, Trade Analysis Branch/Division on International Trade, UNCTAD
    Presentation

Discussion

Audio  

SESSION 2: HOW TO BRIDGE THE FINANCING GAP – IMPLICATIONS FOR AID FOR TRADE

29 October, 16:30

16:30 – 18:00

  • Financing for Development; the role of trade and investment in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda — Hans-Peter Werner, Counsellor, Development Division, WTO
    Presentation
  • Leveraging services and investment for the 2030 Agenda — Alice Tipping, Senior Programme Officer, Sherry Stephenson, Senior Fellow, ICTSD
    Presentation
  • Implications for the Aid-for-Trade Initiative — Frans Lammersen, Principal Administrator Development Co-operation Directorate, OECD
    Presentation

Audio  

18:00 — Closing remarks

> Informal report by the WTO secretariat to the Aid-for-Trade session of the Committee on Trade and Development