The United Kingdom has contributed GBP 673,000 (just over CHF 770,000) to bolster economic growth in the world’s least-developed countries (LDCs) through the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).
The UK’s contribution was confirmed at a ceremony held with Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the UK’s WTO Ambassador, Simon Manley on 10 April at the WTO.
This is the first installment of the CHF 1 million that the UK pledged to the EIF Interim Facility at the 13th Ministerial Conference held in Abu Dhabi in late February.
The Facility has been set up to bridge the gap between the end of Phase Two of the EIF and the establishment of a new multilateral support mechanism for LDCs. Discussions on the future mechanism are taking place in a taskforce at the WTO.
The UK's contribution to the EIF Interim Facility aims to bolster LDCs' trade capabilities, enhance their access to global markets and support their export growth. With this latest contribution, the UK's total support for EIF-facilitated programmes since 2007 has reached approximately CHF 32.6 million.
DG Okonjo-Iweala said: “We are heartened to see the United Kingdom's contribution of GBP 673,010 (approximately USD 860,000) to the EIF Interim Facility.
This generous support plays a crucial role in bridging the gap and maintaining the momentum of the EIF's efforts in enhancing the trade capabilities of the LDCs and supporting their sustainable economic development.
We express our profound gratitude to the United Kingdom for this donation, which demonstrates a deep commitment to the advancement of the LDCs.”
“In the UK's International Development White Paper, we commit to champion development in the WTO and to support LDCs to fully integrate and participate in the multilateral trading system. We are pleased to be making this additional contribution to the Interim Facility and to be continuing our support of the EIF,” Ambassador Manley stated.