Donors pledge more than USD 35 million funding for ITC
Delegates at the International Trade Centre's (ITC) 47th annual Joint Advisory Group (JAG) have expressed their support for ITC’s work by endorsing the 2012 Annual Report and pledging funding of more than USD 35 million. The JAG meeting was held on 6 and 7 May 2013, and was chaired by H.E. Ms. Karen Pierce, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva.
‘We are pleased that members support our work and see it as relevant to their own development goals and needs. Getting a clear indication from members as to the strategy and implementation of our work programme is critical for the success of ITC’s work,’ said ITC Executive Director Ms. Patricia Francis.
Several donor countries affirmed their confidence in the work done by ITC by announcing or confirming voluntary funding to the ITC Trust Fund for 2013 through 2017, totalling more than USD 35 million. The countries confirming contributions were Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Delegates also participated in a session on needs assessment and project design, led by Friedrich von Kirchbach, Director of ITC’s Division of Country Programmes. The discussion focused on the need to shift toward a more systematic and in-depth approach to needs assessment in order to deliver large programmes in coming years. The project involves conducting surveys in developing countries to identify barriers to trade, strengthening the capacity of trade-support institutions and creating national export strategies that target specific sectors.
ITC’s JAG is a meeting during which governments of states that are members of the United Nations and members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) review ITC’s work as reported in its Annual Report. Click here for a summary of the proceedings of the first day and here for speeches and presentations, They also make recommendations to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the WTO on ITC’s work programme.
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