WT/MIN(24)/40  
 
5 March 2024  
(24-2040) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Thirteenth Session  
Abu Dhabi, 26  February –2 March 2024  Original: English  
 
 
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY GROUP MINISTERIAL DECLARATION  
CALL FOR REINFORCEMENT OF AID FOR TRADE DEDICATED TO THE LDCS  
26 February 2024  
The following communication, dated 1 March 2024 , is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Djibouti  on behalf of the LDC Group.  
 
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We, the Ministers of the least developed country (LDC) Members of the WTO, having met on 
25 February 2024 on the margins of the Thirteenth Ses sion of the WTO Ministerial Conference to 
take stock of the Aid for Trade (AfT) support to the LDCs and to present the vision and key principles 
for a future AfT programme dedicated to the LDCs;  
 
Recalling the commitments made by Ministers at previous WTO Ministerial Conferences since 
Marrakech in 1994 and by the international community at the Fifth United Nations Conference on 
Least Developed Countries in Doha in 2023, to assist the LDCs to secure beneficial and meaningful 
gains from the multilateral tradi ng system and the global economy;  
 
Recalling the collective failure of the international community to help the LDCs achieve Target  17.11 
of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to double the LDCs' share of global exports by 2020 ; 
 
Recognizing that the LDCs have been facing the disproportionate burden of geopolitical, climate, 
debt and cost -of-living crises, making it almost impossible for them to even meet the Target by 2031 
as envisaged in the Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs;  
 
Recognizing the role of the multilateral trading system and the WTO in terms of collective 
opportunities and possible solutions enabling the LDCs and all Members to respond to all challenges 
they face;  
 
Reiterating the centrality of the development dimen sion in the work of the WTO and the importance 
of the AfT initiative for developing Members, in particular the LDCs, for trade -related capacity 
building;  
 
Noting that the share of grant -based AfT disbursement to the LDCs has been falling since 2011 and 
the international community has made a commitment through the Doha Programme of Action to 
reverse the trend with the expectation of doubling AfT to the LDCs by 2031 from 2018 levels;  
 
Noting that at least 15 LDCs that are at various stages of graduation face the challenges of ensuring 
a smooth transition, due to their particular vulnerability and special needs;  
 
Hereby call for the following:  
 WT/MIN(24)/40  
 
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  1  CALL FOR A WELLFUNDED DEDICATED AID FOR TRADE PROGRAMME FOR THE LDCS  
1.  We note that the current support of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) – the only AfT 
mechanism dedicated to the LDCs to build their institutional and productive capacity – is coming to 
an end in December 2024.  
2.  We recall international commitments, recognize the Doha Programme of Acti on, the SDGs, the 
Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement establishing 
the World Trade Organization, as well as the objectives of EIF Phases One and Two.  
3.  We emphasize the urgency to address the LDCs' trade perform ance and increase shares of global 
exports in line with global goals and to ensure support for the LDCs in transition and graduation with 
momentum. We recognize the distinct needs of acceding LDCs that are also graduating and of those 
that remain far from graduation thresholds, with economic and environmental vulnerability 
increasing for all LDCs and a need for dedicated support until sustainable graduation.  
4.  We therefore call for the establishment and effective operation of a well -funded dedicated AfT 
progr amme for the LDCs by January 2025 at the latest, building on the achievements made so far, 
and the core principles of country ownership, predictability of funds and partnership.  
5.  We call for donors to provide substantive funding to the future AfT programme dedicated to the 
LDCs, in line with the commitment of doubling AfT to the LDCs in the implementation of the Doha 
Programme of Action.  
2  CONTINUATION AND REINFORCEMENT OF DIFFERENT TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL 
ASSISTANCE FOR THE LDCS  
1.  We recognize the importance of  bilateral and regional AfT initiatives in trade -related capacity 
building, addressing supply -side bottlenecks, developing trade -related infrastructure and facilitating 
the integration of the LDCs in global and regional value chains. We therefore call upon  development 
partners to prioritize, continue and reinforce different support programmes to the LDCs, particularly 
those identified by LDC governments in accordance with their needs and development objectives.  
2.  We are looking forward to participating constr uctively in the Ninth Global Review of Aid for Trade 
in 2024. We call on donors and development partners to support the advancement of the AfT agenda, 
including trade finance, to strengthen LDCs capacity for better integration into multilateral trade 
system and to support their development process.  
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