WT/MIN(22)/ST/ 99 
12 June 2022 
(22-4537) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY MS DOROTHY TEMBO  
DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR  
INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE 
(Speaking as an Observer)  
I wish to thank the governments and people of Kazakhstan and Switzerland for co -hosting the twelfth 
Ministerial Conference.  
 
I know that it has been a long and difficult road to MC12. Event planning during COVID times has 
been extremely challenging for ev ery multilateral agency, including ITC.  
 
Since ITC took part in the last Ministerial Conference in 2017 in Buenos Aires, the economic, social 
and political landscape of the WTO membership has changed, almost beyond recognition. We are 
living through histo ric and difficult times.  
 
In the past, despite economic highs and lows, we could celebrate the prosperity of millions lifted out 
of poverty through trade. Now we face monumental, almost existential challenges.  
 
Gains that we perhaps took for granted are in serious danger of being completely reversed. The 
scale of the task is enormous. We must rebuild entire economies battered by nearly two years of a 
global pandemic. We must protect the most vulnerable from growing social and economic instability. 
We must  harness the extraordinary power of technology for the good.  
 
We must protect future generations from the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity 
loss and pollution. We must restore the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) i n 
their final decade.  
 
Economically, in many ways, these challenges weigh heavily on the most vulnerable members of our 
society, including in the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked developing countries, Small Island 
Developing States and countries in armed conflict or at risk of lapsing into conflict. Micro, Small, and 
Medium Enterprises in these countries were severely impacted, and now many still fight on to 
recovery.  
 
This is where the partnership between the ITC and WTO is so critical.  ITC is not only a joint agency 
of the UN and WTO, but also a strong supporter of its rule -making, transparency and monitoring 
function. We see ourselves as an indispensable partner in making the market access created under 
the WTO meaningful for the devel oping countries that comprise the majority of members.  
 
By building the capacity of and engaging with small businesses, private sector bodies and 
governments in more than 130 countries, we help build the multilateral trading system from the 
ground up, com plementing the consensus -building that takes place every day at the WTO.  
 
For us, there is a natural link between the issues on the table at MC12 and the needs of small 
business around the world. So many areas of WTO's work – including, for example, access ions, 
electronic commerce, fisheries subsidies, agriculture trade and gender, investment facilitation and 
of course the Informal Working Group on MSMEs itself – have far -reaching implications for the WT/MIN( 22)/ST/ 99 
 
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  competitiveness and survival of small businesses around the world who are the backbone of many 
developing countries' economies.  
 
We are also actively engaged in contributing to capacity building in LDCs – whether through our 
activities under the Enhanced Integrated Framework or the wider Aid -for-Trade work pro gramme, 
including the Global Review of Aid for Trade due to take place later next month.  
 
We see ITC as supporting developing countries and our funder partners in implementing the 
outcomes of Ministerial Decisions. Whether it is aligning their legislation with WTO requirements or 
understanding the new market opportunities arising from new agreements or building 
competitiveness in new value -added sectors – we see our role as helping make trade happen once 
the WTO Ministers have spoken.  
 
We also support the W TO by building consensus on those trade issues where, we believe, there is a 
window of opportunity for small business in developing countries, particularly the smallest, least 
developed and most vulnerable. We recently launched four thematic "moonshots" wh ich, we believe, 
directly support many of the themes underlying not just this Ministerial but also the wider work of 
the WTO.  
 
With the Gender Moonshot, we will bring women's economic empowerment to a whole new 
generation of women, building on our She Tra des Outlook data tool and scaling up our platforms for 
global reach. With our Green Moonshot, we will ensure that small business is better equipped to 
engaged in major climate discussions – including at the WTO – while ensuring that MSMEs are part 
of the s olution on climate change adaptation and mitigation.  
 
Through our Youth Moonshot, we will promote entrepreneurship, skills and a global market for the 
billions of young people who will be joining the labour market in the coming years. Finally, with the 
Moonshot in Digital Connectivity, our focus is on expanding MSMEs' ability to access digital platforms 
and sales channels, which we now understand is the future of "going global".  
 
As we meet and discuss the trade issues of interest to the WTO membership, le t me close by 
providing my full support and best wishes to the Director -General and her staff in this very critical 
Ministerial Conference. We at ITC are firm believers in the power of multilateralism to face the 
challenges of the day, and the power of tra de to transform lives, heal the planet and empower 
societies. Let us continue working in that spirit in the days and months ahead.  
 
__________