RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/558  
 
7 June 2021 
(21-4643) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
LDC MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE TRUST FUND 20 21 
1  BALANCE OF LDC MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE TRUST FUND  
1.1.  Since the first WTO Ministerial Conference held in Singapore in 1996, the WTO Secretariat has 
facilitated the participation of Least -Developed Countries (LDCs) in the Min isterial Conferences, 
funded from  voluntary contributions pooled into a special extra -budgetary fund.  Costs related to air 
travel, accommodation and per diem allowances of LDC delegations , comprised of one Minister and 
two high level officials , are covered.   
1.2.  At the en d of a given Ministerial Conference , the remaining balances in favour of the various 
contributor s are traditionally carried forward and added to the new contributions to be utilized for 
the same purpose in t he subsequent Conference unless the specific terms of a contribution 
agreement  requires the reimbursem ent of unused balances .  
1.3.  There was a balance carried forward from MC11 (Australia, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, 
and Switzerland ) and i n 2019 and 2020 contributions  specifically for MC12  were received from 
Chinese Taipei  (CHF 143,775) , the European Union (CHF 49,455) , Ireland (CHF 43,960) , and Norway 
(CHF 32,473) . There has been a contribution from New Zealand (CHF 50,000)  in 2021 and active 
discussions with two additional Members are in progress. Therefore,  the current  situation of the fund  
is as follows:  
Table 1 Ministerial Conference MC1 2 – Participation of Least -Developed Countries 
(TMI1 2) 
Expressed in ('000 CHF)   
Funds as at 1 January  2019 338 
Reimbursement/adjustments made in 2019 /2020/2021  -60 
Contributions received 2019/2020 /2021  320 
Total funds  598 
Total expenditures  7 
Current  Balance May 2021 591 
 
1.4.  It is estimated that costs for MC1 2 will be more than estimated for Nur -Sultan . This is primarily 
due to the higher expected costs of hosting the event in Geneva. At the same time, without certainty 
on the COVID -19 travel restrictions and the format of the event , the confidence we can assign to 
current estima tes is low.   
1.5.  The currently  estimated cost of LDC Members and Observers' participation amounts to  as high 
as CHF 850,000. This includes travel, accommodation and per diem for three officials per country.    
1.6.  There is also considerabl e uncertainty around what airfares will be and the availability of flights 
to Geneva at the time of the event . It is for this reason that we emphasize the lack of certain ty. 
1.7.  There are some questions being asked about the possibility of using resources of th e fund to 
help ensure connectivity or other adaptations in the event of a hybrid ministerial format.  At this 
point we are unable to provide specific projections about what form such support might take or how 
it could be implemented.  WT/BFA/W/558  
 
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  1.8.  A safe estimate at th is point , continuing to assume an in-person  event,  is that  an additional 
amount of CHF 260,000 is still required .  
1.9.  As the date when commitments will have to made is fast approaching, we invite Members to 
consider contributing to this trust fund . 
 
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