PRESS/ 925 
 
5 May 2023  
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PRESS RELEASE  
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
Germany provides first of a series of donations to the Fisheries 
Fund and offers expertise  
The government of Germany has contributed the first EUR 500,000 (approximately CHF 493,000) 
of a multi -year donation of EUR 2 million to the new WTO Fisheries Trust Fund to assist developing 
members and least -developed country (LDC) members to implement the Agreement on Fisheries 
Subsidies. Mr Dirk Meyer, Head of Directorate -General 1 of  Germany's Federal Ministry for 
Economic Cooperation and Development, presented the donation to WTO Director -General Ngozi  
Okonjo -Iweala and Deputy Director -General Angela Ellard on 5 May.  
 
Director -General Okonjo -Iweala said: "We are deeply grateful for G ermany's donation and trust in 
the WTO as a partner working to improve the health of our ocean, reflecting Germany's long -
standing commitment to environmental sustainability.  Germany's support for the Fisheries Fund 
will be instrumental in our ability to a ssist developing and LDC members to fulfil their 
commitments under the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. This support, which reflects Germany's 
long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability, will enhance our collective global 
efforts, across all  levels of development, to improve and safeguard the sustainability of the ocean 
for the benefit of fishers, workers, consumers, and future generations."  
 
Mr Meyer said: "Preserving fish stocks and other seafood is vital both as a key to healthy diets and 
livelihoods of millions of people worldwide as well as for our planet's biodiversity. The abolishment 
of harmful fisheries subsidies as foreseen under the new WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement is a 
crucial step towards this end. For the Agreement to become  effective, countries need to adapt 
their legal framework as well as put in place practical oversight and implementation. Germany will 
support countries on this path to sustainable fishing by actively engaging in the new WTO Fisheries 
Trust Fund. " 
 
Because  the new Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies will involve adjustments and enhancements to 
WTO members' legislative and administrative frameworks, transparency and notification 
requirements, and fisheries management policies and practices,  Article 7 of the 
Agreement  provides for the creation of a funding mechanism to provide targeted technical 
assistance and capacity building to help developing and least -developed country members with 
implementation.  
 
The Fund is operated by the WTO Secretariat with specialized partner organizations, namely the 
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the International Fund for 
Agricultural Development, and the World Bank Group, which bring to bear relevant expertise.  
More information on the Fund, which became operational on 8 November, is available  here. PRESS/ 925 
 
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  Including the most recent first tranche of the donation, Germany's total contribution to the various 
WTO trust funds from 2000 to 2023 is CHF 35,165,244 (approximately EUR  35,664,000). In 
particular, Germany had contributed to another trust fund that supp orted LDCs participating in the 
fisheries subsidies negotiations in Geneva.  
 
 
END