INF/MSME/W/25/Rev.1  
 
5 June 2020  
(20-4041) Page: 1/2 
  Original: French  
 
INFORMAL WORKING GRO UP ON MSMES  
DRAFT DECLARATION ON  FACILITATING MSMES'  ACCESS  
TO FINANCIAL SOLUTIO NS TO TRADE  
Communication from Côte d'Ivoire  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 4 June  2020, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of Côte d'Ivoire.  
 
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Recalling  the Declaration on the Establishment of the WTO Informal Work Programme for MSMEs 
(WT/MIN(17)/58/Rev.1);  
 
Recognizing  that the participation of MSMEs  in international trade contributes significantly to the 
socioeconomic development of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries 
(LDCs);  
 
Noting  the significant challenges that MSMEs face in accessing financial solutions to participat e in 
international trade;  
 
Considering  that the bank penetration rate in developing countries and particularly in LDCs is very 
low and, moreover, that finance for MSMEs by traditional operators (banks, investment funds and 
donors), in particular trade fina nce, is extremely difficult in developing countries and particularly in 
LDCs and impedes MSMEs' participation in international trade;  
 
Noting  the role that a global legal identification of companies and that digitalization can play, among 
others, in facilitating MSMEs' access to financial solutions to trade internationally;  
 
Acknowledging  that MSMEs are facing a range of other financial challen ges to participate in 
international trade, such as issues related to cross -border payments;  
 
Noting  the severe impact that the Covid -19 pandemic has on MSMEs and the key role that access to 
finance - among other necessary measures  - plays in helping MSMEs face the trade -related 
challenges resulting from the pandemic;  
 
We, the members of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs , 
 
Call on  WTO Members  to consider the finance needs of MSMEs as they relate to trade and to actively 
engage in relevant fora, such as the  Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance and the Informal 
Working Group on MSMEs, to identify concrete measures that can facilitate MSMEs' access to 
financial solutions related to trade with a view to promote their international diffusion, particularly 
through:  
 
• the exchange of best practices; and  INF/MSME/W/25/Rev.1  
 
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  • information -sharing on relevant technical assistance and capacity -building.  
 
Welcome  international initiatives aimed at facilitating adoption of a global legal identification system 
for companies such as the glo bal Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and invite WTO Members to cooperate 
in such initiatives.  
 
Invite  the WTO Secretariat to organize, with the support of relevant international organizations, 
information sessions on topics related to MSMEs ' access to financial solutions to trade internationally, 
such as, for example, the global Legal Entity Identifier (L EI), to inform reflections and potential 
actions of Members;  
 
Encourage  all WTO Members to actively engage in considering and/or proposing ways in which 
MSMEs' access to financial solutions to trade, in particular trade finance, could be facilitated in the  
context of the economic recovery during and post -Covid-19, particularly, in the most affected 
developing countries and LDCs.  
 
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