. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(09)/14 
1 December 2009 
 (09-6063) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Seventh Session Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2009 Original:   English 
 
  
ADDRESS BY MS. PATRICIA FRANCIS 
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE 
  
 We congratulate the WTO on the staging of this ministerial, but regret the damage to property by those who thought this was the only way to have their message heard.   It has indeed been a challenging year, both politically and financially, and the impact of the 
crisis on business and job creation, w ill continue to be devastating.  
  As we face combined crises in finance, food,  climate and the environment, it is imperative 
that we assess the impact of our behaviour and review our structures and systems - taking these intertwined issues into account simultaneously.   
 To ignore one part for the benefit of another may have short term gains, but to ensure that the 
market truly works for the people it serves - gl obal, regional and local parties must agree on a 
common set of equitable goals and responsibilities.  This is the foundation of  the Copenhagen talks, 
the Doha discussions and indeed of this Ministerial.  
 ITC works with the full WTO and UN membersh ip, with other international organizations 
and indeed with all parties engaged in trade matter s. Our unique role is to ensure that the private 
sector, especially SMEs, participate in and benef it more from trade - ther eby building inclusive 
development.    In order to fully engage the private sect or – we must operate at many levels;  
 
• maximising export sectors’ contribution to economic and social development, with 
national export strategies in Uganda and Jamaica for example, ITC has assisted these countries in defining their architecture for trade development,  
• expanding intraregional commerce by linki ng  Francophonie clothing and textile 
communities in West and Central Africa, the Indian Ocean region and the Mekong area, 
• strengthening trade support institutions a nd recognizing leadership with global TPO 
awards, 
• serving the broader trade community with our trade intelligence practice of Trade 
Map, NTMs, TSI benchmarking and publications to name a few.  
  With the right partnerships in place, broader ag endas can be more easily facilitated. We tackle 
poverty reduction and promote our approach to pro-poor trade through programmes such as; 
 
• Ethical Fashion - by creating partnerships between fashion houses and communities 
in Africa, utilizing unique skills and mainstreaming African fashion designers into the European fashion industry,          WT/MIN(09)/14 
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  • Initiating our expanded Women and Trade programme in 2009, which seeks to 
empower women entrepreneurs by ensuring that governments and TSIs take a gender 
inclusive approach to trade,          
• PACT II , builds the capacity of African  regional economic commissions to design 
and implement regional trade programmes,         
• In response to a call from LDCs for trade related technical assistance, our LDC 
accession programme in conjunction with the WTO and the EIF, seeks to engage the 
private sector with governments to ma nage the challenges and embrace the 
opportunities of WTO membership. 
 
 This work contributes to trade fulfilling its pot ential for sustained economic growth – the true 
meaning of our credo - Export Impact for Good.  
 By building enterprises’ capacity to become  more competitive despite challenging business 
environments, jobs are created and communities regenerated.    The current environment demands and validates new ways of doing business. Fresh thinking, courage and fair partnerships will build businesses a nd countries with the ability to come out of this 
crisis stronger than when they entered it. We sh are this responsibility, the responsibility of ensuring 
that our system works for the benefit all, and for the future.   We value our privileged partnership with WTO and UNCTAD in providing our input into 
member states Trade Development initiatives. I invite  all of you to visit our booth on the first floor as 
you come up the escalator to find out more about ITC, and we look forward to hearing more about 
your needs and goals in the coming days.  
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