WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/31 
15 December 2011 
 (11-6859) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   English 
 
  
ADDRESS BY MS. PATRICIA FRANCIS 
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE 
  
We are all aware that in the present situation a nd for the foreseeable future the forecast of the 
world economy is gloomy.   
Indeed this year we have also seen stark eviden ce of a lack of trust and loss of confidence in 
leadership to deliver on the aspirations of people,  manifested in the Arab Spring, the Occupy Wall 
Street demonstrations, riots and protests in many other countries, and in the market response to the 
debt crisis.    
By popular opinion, there is a lack of politi cal will to move the multilateral trading system 
forward. Yet as the world is changing at an ev er-increasing speed, the dynamics necessitate a new 
way of responding to alleviate mistrust and to  build consensus on trade policy initiatives which 
deliver results for our development objectives.   
ITC stands ready to contribute to this endea vor with a positive and c onstructive look on what 
is happening today.  
 
In a first place, I find it very encouraging to see that the multilateral trading system has kept 
intact its power to attract the economies of this world, be they powerful or small and vulnerable. 
 
Our meeting over the next few days in Geneva will provide us the opportunity to congratulate 
Russia and Montenegro for taking the last and decisi ve step toward accession to the rule-based trading 
system, as the preferred door to the global market economy.   
 
It is also a matter to celebrate as we all witness the simultaneous accessions of SAMOA and 
Vanuatu, two LDCs that we have been suppor ting during the accession process, by facilitating 
consensus building through public-private dialogue.  
 
Second, I believe that the Doha Development Round has provided significant contributions to 
the trade and development agenda.   
The development focus has clea rly inspired several of the negotiating initiatives which have 
been considered and adopted by WTO member s since 2001, especially during the Hong-Kong and 
subsequent Ministerial meetings. The recent declara tion of Busan clearly show ed that Aid for Trade 
has been recognized completely as a full-size and le gitimate entry on the Agenda of international Aid 
Policy.  
Over the last ten years, the international ec onomic consensus has decisively evolved from the 
simplistic belief that global trade liberalization would represent a sufficient condition to achieve 
convergence between developing a nd developed economies. It is now widely acknowledged that WT/MIN(11)/31 
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  without market capacities the opportunities of ma rket access cannot be grasped by the most 
vulnerable countries.    
As a result of the leadership and advocacy of the WTO the resources dedicated to the Aid for 
Trade agenda has significantly in creased. Based on OECD monitoring, Aid for Trade today accounts 
roughly for one third of global aid commitments in clusive of the WTO initiative of the Enhanced 
Integrated Framework for LDCs.   
While the International Trade Center certainly does not cover the full spectrum of the aid for 
trade agenda we have been the force pushing for th e inclusion of the voice of the Private Sector and 
Women in the debate.  In this regard I would li ke to thank the WTO members for recognizing ITC’s 
work on the implementation of the new Aid for Trad e Agenda. What we want to do now is capitalize 
on your support.   
Here, I want to underline how ITC has tried to  permanently reinvent itself, reinvent its 
services, to be able to catch up with the changing environment in order to provide state of the art 
value to the poorest countries.   
The private sector is moving ahead as they find innovative ways to globalize, adopting 
strategies that take advantage of the shifting ec onomic climate, changing trade patterns and challenges 
such as climate change and food security. The majori ty of the most vulnerable countries, however, are 
trying to understand the implications of these cha nges which are rapid and profound. It is a key 
endeavor from ITC to help them. Let me provide three examples. 
 
First:  the private sector is building global Value Chain but our method of gathering trade data 
is not telling this story.  In fact the opacity stem ming from National based statistic has contributed to 
the confusion about how the benefits of trade are distributed.  
 
Transparency here is key to building confidence and it is critical that we all understand what 
is happening in markets.  So access to data is critical  and to this end, ITC works with partners such as 
WTO, UNCTAD and the World Bank, to make trade a nd market data information available – free to 
developing and least developed c ountries – so that users can better understand supply and demand 
trends, seek out new markets a nd opportunities to diversify. 
 
Second, the private sector, including businesses and NGOs, is developing a complex set of 
private voluntary standards through labels inte nding to disseminate the values of sustainable 
development, through the expression of consumer  preferences and expectations toward global 
distribution channels. What can we do to help th e poorest countries find their way through these new 
market trends? 
 
‐ Here again, we must start with Transparency: to this end, ITC has developed a unique 
platform for voluntary standards, to disse minate information, allow comparison, and 
make informed decision about the requirements of private labels.  
 
‐ Then we must build capacities: how to comp ly? How to benefit? How to move up the 
value chain? We have been developing progr ams to build skills of the poorest producers 
take advantage of the new market opportuniti es provided by the niches of organic product 
and bio-diversity products to name a few.  
 
‐ Then we also want to harness these new market  trends to channel their force in favor of 
development of the poorest. ITC has been recognized for pioneering the exploration of  WT/MIN(11)/31 
 Page 3 
 
 
  the fast developing Ethical Fashion demand, through which we deliver skill-building and 
employment opportunities to people living in the worst slums of Africa.  
 
Third: gender development. The private sector, in particular the most prominent 
multinationals, has been developing new policies to  rebalance the limited participation of Women-
Owned Businesses in their procurement programmes. He re again, ITC has been trying to act at the 
forefront of the mobilization of Businesswomen ca pacities in the developing world.  Our Women and 
Trade program has been acting as a catalyst to ge nerate opportunities of businesses for these woman.  
 
I do not want to multiply examples. My point is that Business moves fast, gets ahead of trends 
and is reshaping the world economy to take advant age of emerging opportunities. ITC is learning 
from the private sector and working with governments to  ensure that they too invest in this learning 
process and adopt policies and build institutions wh ich support their countries trade and development 
agenda in a sustainable way.   
We are looking forward to assist you and our  parent organisations in identifying and 
anticipating the next needed moves.  We already fo resee the challenges of identifying the  new  "value 
zones" from which Developing countries and LDCs in particular will be able to increase their exports 
earnings, be that trade in services, intellectual property based export value  through the creative 
industries or branding of goods and services.   
We also hear from you Ministers, that increasing trade is not an end per se , nor a sufficient 
answer to respond to your constituencies. What you te ll us is that trade generation needs to be more 
inclusive through growing the formal economy and providing jobs and opportunities for the most 
vulnerable segment of your young populations.  
Ministers, your primary responsibility in this Forum of the WTO is to move the Doha Round 
forward.  ITC is determined to help you by f acilitating the empowerment of the SMEs, by promoting 
dialogue between government and private sector to establish a trade agenda which delivers on your 
countries development agenda. It is the processes of consensus-building that will eventually 
contribute to bring the change we seek.  
Finally let me thank you for your continuing su pport of ITC and our efforts to serve members 
better.  
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