Trade must deliver more to LDCs: Lamy

The least developed countries (LDCs) account for a fifth of the members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but they still account for just 1 per cent of world trade, WTO director-general Pascal Lamy said today.

Trade has helped LDCs attain an average growth rate of 7 per cent over the past 10 years with their combined share in world trade doubling over the period. During the period, LDCs' trade grew twice as fast as world trade, and trade accounted for two thirds of that growth, Lamy said.

However, the contribution of international trade to the development of LDCs remains inadequate, Lamy told the UN Conference of LDCs in Istanbul.

He called for relaxations in the negotiations as also in criteria for accessions to WTO and in `Aid for Trade' in the case of LDCs.

A lowering of trade barriers, revision of trade rules and a general reduction in agricultural subsidies will benefit the world's poorest nations hugely, he said.

As of now, Lamy said, all LDC members receive close to half of the WTO's technical assistance. Official Development Assistance in the LDC trade capacity building area has also progressed, from $5 billion in the early 2000s to $12 billion in 2009. So, on the whole, we are on the right path, he said.