The pace of negotiations for the Doha Development Agenda is stepping up and the

“finishing line” is near, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy told the opening session of the International Trade Centre’s World Export Development Forum in Montreux, Switzerland.

The ITC event brings together 250 business and government trade experts for four

days to discuss how developing countries can strengthen national trade strategies to boost exports and highlight the role that donor assistance – aid-for-trade – can play in equipping countries for the challenges of globalization.

“We are nearing the finishing line,” said Lamy, referring to the WTO’s six-year-old negotiations on lowing barriers to business across the global economy. On griculture, Lamy said that the WTO’s 150 states had never been so close to an agreement on the key numbers. “What we are looking at now are the nuts and bolts,” he said and urged delegates to the ITC conference to lobby their WTO negotiators to wrap up a trade deal.

But Lamy warned that some developing countries risked missing out on the economic benefits that success in the Doha round could bring through increased global trade. “Without Aid for Trade, some countries will not be able to benefit from the opportunities.” Among the needs he cited were modern customs facilities, good information and communications technology, and sophisticated expertise in trade institutions. “We want to keep a bright spotlight on Aid for Trade” because of its potential to contribute to poverty reduction, he added.

Participants are debating a range of trade policy and business development issues,

including shifts in the trade agenda, such as the proliferation of regional and bilateral

agreements; what kind of aid for trade is most useful; building innovation; taking advantage of global value chains; attracting buyers and investors; improving trade infrastructure; the potential of trade in services, and more.

“The fastest growing markets for developing countries are developing countries themselves,” said ITC Executive Director Patricia R. Francis in the opening session. But she noted that if developing countries want to harness the potential of growing trade, countries need more inclusive national export strategies. “We need to bring together the expertise of policymakers, business leaders and trade support institutions if we want to create a dynamic export environment,” she stated. “The aim of the World Export Development Forum is to explore how we go about it.”

Tuesday’s programme includes a keynote address by Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati.

Roundtables on Thursday morning will explore participants needs in aid for trade, based on a survey they completed prior to the event. Results of these meetings will be fed to the World Trade Organization, as part of their efforts in surveying regional and national needs related to Aid for Trade.