INT/WTO Trade-related technical assistance (DDA GTF & STDF)

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

Finland is a long-term partner to WTO technical assistance programmes. In particular, Finland has supported WTO's Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDA GTF) and the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) DDA GTF aims to support developing countries capacity to negotiate, implement and benefit from WTO -agreements. In 2015 an evaluations of the fund supported by several international partners is planned. Finland will contibute a maximum of 99.000 euros towards the evaluation. The Standards and Trade Development Facility is a global partnership that supports developing countries in building their capacity to implement international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards, guidelines and recommendations as a means to improve their human, animal, and plant health status and ability to gain or maintain access to markets. STDF is a partnership of FAO, the World Bank, WHO, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the WTO. The facility has been recently evaluated with positive results. The evaluation demonstrates that STDF has become a central coordination mechanism for SPS-related issues and the projects that it funds have had good results. Finland supports the work of STDF in with EUR 550.000.