§ 17. Hugh BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance she has given to developing countries to enable them to represent their interests at international negotiations about trade. [695]
§ Clare ShortCurrently the WTO is hosting negotiations on trade in services and in agricultural products. For agriculture, we are funding a consultant at the South Centre to assist developing countries develop negotiating proposals. We are in the process of establishing a scheme with UNCTAD to provide assistance for developing countries for the services negotiations. We aim to add to the work that the WTO Secretariat and the EU' s new ACP office do for countries with low representation at the WTO by strengthening the work that organisations like the Commonwealth Secretariat and AITIC undertake. An important element of beneficial representation at the WTO is good trade policy capacity in capitals. We are running many programmes in developing countries to build such capacity.