§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development which countries will be attending the Cancun Ministerial Meeting this September; and if he will make a statement. [124523]
§ Hilary BennWe expect most, if not all, of the 146 members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to attend the 5th Ministerial meeting in Cancun in September. We recognise, however, that the ability and resources of some developing country members to 9W participate meaningfully in WTO negotiations can be limited. As a result, the Government have offered £40,000 to a WTO Trust Fund to enable Ministers and officials from the least developed countries to attend the meeting in Cancun.
More generally, the Government have committed to spending £45 million by 2004 on trade related capacity building. Activities funded include improving developing countries' ability to negotiate favourable deals in the WTO talks trade negotiations, helping them interpret trade agreements, and supporting them in taking advantage of new international trading opportunities.