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Thirty years of WTO technical assistance enhancing participation in world trade
30 October 2024
Since its establishment in 1995, the WTO has supported the participation of developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs) in the multilateral trading system through the provision of technical assistance, helping beneficiaries develop their capacity to take full advantage of global trade. Over the past 30 years, more than 320,000 government officials have benefited from this assistance.

WTO technical assistance is a pivotal function of the organization and has evolved constantly to meet the emerging needs of the beneficiaries and a changing global environment, with an increasing focus on achieving measurable results.

Regional breakdown of activities
The WTO has conducted over 10,000 technical assistance activities for its eligible members and observers since 1995. In the initial three years following the organization's establishment, these activities were carried out globally, without focusing on particular regions. However, starting in 1998, the focus shifted toward addressing the specific needs of individual members, either regionally or at the domestic level.

Africa has consistently received the largest share of technical assistance, averaging around 30 per cent of annual activities and rising as high as 40 per cent between 2005 and 2011 (see Chart 1). The Asia-Pacific region has benefited from roughly 20 per cent of activities. The Middle East, the Caribbean, and Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia have received respectively between 5 per cent and 10 per cent annually. Latin America has also featured prominently in technical assistance programmes, receiving on average approximately 10 per cent of activities.

Figure 1
Developing online technical assistance
The launch in 2004 of the WTO technical assistance e-Learning platform, which was upgraded in 2022, was a game-changer in terms of delivering more accessible technical assistance and providing more cost-effective training. The platform gained additional importance during the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel restrictions prevented face-to-face activities.

Since 1995, over 110,000 government officials have been trained via the e-Learning platform, representing more than a third of the total number of beneficiaries (see Chart 2). The number of e‑Learning participants per year has surpassed the number of beneficiaries of face-to-face activities since 2014. More recently, a new approach, combining e‑Learning, face-to-face and virtual activities is gradually being introduced.

Figure 2
WTO technical assistance is primarily aimed at government officials, but its outreach extends to other key groups, including the academic community through the WTO Chairs Programme, as well as members of parliament, journalists, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

Evolving pedagogical approaches
In 2010, a progressive learning strategy was introduced to improve the efficient use of resources in technical assistance delivery by focusing on advancing participants' skills progressively. This progressive learning strategy structures technical assistance activities around three levels of learning — introductory, intermediate and advanced — and two training paths — for generalists and for specialists — with the aim of building beneficiaries’ capacity in a sustainable and cumulative manner.

The training methods used in the delivery of technical assistance programmes have also evolved over time. While the approach in 1995 was predominantly lecture-based, the proportion of lectures in the total training time has been somewhat reduced since 2013 in favour of face-to-face activities incorporating more hands-on sessions and interactive pedagogical techniques (see Chart 3). Recent years have seen the introduction of mentoring and coaching.

Figure 3
In addition to training programmes, the first internship programme was launched in 1998. Since then, four other similar programmes have been set up. These internship opportunities have collectively benefited more than 800 participants from over 100 WTO members and observers.

Priorities for technical assistance
WTO technical assistance is governed by biennial plans setting out priorities and strategies to ensure that the needs of beneficiaries are effectively met. In 2013, a results-based management approach was implemented to improve monitoring of all WTO technical assistance activities, from planning to evaluation. The approach aims to produce specific and measurable results to improve beneficiaries’ capacity to participate in the multilateral trading system.

Since its introduction, the proportion of technical assistance targets fully or partially met, such as successful completion of the courses, reached 91 per cent in 2018. This number declined between 2020 and 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on technical assistance delivery but rose again in 2023 (see Chart 4).

Figure 4
WTO negotiations and implementation of WTO agreements: Some measurable results
Technical assistance has contributed to improving the capacity of developing WTO members and observers, and particularly LDCs, to engage effectively in WTO negotiations and participate in the work of WTO bodies. It has also been essential to economies wishing to join the WTO as they proceed through their WTO accession processes.

For several recent agreements negotiated at the WTO (e.g., the agreements on trade facilitation, fisheries subsidies and investment facilitation for development), provisions related to technical assistance for developing and LDC members have been crucial to concluding the negotiations. Over the past 10 years alone, thousands of government officials have benefited from technical assistance training programmes designed to strengthen their capacity to comply with obligations under WTO agreements and to benefit fully from these WTO agreements (see Chart 5).

The topics covered by technical assistance training programmes have continued to evolve over the years in line with the priorities defined by beneficiaries. This flexibility allows WTO technical assistance to take account of evolving issues on the WTO agenda, such as digital trade, the green economy and inclusive trade.

Figure 5
The impact of these efforts can be measured in different ways. For example, WTO technical assistance has striven through capacity-building to stimulate a sustained increase in the number of proposals or other documents covering a variety of topics under negotiation or discussion submitted to WTO bodies by technical assistance beneficiaries. These contributions have been invaluable in making trade deliberations and decision-making more inclusive.

Strengthening the capacity of technical assistance beneficiaries to fulfil their transparency obligations under various WTO agreements, including by notifying new trade measures, is among the performance targets for WTO technical assistance. As the overall volume of notification obligations has increased each year, technical assistance efforts have enabled beneficiaries not only to keep pace with their new notification obligations, but even to reduce their backlog progressively. 

Financial commitments to WTO technical assistance
WTO technical assistance is financed both by the regular budget of the WTO Secretariat and by means of voluntary contributions made by WTO members to trust funds. A total of over CHF 500 million has been committed since 1995. Contributions from the regular budget reached their highest levels between 2002 and 2013 and have remained at CHF 4.5 million since then. Meanwhile, members' voluntary contributions have steadily declined, dropping from CHF 23 million on average between 2007 and 2009 to CHF 6.3 million in 2023 (see Chart 6).

Sustained funding continues to be essential to responding efficiently to the evolving needs of members and securing the technical assistance necessary for an inclusive multilateral trading system.

Figure 6
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