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CUTS Daily Bulletin # 01 | March 25, 2026
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The conference kicked off with a number of high- level events focusing on themes such as Africa’s Business , Women and Trade, Lauch of Enhanced Integrated Framework phase three, Multistakeholder Ministerial Event scaling up investment facilitation for Development and a Business Forum by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
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Multistakeholder Ministerial Event Scaling Up Investment Facilitation to Mobilise Investment
This event co-hosted by the Republic of Korea and the WTO Secretariat witnessed a packed audience of delegates including a number of Ministers of Trade and also fervent presentations by the WTO members, who have been supporting the plurilateral agreement on Investment for Development (IFD). At the opening session the Korea stated that IFD is not about market access about harnessing investment by effectively leverage IFD to mobilise capital and creating a conducive environment for sustainable and predictable investment through establishing a transparent system by member countries. The IFD agreement as it stands now is a need based arrangement as places key focus on state parties/member countries requirements. The IFD plurilateral agreement has been subscribed by 128 parties of the WTO which include 91 developing countries and 27 Least Developed countries.
Korea also sharedn its development experience since the end of Korean war of 1950s in harnessing both foreign and domestic investment that played a key role in Korea’s economic progress.
Speaking at the event the Director General of WTO, stated the key role of investment in promoting economic development and addressing infrastructural gap that exist in developing and LDCs, while highlighting the UNCTAD report on Investment for 2025 that flags a declining trend of investment flows to LDCs in the recent years. There are also incentives attached to IFD parties under a WTO and the European Investment Bank (EIB) cooperation arrangement where EIB prioritises funding and blended investment support. The event also witnessed experience sharing by Chile, the co-facilitator of IFD initiative at the WTO, and statement from countries supporting IFD such as the EU, Cambodia, The Gambia and China. The key message of the event was that development entails expanding people’s opportunities and IFD plays a major role in achieving the same objective, therefore more support is needed from the WTO member countries for IFD.
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WTO-ITC High Level Event in Women and Trade
Another flagship event hosted by the WTO and the International Trade Centre (ITC) talked about incorporating a gender lens to trade agreements at global as well as regional level, introducing practical steps taken by the WTO, ITC and partners in raising the voices and participation of women in trade, business and innovation. The highlights of the initiative and partnership include the fund committed at the 13th WTO Ministerial in Abu Dhabi by UAE, Qutar, etc , WTO-ITC Informal working group on trade and gender and the digitalisation of women owned businesses.
The ITC training initiative has introduced projects in 94 countries and over 100,000 women enterprises got support. The SheTrades programme of ITC is moving into the second decade of operation, which empowered and scaled up women owned businesses mostly in the global south by providing various kinds of support. The major resource support base for the gender work come from Australia, Sweden, UK, Switzerland, and various foundations supported by Dangote, Master card, and partners such as FIFA, the athletic body and World Intellectual Organisations. The impact of the initiatives is evident from the various innovations, business initiatives in sectors such as waste management, agriculture and health shared by the women owned businesses at the forum. The key message of the forum was that trade and business initiatives are no more gender blind and the economy benefits greatly from the active participation of women in all aspects of business.
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Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Phase Three (2025-2031) Lunch
Another notable event held on 25th March was the official launch of EIF phase 3, an initiative to support the LDCs.It is stated as a bold vision by EIF for sustainable trade and development in the LDCs. The vision is to mobilise a USD 200, million transformative funding to empower the LDCs.
The key intervention areas include strengthening the institutional, policy and regulatory environment as well as LDC trade competitiveness and productive capacity. The success of the programme depends on strategic and innovative partnerships and key motto is harnessing the power of trade and investment as a tool for sustainable development.
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The emerging trade-climate nexus risks deepening global inequities unless the Global South’s development concerns are prioritised, a new agenda-setting brief by the Centre for Science and Environment and the African Future Policies Hub has highlighted.
Developing countries, constrained by commodity dependence and limited industrial capacity, face barriers to participating in the new, green economy. New trade-related climate measures may further restrict their competitiveness and policy space.
The brief calls for an equitable trade-climate agenda that safeguards policy space, supports green industrialisation, and enables a just, development-centred low-carbon transition for the Global South.
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Trade ministers from 166 economies will meet in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from March 26 to 29 for the World Trade Organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), its top forum for setting priorities and negotiating global trade rules.
Expectations this time are low for an institution that governs 98 per cent of global trade, worth over $35 trillion, due to a deep divide over its direction. One group — led by India, South Africa and Brazil —wants to preserve consensus, inclusiveness, and a balance between development and trade. The other, led by advanced economies, is pushing for faster decisions and smaller group deals, often at the cost of WTO’s core principles. The former warns this shift could weaken the WTO’s multilateral foundations and sideline development concerns — effectively “kicking away the ladder” that once helped rich economies industrialise. This divide underpins most disagreements in WTO talks.
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Jaipur • New Delhi • Chittorgarh • Kolkata • Hanoi • Nairobi • Lusaka • Accra • Geneva • Washington DC
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