How aid for trade can best support Least Developed Countries in the next decade - Ratnakar Adhikari and Annette Ssemuwemba for OECD Development matters

As the recently released Least Developed Countries Report 2021 shows, trade can be a powerful tool to help LDCs accelerate their recovery by taking advantage of the rapid rebound seen in other parts of the global economy. However, for this to happen, LDCs need aid for trade to build their institutional and productive capacity. This has been very well recognised by LDCs; on 19 October 2021, trade ministers from almost 30 LDCs adopted a declaration outlining their priorities for aid for trade. For the past ten years, the global share of LDC trade has hovered at around 1%, despite the target to double their share of global exports by 2020 as set out in the Istanbul Programme of Action for LDCs and SDG 17.11. The fifth United Nations Conference on LDC (UNLDC 5) in Doha in January 2022, where a programme of action for the coming decade is expected to be adopted, is an important opportunity for LDCs to bolster the share of international trade. Using this platform, how can the international community make sure that LDCs’ priorities are addressed? How can LDCs be supported to improve their trade performance and sustainably raise their share of trade in the global economy? How can aid for trade contribute to this endeavour? And what can be done differently?