At the event, delegates focused on assistance for trade and the effectiveness of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the economic growth of developing nations.   

Mentioning ODA, Shishir Priyadarshi, Director of the WTO’s Development Division, said Vietnam is the second biggest country in Asia to receive this kind of support, after India, and the biggest in the Southeast Asian region. He also highly appreciated the effective use of ODA in such fields as transport, finance and banking services.

He noted that investing in roads, seaports, power grids and telecommunications networks is the most effective measure to stimulate economic growth, alleviate hunger and reduce poverty.

According to statistics by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the total amount of assistance to push trade in poor countries around the globe reached US$119 billion in 2009, 90 percent of which was spent on developing infrastructure and policy reform.