°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ: 2005 PRESS RELEASES
Press/395
10 February 2005
STANDARDS AND
TRADE DEVELOPMENT FACILITY
The United Kingdom donates 1.9 million Swiss Francs for the Standards and Trade Development Facility
On 4 February 2005, the United Kingdom Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ over a contribution of £850,000 (approximately CHF 1.9 million) to the Standards and Trade Development Facility, a programme which assists developing countries in improving their expertise and capacity to analyse and implement international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards.
“I thank the United Kingdom for its generous contribution which will enable us
to respond to developing country demands for assistance in the implementation of
sanitary and phytosanitary standards,” said °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Director-General Dr. Supachai
Panitchpakdi. “Keeping pace with new SPS standards in export markets is a real
challenge for developing countries. Programmes like the Standards and Trade
Development Facility, by informing developing country governments of new
developments in SPS standards and assisting them in their implementation, have a
direct impact on these countries’ capacity to export.”
The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) is a joint initiative
between the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the World
Bank, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture
Organization. It was established with initial funding from the World Bank
Development Grant Facility and the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ’s Doha Development Agenda Global Trust
Fund.
To date, four °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members have given funds to the STDF: France, the Netherlands,
Denmark and the UK. The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Secretariat administers the STDF trust fund which
finances the programme.