Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power T.D. today met port officials from developing countries who are in Dublin for training. The training, which is taking place from 22 September to 10 October 2008, is being hosted by Dublin Port Company and is part of the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) Port Training Programme.

On welcoming the initiative, the Minister of State said, “Developing countries have the potential to earn from trade many times what they obtain in Official Development Assistance.  Crucially, developing countries need assistance to build up facilities and systems for producing, delivering and selling goods and services. They need Aid for Trade. This programme is part of our contribution to this effort”  

The objective of the training is to increase the knowledge and capability of port managers from developing countries including Tanzania, Ghana, Indonesia, Maldives and Malaysia and to develop cooperation among port members of UNCTAD.

Ireland has been playing its part in WTO and EU Aid for Trade initiatives. The 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid commits Ireland to increasing our funding for multilateral Aid for Trade initiatives. Our Aid for Trade support to international and local trade initiatives rose from €6.4 million in 2006 to over €11 million in 2007.  

Note for editors:

In November 2007, Irish Aid signed an agreement with UNCTAD to fund the "UNCTAD TrainForTrade Port Training Programme for the Port Communities of English-speaking Developing Countries". Irish Aid will provide a total of €474,000 over the period 2007 – 2010.

Launched in 1998, the TrainForTrade programme strengthens national and regional human and institutional resources for trade and investment which is essential to growth for UNCTAD member countries, particularly the least developed ones.