Trade ministers, investment bankers and corporates will be heading to Manila in mid-September to discuss how financial aid can be used to open up less developed economies and small states in the Asia Pacific region to global trade.

 

The “Aid for Trade” talks are being organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in conjunction with the Philippine government.

 

ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda and WTO director general Pascal Lamy will open the conference on September 19. This will be followed by plenary sessions and ministerial roundtables discussing topics such as the use of private-public partnerships to improve infrastructure in developing markets and support economic growth.

 

The Manila conference is the second of three regional meetings to be held as part of the World Trade Organisation’s “Aid for Trade “initiative launched in December 2005. The other two conferences are focused on Latin America and Africa, held in Lima, Peru and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.