The Members of the WTO re-emphasised the fundamental importance of the development dimension of the Doha Development Agenda at the Hong Kong Ministerial in 2005. In the Ministerial Declaration there was a recommitment to making the aims of the development agenda a meaningful reality. At the same time, the Aid for Trade Initiative was launched, designed to help developing countries build supply-side capacity in order to expand trade.
WTO work related to trade and development takes place mostly in the Committee on Trade and Development and the Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries. Since the launching of the Doha Round in November 2001, trade and development issues related to special and differential treatment are being negotiated in the CTD meeting in Special Session.
In addition to this, other WTO bodies also consider trade and development issues and there is a number of WTO activities that focus on building trade capacity in developing countries. One of these is the Enhanced Integrated Framework, which focuses on the Least Developed Countries.
Norway has offered LDCs duty-free quota-free market access for all products since 2002 and thus fulfils the demands from the LDCs and the Hong Kong Declaration from 2005. Norway is also a firm supporter of Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) for developing countries in all areas. Norway is also one of the largest contributors to the Doha Development Global Trust Fund, which provides for technical assistance to developing countries, as well as to the LDC-oriented Enhanced Integrated Framework and the International Trade Centre.
Norway is consistently working to protect the interests of the LDCs in particular, and most recently Norway played a central part in concluding a development-friendly services waiver for the LDCs.