The first Conference of the Geneva Trade & Development Forum (GTDF) took place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on 17-20 September 2008. 250 participants – officials, civil society, academics and private sector representatives from the North and the South – attended the meeting. The discussions focused on the necessity for further industrial development, increased efforts towards regional integration and a paradigm shift in how trade negotiations with developing countries are approached, putting developmental needs at the centre. It also emphasised the role of timely market intelligence, better access to markets and more transparency to better harness trade as a development tool.
Click here to read the reports from the Conference and the GTDF Way Forward, our assessment of the Conference and the Forum's next steps.
The Geneva Trade and Development Forum (GTDF) is a welcome neutral platform to engage in an ongoing and substantive debate on trade and development challenges faced by developing countries. Under the auspices of the GTDF, twelve theme groups have worked on highly relevant trade issues for developing countries based on case studies and existing research. The Forum is supported by Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
