At the heart of the Geneva Trade and Development Forum are the lower income countries that seek to reduce their marginalization in international trade and/or to improve their effective participation in the multilateral trading system.

The Forum also seeks to involve emerging countries such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa in the process. They play an increasing role in the development of low-income countries, thus becoming relevant stakeholders in the discussion.

The Forum also puts emphasis on including developed countries in the initiatives because of the key role they play in international trade discussions. Their involvement is sought to introduce their limitations in the early stage of the reflection as well as to expose them to poorer countries' concerns.

The participating countries share their receptiveness to the idea of trade as a tool for development and their willingness to act upon this perspective. The result is a mix of countries with different levels of development, where “ghettoisation” is avoided and exchange of experiences and broadening of horizons is encouraged. The participants are expected to focus on action-oriented discussions and on the how rather than the what.