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international

together, they have to put their differences aside,
and respect each other. How can you situate this
point of view into the current context?
Indeed, trade supports peace. Look at the history
of the establishment of the pre-WTO GATT,
created in 1948, immediately after World War II.
One was the big reasons for its creation was to
avoid a repeat of the destructive trade tensions
before World War II (WTO).

That’s not to say that it’s all about peace – there’s
a healthy dose of self-interest driving trade. As
we saw during the pandemic, we rely heavily
on multi-country supply chains to get everyday
basics, from rice to toilet paper to mobile
phones. Every country has an incentive to buy
from and sell to each other. This element of
trade also supports peace because every country
benefits from playing by the rules of multilateral
In Viet Nam Trust, peace and predictability are often trade. So the big picture is, you can’t have peace
mentioned as being the main issues of successful or sustainable development without trade. Trade
trade. Are there other important factors in your reduces poverty, raises incomes, creates jobs and
opinion that we should bear in mind? supports socioeconomic development.
Beyond the foundational elements of trade
– such as a strong multilateral trading This is important to know, as the world becomes
system underpinned by reliable logistics and more fragile and conflicts become more frequent.
infrastructure, market access, and participation Nearly 90% of the world’s poor could be living in
of women and youth, for example – I would fragile states by 2030. It’s clear that we’re going to
add “dialogue” as another key factor for trade. need bigger, holistic responses. The immediate
You can’t have trade that works for everyone humanitarian response in the short to medium
– including women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, term needs to be paired with plans to build
refugees, developing countries – without economic resilience, for long-term stability and
accounting for everyone’s perspective. How will security. Focusing solely on meeting immediate
you make rules for small businesses if you don’t needs is like putting a bandage on a gaping
know their pain points, innovations and ideas? wound. Pass policies that support the small
That’s why we deliver homegrown, not business ecosystem; support small businesses to
“helicopter” technical assistance. That means we continue to produce goods and services and to
listen to and exchange with the entrepreneurs, employ people; and provide targeted support to
heads of institutions and policymakers we vulnerable groups, including women and youth,
engage with, so that the training and coaching who are among those hit hardest by conflict. Let
we provide is practical and useful for them. We me share an example of how trade is supporting
want to ensure that long after a project ends, the peace in Iraq. We’re supporting the development
impact goes on. of the agri-food industry in a demand-driven
way, with a long-term vision. With no subsidies,
All of our projects and programmes are no free inputs, we are helping farmers double
informed by the small businesses we’re working incomes by connecting them with buyers and
for, the institutions we’re strengthening, the helping them comply with market requirements.
policymakers we’re partnering with. In February, at our Iraq National Trade Forum
in Baghdad, we connected small businesses
The founder of the World Trade Center in New in farming, food processing, packaging and
York, Guy Tozzoli, used to say that trade is a logistics with buyers and investors through
means of peace, because when people trade 240 business-to-business sessions, resulting in

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