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U.K. to Pledge $24 Million for Trade Development in 51 Countries

U.K. to Pledge $24 Million for Trade Development in 51 Countries

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. government will donate 18 million pounds ($24 million) in trade development aid to 51 of the world’s poorest countries, the Department of International Trade said.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will announce the funding at the World Trade Organization’s ministerial conference in Argentina on Monday, the department said.

"As we prepare to leave the EU, we can move forward with more purpose, supporting developing countries to transform their economies through trade and resisting attempts to put up barriers to the open and free trade which has already benefited millions worldwide," Fox said in a statement in advance of the program’s announcement.

The funding aims to help the 51 developing states make “products fit for export, trade more easily across borders and access untapped new markets which have the potential to create thousands of jobs and lift their citizens out of poverty,” according to the statement.

Most of the funding, 16 million pounds, will go to the WTO’s Enhanced Integrated Framework program, which helps governments and businesses build the capacity, infrastructure and policies needed to export and trade, the department said. A further 2 million pounds will be allocated to the WTO’s Standards and Trade Development Facility that helps developing nations meet international agricultural standards, helping them to export more produce.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Lehane in London at blehane@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaric Nightingale at anightingal1@bloomberg.net, Brian Lysaght, Kim Robert McLaughlin

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