WTO Report Highlights Strong Technical Assistance Delivery Despite Funding Constraints in 2025

The 2025 Annual Report on Technical Assistance published by the WTO Secretariat on 27 May highlights that despite budgetary constraints, over 13,000 government officials from developing and least-developed WTO members and observers benefited from capacity-building activities in 2025. The report finds that 80 per cent of performance targets were fully or partially met, representing an increase from the ten-year 73 per cent average. Technical assistance activities were made available to 140 WTO members and observers, with Africa and Asia-Pacific remaining the two regions with the highest participation rates.

Key Highlights

· The World Trade Organization published its 2025 Annual Report on Technical Assistance on 27 May 2026, highlighting continued support for developing and least-developed countries despite budgetary challenges.

· More than 13,000 government officials from developing and least-developed WTO members and observers participated in WTO capacity-building activities during 2025.

· Technical assistance programmes reached 140 WTO members and observers, with the Africa and Asia-Pacific regions recording the highest participation rates.

· The WTO achieved 80% of its performance targets fully or partially in 2025, exceeding the ten-year average of 73%.

· Despite strong performance, the number of officials trained declined by 31% compared with 2024 due to resource constraints.

· Nationals from least-developed countries (LDCs) accounted for 29% of all beneficiaries.

· Women's participation increased to 49%, up from 47% in 2024.

Funding Challenges

· Unearmarked voluntary contributions to the WTO's Global Trust Fund remained below CHF 3 million for the second consecutive year.

· Although the number of donors increased for the first time in a decade, total funding remained at its lowest level in 25 years.

· The report emphasized the growing difficulty of maintaining extensive technical assistance activities under constrained financial resources.

Shift to Digital and Blended Learning

· To maximize outreach and efficiency, the WTO expanded virtual and blended learning models:

o 65% of activities combined face-to-face, virtual and self-paced learning.

o 16% were fully virtual.

o 19% were conducted entirely in person.

· This transition helped maintain programme quality while reducing costs.

Key Focus Areas in 2025

· Support for recently acceded and acceding members:

o Comoros received assistance in implementing the TRIPS Agreement.

o Timor-Leste received support related to accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement.

· Expansion of blended technical assistance delivery to preserve quality and reach.

· Development of new diagnostic and analytical tools under the Trade in Services for Development initiative to help members leverage services trade for economic development.

Transparency and Partnerships

· The WTO expanded action-oriented technical assistance, including advanced training, coaching, action plans and follow-up support to help members meet notification and transparency obligations.

· Cooperation with international partners strengthened, including collaboration with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

Significance

The report demonstrates the WTO's ability to sustain effective trade-related capacity building despite severe funding constraints. Increased reliance on digital and blended learning, targeted support for developing economies, and stronger partnerships helped maintain high programme performance while advancing members' integration into the rules-based multilateral trading system.

<2025 Annual Report on Technical Assistance>

[ABS News Service/05.06.2026]

Despite the high level of activity, the number of government officials trained via WTO technical assistance in 2025 represents a 31 per cent decline compared with 2024. Least-developed country nationals accounted for 29 per cent of beneficiaries. Women's participation increased to 49 per cent, two percentage points higher than in 2024.

The report also underlines the difficulties of maintaining a high level of WTO technical assistance due to ongoing budgetary constraints. Unearmarked voluntary contributions to the WTO's Global Trust Fund - funding that is not tied to specific programmes and can be allocated according to members' priorities - remained below CHF 3 million for the second consecutive year. Although the number of donors to the Fund increased for the first time in a decade, overall funding remained at its lowest level in 25 years.

In response to budgetary constraints, the WTO Secretariat accelerated the shift towards virtual and blended delivery - combining in-person and virtual activities. Excluding e-Learning, 65 per cent of technical assistance activities in 2025 combined face-to-face, virtual and self-paced learning elements, 16 per cent were fully virtual and 19 per cent were delivered face-to-face.

"2025 was a year of profound transformation during which the entire WTO technical assistance business model had to be reconsidered and reengineered", WTO Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang notes in the report's foreword. Given the challenging circumstances, the stability of results "shows how resilient many of the technical assistance results can be in adverse circumstances", he said.

The report highlights three particular areas of focus in 2025:

· tailored assistance supported recently acceded members, with Comoros receiving assistance on implementing the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and Timor-Leste benefiting from activities aimed at assisting its accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement

· the WTO scaled up blended technical assistance as a way to preserve quality and outreach under tight resources

· the Trade in Services for Development initiative developed and tested new diagnostic and analytical tools to help members identify policy options for leveraging services trade for development.

Support for members' transparency obligations also remained a priority. Action-oriented technical assistance - combining advanced training, coaching, action plans and follow-up - expanded sharply during the year and contributed to further progress in addressing notification backlogs.

The year was also marked by a stronger emphasis on partnerships and practical, fit-for-purpose support, including cooperation with partners such as the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

Background

A core function of the WTO, technical assistance and capacity-building activities aim to enhance professional and institutional trade capacities in developing and least-developed WTO members and observers. These activities equip beneficiaries with the know-how to take full advantage of the opportunities arising from the rules-based multilateral trading system, and to address related challenges. Within the WTO Secretariat, the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation oversees these activities.