The Guardian: Making international trade work for the world’s poorest
Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group, and Robert Azevêdo, director general of the World Trade Organization

“…[T]he World Bank and the World Trade Organization — the world’s largest multilateral development and trade organizations — believe a series of policies can help countries deliver the benefits of trade to all their citizens, including the poorest. Our latest joint report, The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty, recommends five policy areas that governments and the international community should consider to make trade more pro-poor. First, lowering trade costs will help to deepen producers’ and consumers’ connectivity to the global marketplace. … Second, governments and multilateral institutions must help finance local programs that connect entrepreneurs to markets. … Third, governmental support for a range of complementary policies to improve health, education, and infrastructure will create the conditions necessary for more widespread participation in the trading system. … Fourth, governments and organizations must improve systems for managing and mitigating risks faced by the poor. … And finally, governments need better data…” (6/30).