Mission Statement

IDEAS Centre is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to helping low-income countries to integrate into the world trading system - in a way that supports their national poverty reduction and economic development efforts.

The Centre offers practical, results-oriented advisory services and executes projects aimed at strengthening the capacities of developing/transition country governments to shape both their domestic economic policies as well as the international policies that affect them.

The overall goal of the Centre’s projects is to empower low-income countries:

by using their WTO membership (or accession process) in a way that promotes their country’s sustainable human development; deepening their understanding of development challenges and linkages with trade and WTO rules; and improving policy coherence;

by participating more effectively in international trade forums and negotiations and by harnessing the free market forces and rules of a liberal world trade system to achieve poverty alleviation and economic growth.

Through its projects supporting developing country participation in the WTO and facilitating the integration of development-related concerns into industrial country positions, the Centre wants to contribute to international discussions on WTO institutional reforms and to encourage global cooperation for “win-win” solutions on the trade and development interface.

To find out more about the Centre’s approach, read our strategy document relating to trade policy services and consultancy: