Advices governments on the legal and administrative implications of international trade rules and on how to use WTO Agreements to advance national or regional development priorities;

Helps countries gain accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and participate effectively in trade negotiation rounds;

Provides support in the analysis of country- and/or region-specific trade policy issues and in the formulation of coherent national, respectively regional, trade agendas;

Explains the WTO in practical terms and encourages interactive exchanges and consultations among key trade stakeholders from government, private sector, academia, consumer and labour organisations, as well as other concerned groups;

Assists in assessing assistance gaps and taping appropriate resources, expertise and specialised technical assistance;

Helps build capacity and institutions - at the national and regional levels - for effective trade policy making and participation in multilateral trade negotiations;

Uses existing research literature on trade & development topics, in order to translate it into practical and concrete policy initiatives by decision-makers or trade negotiators;

Plays an agenda-setting role in contributing to WTO submissions, which focus on the trade and development nexus and promote “win-win” solutions for the WTO system as a whole and its poorer member states in particular;

Undertakes policy analysis and prepares issues papers relating to the trade & development interface;

Contributes to international discussions among trade and development experts, on how to combine international trade negotiations (e.g. MFN, national treatment principles and reciprocity of concessions) with national development policy requirements (e.g. policy autonomy and institutional diversity);

Shares country and regional experiences relating to successful cases of trade policy-related capacity building and institutional development;