Society

WTO Director-General hails Vietnam’s poverty reduction efforts

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Roberto Azevedo has taken Vietnam as an example of poverty alleviation at the launch ceremony of the book “The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty” jointly compiled by WTO and the World Bank Group (WBG).
Director-General of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) Roberto Azevedo has taken Vietnam as an example ofpoverty alleviation at the launch ceremony of the book “The Role ofTrade in Ending Poverty” jointly compiled by WTO and the World BankGroup (WBG).

He noted that between the early1990s and 2012, the share of trade in Vietnam’s GDP doubled. At the sametime, the extreme poverty rate declined from over 60 percent to under 3percent.

“That is trade changing people’s livesfor the better,” he stated, emphasising the strong linkage betweentrade and development.

Trade continues to play a crucial role in economic growth in the years ahead, he affirmed.

He and WBG President Jim Yong Kim pledged that the two organisationswill continually work for a common purpose to boost economic developmentand improve the livelihoods of people around the world.

They also suggested that nations ensure trade supports everyone, especially the most impoverished, to eradicate poverty.

At present, there are still nearly 1 billion people living on lessthan 1.25 USD each day, making up around 15 percent of the world’spopulation.-VNA
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