The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental body responsible for regulating and facilitating international commerce.
It is an organisation that is crucial in regulating global trade and ensuring that it operates fairly and predictably.
Established in 1995, the WTO provides a platform for member countries to negotiate trade agreements, resolve trade disputes, and promote a rules-based international trading system. To carry out its functions effectively, the WTO requires financial resources.
This mammoth organisation needs little introduction, as everyone conversant with the global economy is fully aware of just how important the WTO is.
With that said, it often begs the question of how this body is funded and the procedures that follow.
The simple answer is that the WTO is funded annually by contributions from its 164 members. As for the procedure that follows, this is typically under the jurisdiction of the organisation’s committee on Budget, Finance, and Administration.
According to the WTO annual report, the Committee on Budget, Finance, and Administration monitors the WTO’s budgetary and financial matters.
It considers issues concerning human resources management, hears progress reports on the WTO pension plan, and deals with financial and administrative matters pertaining to the WTO Secretariat. The Committee reports to the General Council.
Included in the report is the committee's listed quota of each of the 164 member countries to the consolidated budget 2023 in Swiss Franc (CHF).
Below are 10 African countries which contributed the most to WTO’s 2023 annual budget.
| Rank | Country | Contribution in CHF |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Africa | 856,290 |
| 2. | Nigeria | 523,940 |
| 3. | Egypt | 502,435 |
| 4. | Morocco | 381,225 |
| 5. | Angola | 240,465 |
| 6. | Ghana | 189,635 |
| 7. | Tunisia | 172,040 |
| 8. | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 125,120 |
| 9. | Kenya | 123,165 |
| 10. | Côte d'Ivoire | 109,480 |
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