Aid agencies and major world bodies are to meet to to seek ways of encouraging trade by emerging nations during the economic downturn.

援助机构和世界上主要国家将集会探索经济萎缩时期如何鼓励新兴国家的贸易。

The WTO says poorer countries need to exit the current crisis

The two-day WTO Aid for Trade meeting will also be attended by the IMF, World Bank, UN, and Organisation¹ for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

It will examine how aid - which is used to boost trading in poorer states - can be sustained（持久的，经久不衰的） during a global recession.

"Aid for trade is needed now more than ever," said the WTO and OECD.

Earlier this year the WTO warned that poorer countries would see their exports fall by 2-3% in 2009.

'Development promises'

The two-day meeting takes place in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday.

"This... meeting is designed to support developing countries as they seek to better integrate（整合） into the multilateral trading system and to take advantage of export opportunities," said WTO director general Pascal Lamy.

"This is even more relevant today - aid for trade is needed to prepare poor countries to exit the crisis. This is no time to fail our development promises."

He said developing countries needed infrastructure²（下部组织，基础构造）, enhanced production capacity and trade-related training if their trade was to be "streamlined" into development and poverty reduction strategies.

The WTO and OECD said that aid for trade grew by more than 10% in 2007 compared to 2006, with new funding pledges（保证，誓言） reaching $25bn a year.

However, "the global economic crisis will affect the medium term outlook", it added.