Since the beginning of Swedish official development assistance, both the role of trade in development and the role of Swedish trade in aid have been discussed with varying intensity.
Already in the document that is regarded as the basic document for Swedish aid (Bill 1962:100) it is written that there is ‘reason to recognise the central importance of trade relations for the economic progress of developing countries and their important role as transmitters of capital and know-how to these countries. The fact that such links can also benefit the country and its economy does not make them any less valuable from a development perspective’.
In the mid-2000s, trade-related assistance gained some momentum through the Aid for Trade (AfT) initiative.
The Government’s overall approach to aid emphasises the synergies between development cooperation and trade policy, including by promoting the capacity of partner countries to participate in rules-based world trade.
This working paper summarises the state of knowledge on AfT. It also presents a number of possible trade-related priorities and interventions for Swedish aid.
We hope that this report will be useful in both the design and implementation of Sweden’s trade-related assistance. We also hope that it will be perceived as relevant by those who want to form a picture of the background, size and what is known from research and evaluation about the effects of various interventions.
The report is available in Swedish only.