International Trade Center (ITC)
The International Trade Centre is a multilateral agency with a dual mandate from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations through the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Its headquarters is located in Geneva; the organization employs about 300 staff members from more than 80 countries.
The main function of the ITC is to promote the sustainable economic development of developing countries through trade and the development of international business, in particular support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The financing of the ITC consists of two components:
1) the regular budget, formed from equal annual contributions of the UN and the WTO within the budget cycle of these organizations;
2) extrabudgetary resources – voluntary contributions to the ITC Trust Fund from the private sector, international organizations and donor governments.
In the period from 2018 to 2020, Belarus actively used the ITC’s opportunities, primarily for the modernization of its light industry and access to EU markets, in combination with the Eastern Partnership policy. Until the latest intensification of the isolation of Belarus by the collective West, the ITC was one of the channels of technical assistance and of Belarus’s access to the European market. The withdrawal of the United States will not significantly affect the prospects of Belarusian participation in the ITC; at the same time, it may potentially complicate politically our country’s participation in ITC projects involving BRICS countries, for example, South Africa.
On 22 July 2025, the Director of the National Centre for Marketing N.N. Borisevich took part in the TPO Leadership Dialogue held within the framework of the Global SME Ministerial Meeting in Johannesburg (South Africa). During the event, N.N. Borisevich met with the Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC) Dorothy Tembo.
On 18 June 2026, D. Tembo delivered a video address to the participants of the forum “Export League. Close-Up” organized by the National Export Support Centre (Minsk).
