The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)

The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) is a global organization specialized in empowering stakeholders in trade policy through information, dialogue and research to influence the international trade system such that it advances the goal of sustainable development.

Based in Geneva, ICTSD facilitates interaction between policy-makers and those outside the system to help trade policy become more supportive of sustainable development. By helping parties increase capacity and become better informed about each other, ICTSD builds bridges between groups with seemingly disparate agendas. It seeks to enable these actors to discover the many places where their interests and priorities coincide, for ultimately sustainable development is their common objective.

ICTSD leads the Trade and Development Symposium and has served as a principal convener of the Global Biodiversity Forum (GBF) on Trade. Through its Chief Executive, the Centre participates in the UN Millennium Project’s Task Force on Trade; the WTO Director General’s Advisory Group and the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). ICTSD is the founder of Bridges China Dialogue in Geneva that is committed to leveraging China’s constructive role in global economic governance.

The Centre established its ICTSD China Office in Beijing in 2011.