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The Forum will bring together leaders from governments, donors, international organizations, business and academia to foster trade action in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and inspire deeper collaborations and commitments in support of further LDC integration into global and regional trade.
2018 is a turning point for LDCs and trade, with a growing trade gap between developed nations and the world’s poorest countries and increasing instability in the world economy. The momentum we generate this year must lead to further integration of LDCs into trade at multiple scales into the future.  
At the Forum, leaders and practitioners from around the world will share what they have achieved on trade development in LDCs to date, with Aid for Trade complementing national initiatives, and will commit to doing more to ensure LDCs integrate and benefit from global trade. It will culminate in a call to action to leverage trade to combat poverty and inequality and to create a more inclusive trading system. 
avatar for Axel Pougin de La Maisonneuve

Axel Pougin de La Maisonneuve

European Commission/DEVCO
Deputy Head of Unit
Brussels
Axel de La Maisonneuve is Deputy Head of the Trade and Private Sector unit in the Directorate General for Development and International Cooperation (DEVCO)  in the European Commission. He has worked since 1991 in the European Commission and has specialised in  the development and trade nexus since 1999. He has been a geographical desk for Western Africa (1999-2002), the ACP countries (2006-2009) and Southern Africa (DG TRADE: 2014-2016). He was the Deputy Head of the Inter-institutional unit and Assistant to the Director-General of DG DEV in 2009-2010. He has been posted in Tanzania as Head of the Economic section in 2002-2006 and in South Africa as Head of the Political, Economic and Trade section (2010-2014).