GENEVA, July 3 (Reuters) - The heads of the World Bank and the World Trade Organization on Monday called for countries to boost efforts to make trade in global services more transparent and predictable, saying this could help developing countries reduce poverty.
Services such as tourism and telecommunications generate more than two-thirds of global GDP but barriers for services trade are higher than for goods, the joint report by the two institutions entitled 'Trade in Services for Development' said.
"There is a need to reignite international cooperation in the services sector," said World Bank President Ajay Banga and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the report's foreword.
"Such efforts need to expand trade and investment, reduce trade costs, bring about greater transparency and predictability on trade policy regimes and, ultimately, increase the participation of developing economies...," it said.
Banga began as World Bank president last month and asked staff to double down on development and climate efforts to accelerate the bank's evolution to tackle global problems.
Persons:
Ajay Banga, Ngozi Okonjo, Banga, Emma Farge, Christina Fincher
Organizations:
World Bank, World Trade Organization, Services, Development, WTO, Thomson
Locations:
GENEVA