International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
ICTSD was established in Geneva in September 1996 to contribute to a better understanding of development and environment concerns in the context of international trade.

International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC)
The ITC has been contributing to study tours to Geneva for post-graduate students of Vi member universities and is an important partner in the joint UNCTAD-WTO-ITC project on applied trade and trade policy analysis initiated by the Vi.

South Centre
There is an agreement between the Vi and the South Centre following which the Vi has been posting relevant South Centre studies on the Vi website.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The Vi regularly cooperates with the substantive divisions within UNCTAD. Previous cooperation has involved experts from UNCTAD peer reviewing training material, articles and research by Vi members, as well as their participation in Vi events such as study tours, workshops and providing mentoring for the Vi's fellowship program.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
At UNECA, the Vi cooperates with the Trade and Regional Integration Division (TRID). A TRID staff contributed to two Vi professional development workshops on the economics of commodities production and trade organized in Dar-es-Salaam (January 2006) and Dakar (June 2006). The Vi makes available TRID papers and studies on trade issues on the Vi website.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
To foster sustainable economic growth among its 56 member countries, UNECE provides a forum for communication among States; brokers international legal instruments addressing trade, transport and the environment; and supplies statistics and economic and environmental analysis.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
The Vi and UNESCAP's ARTNeT (Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade) cooperate in building the capacity of researchers for trade and investment research. For instance, several ARTNeT members attended a Vi workshop on teaching and research of economic and legal aspects of International Investment Agreements in Bangkok in November-December 2005, and one is participating in the workshop on tools and methods for trade and trade policy analysis organized by the Vi, in cooperation with several programmes at UNCTAD, WTO and ITC, in Geneva in September 2006. The Virtual Institute also makes available ARTNeT resources for researchers on its website and the two partners mutually promote one another's events and projects of interest to their respective audiences.

The World Bank Group
The World Bank has partnered with the Vi to share its analytical work with Vi members through its publication in the Virtual Institute Digital Library. The Bank will also upload selected titles from its subscription service for exclusive use of our members.

World Trade Organization (WTO)
The Vi has established a productive relationship with the WTO, in particular its Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, and the Economic Research and Statistics Division. The WTO has been contributing to the Vi's Geneva-based study tours, organized for post-graduate students of Vi member universities. The Vi and the WTO also work together to support Masters programmes on trade at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and the University of the West Indies. WTO is a major partner in a joint UNCTAD-WTO-ITC project on applied trade and trade policy analysis initiated and managed by the Vi. WTO publications of interest to academia are made available on the site of the Vi.

We gratefully acknowledge support from the following donors:

Carlo Schmid Programme, Germany
The Carlo Schmid Programme has been funding interns to work with the central Vi team in Geneva.

Canadian International Development Agency
CIDA supported the launching of the Virtual Institute in June 2004, as well as the development of its website, building of the network, the first meeting of Vi university members in July 2005 and contributed to the translation of a teaching material on the economics of commodities production and trade into French.

Government of Finland
The government of Finland contributed funding to the translation of a teaching material on the economics of commodities production and trade into French and the organization of a related professional development workshop for academicians from French-speaking LDCs in Africa in Dakar (June 2006). It is also the sponsor of the Vi fellowship programme for academics from Vi member universities in LDCs.

Government of Japan
The Government of Japan provided funding for the development of teaching materials and the organization of teaching/research workshops for academicians from Asian and African least developed countries on economic and legal aspects of International Investment Agreements (Bangkok, November-December 2005) and economics of commodity production and trade (Dar-es-Salaam, January 2006).

Government of Spain
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC) in 2008 donated US$500,000 to fund Virtual Institute activities in Latin America and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for the next two and a half years.

United Nations Development Account
The Vi has recently received funding from the UN Development Account that will serve for the development of teaching materials, and research that will support the localization of these materials; the organization of professional development/networking workshops; and the further development of the Vi website and joint projects among university members of the Vi.