The inauguration of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Work Programme on AfT at the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial was widely hailed as the creation of a permanent policy link between the aid and trade debates, which (apart from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)-European Union (EU) process) had previously been conducted largely in isolation from one another. The creation of the AfT programme was particularly welcomed by developing countries, which had been calling for aid flows to build supply-side capacity and bridge gaps in export growth with more developed economies. The link between aid and trade was particularly seen as beneficial for the small and vulnerable economies (SVEs) and least developed countries (LDCs), as a means to overcome their relative isolation and narrow engagement with the global trading economy, and their vulnerability to sudden changes in revenue and welfare resulting from trade policy shifts at home and abroad.