WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/WGTCP/W/230
21 May 2003
(03-2722)
Working Group on the Interaction
between Trade and Competition Policy
SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES PURSUANT TO
PARAGRAPH 24 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
Note by the Secretariat
1. Paragraph 24 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration calls for the provision of enhanced support
for technical assistance and capacity building in the area of the interaction between trade and
competition policy, including policy analysis and development so that developing and least-developed
countries may better evaluate the implications of closer multilateral cooperation for their development
policies and objectives, and human and institutional development.  It indicates that such assistanceshall be provided in cooperation with other relevant intergovernmental organisations, including
UNCTAD, and through appropriate regional and bilateral channels.
2. As requested by the Working Group (WT/WGTCP/M/21, to be issued), this note is to inform
the Group regarding the activities that have been undertaken by the Secretariat pursuant to the
foregoing mandate.  It covers the following aspects:  (i) scope of activities undertaken and
cooperation with other intergovernmental organizations; and (ii) design and content of workshops and
symposia organized by the Secretariat in this subj ect area.  Annex I of the note provides information
on specific activities that have been organized by th e Secretariat or in which it has participated in the
period since the Doha Ministerial Conference.
3. As detailed below, in response to the mandate in paragraph 24 of the Doha Declaration, a
large number of activities have been undertaken by the Secretariat.  A major problem in organizing
and delivering these activities has been the limited Secretariat staff resources in this area. In July2002, an additional staff member was recruited to assist with the work, which has enabled the
Secretariat to step up the level of its activities in this area.
I. SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN AND COOPERATION WITH OTHER
INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
4. The following are the main types of activities that have been undertaken by the Secretariat in
response to the mandate set out in paragraph 24 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration:
• First, the Secretariat has organized a number of regional workshops on the relationship between
competition policy, economic development and the multilateral trading system in addition to the
options before the WTO in this area, in various parts of the developing world.  These regional
workshops are the principal tool through which the Secretariat has sought to respond to the
mandate in paragraph 24.  A list of such workshops is provided in Annex I.This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO.WT/WGTCP/W/230
Page 2
• Second, the Secretariat has participated in an extensive series of workshops that have been
organized by UNCTAD, in addition to two intern ational conferences that were co-organized by
the OECD,1  on matters relevant to paragraph 24 and the proposals before the WTO in this area.
• Third, the Secretariat has organized two one-day Symposia in Geneva on the various issues before
the WTO in relation to the Doha mandate and aspects of the current proposals for a multilateral
framework on competition policy.
• Fourth, the Secretariat has organized two national workshops on the same set of topics that have
been addressed in its regional workshops – i.e, the relationship between competition policy,
economic development and the multilateral trading system in addition to the options before theWTO in this area.
• Fifth, modules on the issues before the WTO in the area of trade and competition policy have
been presented in various multi-subject training courses and other activities organized by the
Secretariat, both in Geneva and in the regions.
• Sixth, and in response to a request by the Working Group (WT/WGTCP/M/18, paragraphs 96-98)
pursuant to the mandate in paragraph 24 of the Doha Declaration, a study has been prepared, with
the assistance of a consultant, on specific issues relating to a possible multilateral framework oncompetition policy (document WT/WGTCP/W/228, issued 19 May 2003).  The study responds, in
particular, to the need for "policy analysis and development" which is identified as part of the
wider mandate for technical assistance and capacity building in paragraph 24.
5. A list of individual activities in the above categories in which the Secretariat has participated
subsequent to the Doha Conference is provided in Annex I to this paper.
6. In carrying out the activities referred to in this  note, the Secretariat has cooperated extensively
with UNCTAD and, to a lesser extent, with other intergovernmental organizations active in this area.In January 2002, the Secretariat organized a meeting of interested representatives of the Secretariats
of UNCTAD, the OECD and the World Bank to discuss possible approaches to implementing the
mandate in paragraph 24 of the Doha Declaration.  At the meeting, the participating agencies agreed
that cooperation between them should be viewed as  an ongoing process, that they would remain in
regular contact and that they would periodically exchange information on upcoming events with aview to facilitating coordination and avoiding unnecessary duplication (WT/WGTCP/M/17,
paragraph 58).
7. Following the above-mentioned meeting, UNCTAD was invited to and contributed a speaker
to all of the regional and national workshops that have been organized by the Secretariat in the area of
the interaction between trade and competition policy since the Doha Ministerial Conference.Similarly, the WTO Secretariat, on the invitation of UNCTAD, has contributed a speaker to each of
the regional workshops and conferences that have been organized by UNCTAD in relation to the post-
Doha mandate on trade and competition policy.  The Secretariat has also benefited from the
participation in several of its workshops by representatives of the OECD Secretariat (from both the
trade and competition sides of the Secretariat), and has participated in two international conferencesdealing with the issues before the WTO in this area  that were co-organized by the OECD.  In addition,
a representative of the World Bank participated in a regional workshop organized by the Secretariat
for the benefit of countries of the Asia-Pacific region, in Bangkok.
8. In several instances, the Secretariat has been unable to respond favourably to requests for its
participation in activities organized by other intergovernmental organizations and/or national donors,and thereby to reciprocate for their participation (in some cases) in WTO events.  This has been due
                                                     
1 One of these, the Seoul Competition Forum and Workshop (November 2002) was also co-organized
by UNCTAD.WT/WGTCP/W/230
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principally to the constraint imposed by the fact that  a given activity or the interest in the Secretariat's
participation in that activity may become known only weeks before the event is to take place and,
therefore, the activity cannot be specified in adva nce in the Secretariat Annual Technical Assistance
Plan.
9. Following the upcoming Fifth Ministerial, the Secretariat's plans call for the organization of
intensive training courses on trade and competition policy for officials from the developing world.Initially, these would be presented for officials from Africa and Asia, respectively.  It is hoped that
these courses can be organized in cooperation with the World Bank.  The Secretariats of UNCTAD
and the OECD would also be invited to participate.
II. DESIGN AND CONTENT OF WORKSHOPS AND SYMPOSIA ORGANIZED BY
THE SECRETARIAT
10. The regional and national workshops organized by the Secretariat in the area of trade and
competition policy are typically of a duration of two to three days.  With respect to the topicsaddressed, the first day of the workshop is generally devoted to discussion of the nature and content of
competition policy and its significance for developing countries.  Typically, this includes an update on
pertinent developments at the national level in the relevant region (or country).  The second and,
where relevant, third days of the workshop are devo ted to a discussion of the Doha mandate on trade
and competition policy, the content of the current proposals for a multilateral framework oncompetition policy, and the pros and cons of those elements.
11. The purpose of the the regional and national workshops organized by the Secretariat in this
area is to provide the participating Members with sufficient information and background on the links
between competition policy, development and the mult ilateral trading system in addition to the nature
and content of the current proposals for a multilateral framework on competition policy to enablethem to assess their own interests in this area and to make an informed judgement in regard to the
decisions to be taken on this issue at the upcoming Ministerial Conference in Cancun.
12. With regard to participation in the various workshops, in the case of the regional workshops,
each participating country is invited to send two representatives – one from its trade ministry and one
from its competition agency, where such an agency exists, or from another ministry withresponsibilities in this area.  In the case of national workshops, the host government is responsible for
nominating participants and typically invites 30-40 representatives from various ministries.
13. Particularly in presenting the regional and national workshops organized by the Secretariat, an
interactive format has been used.  In addition to the setting aside of substantial portions of time for
questions and answers/general discussion following fo rmal presentations by expert speakers, each of
the regional workshops has included two "breakout sessions", in the course of which participants have
had an opportunity to discuss specific questions regarding the subject-matter of the workshop in smallgroups.  The purpose of these sessions is to provide maximum scope for the exchange of views by
participants and expert resource persons.
14. In organizing both the regional and national workshops and the Geneva symposia, the
Secretariat has consistently sought the participation of speakers representing diverse regions of the
world and viewpoints on the issues.  In the case of regional workshops, typically, 50% of the speakersat the workshop come from within the region.  In most cases, the workshops organized by the
Secretariat have also benefited from the participation of Professor Jenny, Chairman of the Working
Group, participating in his personal capacity as a subject-matter expert.WT/WGTCP/W/230
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ANNEX I
ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN PURSUANT TO THE MANDATE FOR TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING IN PARAGRAPH 24 OF THE DOHA
MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
I. REGIONAL WORKSHOPS ORGANIZED BY THE WTO SECRETARIAT
15. Since the Doha Ministerial Conference (November 2001), the following regional workshops
have been organized by the Secretariat for the benefit of countries in the relevant region:
- Regional workshop for the countries of Central America, in Guatemala City,
17-18 September 2002, organized in cooperation with the government of Guatemala and the
Inter-American Development Bank (INTAL);
- Regional workshop for the countries of French-speaking Africa, in Libreville, 9-11 October
2002, organized in cooperation with the government of Gabon.  This workshop was held
back-to-back with an UNCTAD training programme;
- Regional workshop for the countries of English-speaking Africa, in Port-Louis,
12-14 November 2002, organized in cooperation with the government of Mauritius;
- Regional workshop for the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, in Bangkok, 21-23 January
2003, organized in cooperation with the government of Thailand.  The workshop was held
back-to-back with a national workshop on competition policy organised by the Thai
authorities in which the Secretariat also participated;
- Regional workshop for the countries of the Caribbean region, in Kingston, 2-4 April 2003,
organized in cooperation with the government of Jamaica and the Inter-American
Development Bank (INTAL); and
- Regional workshop for the countries of the Arab and Middle-Eastern region, in Cairo,
6-7 May 2003, organized in cooperation with the government of Egypt.
16. Currently, the Secretariat is in the process of organising a regional workshop for the countries
of Latin America (to be held in Buenos Aires, on 18-20 June 2003, in cooperation with the Inter-
American Development Bank (INTAL) and the government of Argentina); a further two-day
workshop for the countries of Africa (to be held in Nairobi on 10-11 July 2003, in cooperation with
the government of Kenya) and a workshop for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (to be held
in Budapest on 17-18 July 2003, in cooperation with the government of Hungary).
II. PARTICIPATION BY THE WTO SECRETARIAT IN ACTIVITIES ORGANIZED
BY OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
17. In 2002, the Secretariat participated in the following workshops organised by UNCTAD that
were relevant to the post-Doha mandate on trade and competition policy:  (i) regional workshop for
countries of the Middle-Eastern region, in Abu Dhabi; (ii) regional workshop for the countries ofLatin America, in Panama City;  (iii) regional workshop for African countries, in Tunis; (iv) regional
workshop for Asia-Pacific countries, in Hong Kong, China; (v) regional workshop for the countries of
Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region, in Odessa; and (vi) regional  workshop for the countries of
COMESA, in Livingstone.WT/WGTCP/W/230
Page 5
18. The Secretariat also participated in an international conference organized by the Fair Trade
Commission of Korea in cooperation with UNCT AD and the OECD, in Seoul, in November 2002.
19. In 2003, the Secretariat has participated in the following workshops organised by UNCTAD
relating to the post-Doha mandate:  (i) regional workshop for the Asia-Pacific region, in KualaLumpur; (ii) regional workshop for African countries, in Nairobi; (iii) regional workshop for Latin
American and Caribbean countries, in Sao Paolo.  It will participate in an UNCTAD conference for
the countries of Central and East Europe and CIS countries, to be held in Tashkent, in June.  In
addition, the Secretariat participated in an international workshop organized by the Korea Fair Trade
Commission in cooperation with the OECD in May 2003.
III. GENEVA SYMPOSIA
20. Two Geneva Symposia on Trade and Competition Policy were organized by the Secretariat in
the period since the Doha Ministerial Conference, on 22 April 2002 and 22 February 2003,
respectively, for the benefit of Geneva and capital-based delegates.  Both events featured
presentations by academic and other experts from both developed and developing countries on the
issues before the Working Group, and were held back-to-back with regular meetings of the Group.
An additional purpose of the Symposia was to facilitate a continuing dialogue between Members ofthe WTO and civil society organizations with interests in the area of trade and competition policy.
For this purpose, representatives of various consumer-oriented, business and other non-governmental
organizations were invited to participate and to contribute speakers particularly to the 2003
Symposium.
IV. NATIONAL WORKSHOPS ORGANIZED BY THE WTO SECRETARIAT
21. Resource constraints require the Secretariat to take a much more selective approach in
organising national as opposed to regional workshops in the area of trade and competition policy, but
it does attempt to do so when a particular need is expressed. In particular, national workshops on trade
and competition policy have been organized for China, in Beijing, on 30-31 July 2002; and for
Lesotho, in Maseru, on 16-17 December 2002. The latter was held back to back with a nationalworkshop for Lesotho organised by UNCTAD.
22. The Secretariat has also been asked to organize national workshops for Ghana, Malaysia and
Venezuela.  Currently, it is expected that these workshops will be organized in the second half of2003.
V. MODULES ON TRADE AND COMPETITION POLICY PRESENTED IN WTO
TRAINING COURSES
23. Apart from its role in relation to regional and other events focusing specifically on the Doha
mandate on trade and competition policy, in 2002 the Secretariat presented modules on trade andcompetition policy in the following multi-subject seminars and courses organized by the WTO,
sometimes in cooperation with other organizations, to address various aspects of the Doha
Development Agenda:  (i) a national seminar for Nigeria on various trade topics;  (ii) an OAS-WTO-
Georgetown University course for Latin American trade officials, in Washington, D.C.;  (iii) an ECA-
WTO regional workshop on various issues, held in Addis Ababa;  (iv) two special sessions of the
WTO Trade Policy course that were held for officials of French-speaking and English-speaking
African countries, in Casablanca and Nairobi, respectively;  (v) an advanced training course for seniortrade policy officials organized by the WTO in cooperation with the Joint Vienna Institute, in Vienna;
and (vi) several sessions of the regular WTO Trade Policy Course, in Geneva.
24. Similarly, in 2003, the Secretariat has presented or will present modules on competition
policy in the following courses and other events:  (i) additional sessions of the regular WTO trade
policy course, in Geneva; (ii) an advanced traini ng course organised for senior Arab governmentWT/WGTCP/W/230
Page 6
officials, in Cairo, in January 2003; (iii) an advanced training course for senior officials of the
countries of English-speaking Africa, in Johannesburg; (iv) an advanced training course for senior
officials of the countries of French-speaking Africa, in Ouagadougou; (v) an advanced training course
for senior officials of the CEEC countries and Central Asia, in Tbilisi; and (vi) a session of the WTO
regular trade policy course for government officials from English-speaking African countries, in
Nairobi.
VI. POLICY ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT
25. In response to a request by the Working Group (WT/WGTCP/M/18, paragraphs 96-98)
pursuant to the mandate in paragraph 24 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, a study has been
prepared, with the assistance of a consultant, on specific issues relating to a possible multilateral
framework on competition policy (document WT/WGTCP/W/228, issued 19 May 2003).
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