RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/M/15
2April 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-1313)
Original: English Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Fifteenth Session
NOTE ONTHE MEETING OF21MARCH 1997
Chairman: H.E. Mr.D.Baichoo (Mauritius)
1. TheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment adopted theagenda ascontained inWTO/AIR/548.
(i) Agenda ItemB:Work Programme oftheCommittee for1997
2. TheCommittee agreed totheproposed dates foritsfuture meetings in1997: 20May,
26September and17November.
3. TheCommittee thenturned toitsproposed Work Programme for1997. TheChairman drew
attention tothedocument entitled "Update ofWork Carried OutBytheCommittee onTrade and
Development".1Pursuant totheoutcome ofhisinformal consultations, heproposed that,forthe
firsthalfofyear,thefocus oftheCommittee 'sworkbeontechnical assistance activities, withaparticular
emphasis onimplementation modalities. Hesuggested thatitbethecoreitemfordiscussion atthe
Committee 'snextmeeting. Forthesecond halfoftheyear, heproposed thattheCommittee undertake
areview oftheparticipation ofdeveloping countries inworld trade. Herecalled thattheCommittee
hadlooked atthisissue lastyear, onthebasis ofSecretariat documentation covering thepasttwenty
years.2Heproposed that,thisyear, examination would focus onashorter timeperiod, covering the
past4-5years, which included the21/2years sincetheWTO entered intoforce. TheSecretariat could
berequested toprepare background papers toprovide thefacts, while theCommittee would analyse
thedata,drawingoutthemeswhichmight,forexample,pointtocertainpolicyconclusions,ortofeatures
ofmarket access developments, ortoaspects ofamore systemic nature related toWTO Agreements.
Hecontinued bysaying that,following consultations heldwithdelegations, hefeltthat,while the
Committee should keepunder review theimplementation ofWTO provisions relating tothespecial
anddifferential treatment ofdeveloping countries inthemultilateral trading system, aanother major
review wasbestcarried outin1998. Herecalled thattheCommittee haddoneamajor review in1996.
This year, henoted thatseveral ofthespecialised WTO Committees would beexamining the
implementation ofthespecial anddifferential treatment provisions ofparticular WTO Agreements:
forexample, onTBT, SPS, Textiles andClothing andRules ofOrigin. HesaidthattheCommittee
would notlosesight ofsuchanimportant matter. However, hewasofviewthatitmight bemore
constructive fortheCommittee toundertake another review oftheissuein1998rather thanthisyear,
toallow more experience tobegained andtoprovide theCommittee withamore medium-term picture
ofimplementation across-the-board onwhich tobaseitsdiscussions.
4. Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthathisdelegation wasoftheviewthattheCommittee
should keepunder continuous review theprovisions onspecial anddifferential treatment, inaccordance
1Circulated indocument WT/COMTD/W/24. dated 14March 1997
2Circulated indocument WT/COMTD/W/15, dated 16August 1996WT/COMTD/M/15
Page2
withtheDecision onMeasures inFavour ofLeast-Developed Countries. TheChairman asked for
examples, towhich therepresentative ofMorocco replied thatthoserelating totheAgreement onTRIPS
constituted oneexample, butthathewould needmore timetopresent alistofother examples.
5. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthathisdelegation considered favourably theproposed review
oftheparticipation ofLDCs inworld trade aspartoftheCommittee 'sWork Programme for1997,
butthathewasnotinaposition today topresent adefinitive view.
6. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
(iii) Agenda itemC:WTO Technical Cooperation andTraining Activities as
They Relate toDeveloping Country Members
- Implementation Modalities
7. TheChairman recalled thattheSecretariat hadcirculated general information about technical
cooperation activities oftheWTO in1996 arecontained indocuments WTO/COMTD/W/14 plus
Addendum 1,WT/COMTD/21 andWT/COMTD/23. Regarding implementation modalities, the
Secretariat hadcirculated arevision ofitsnon-paper onimplementation modalities.3AttheCommittee 's
lastmeeting, itwasagreed thattheSecretariat would revise thenon-paper further toincorporate
comments fromdelegations. Henoted thatnowritten comments hadbeenreceived thusfar,andurged
thatsubmissions bemade quickly. Herecalled thatrepresentatives fromtheITCandUNCTAD had
addressed theCommittee atitslastmeeting inrelation totechnical cooperation activities oftheir
respective organizations. Their comments hadbeenincorporated intotheNoteoftheMeeting.4In
addition, theDraft Annotated Outline fortheManual onTechnical Cooperation andTraining Activities
hadbeencirculated.5Itprovided anoverview oftechnical cooperation activities carried outbythe
WTO since itsentry intoforce, andasynopsis oftheComprehensive andIntegrated WTO Planof
Action fortheLeast-Developed Countries.6TheDraft Annotated Outline wasmerely indicative at
thisstage, andwould benefit fromtheviews ofthedelegations. Herequested thattheSecretariat finalize
theManual before theCommittee 'snextmeeting, planned forMay. TheSecretariat wasalsoreviewing
itstechnical cooperation programmes. Thisreview tookintoaccount thevarious sources offunding
presently available, including those financed bytheWTO regular budget, theWTO Trust Fund for
LDCs, andother ear-marked funds provided bycertain Members. Inconformity withtheprovision
ofParagraph 4(a)oftheGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation,7theSecretariat wasintheprocess of
preparing acomprehensive three-year plan, andthecorresponding annual programme for1997. In
addition,theSecretariatwasalsopreparingacomputer-basedinteractivetechnicalassistanceandtraining
package, tobeusedtointroduce theWTO rules, rights andobligations inthesame manner asthrough
ageneral seminar. Itsmainsupport wasaCD-ROM, butitwould alsobeproduced inasetofdiskettes,
taking intoaccount hardware available inthebeneficiary countries. Dissemination ofthepackage would
also,atalaterstage, takeplace through theTrade andDevelopment WebSitetobeestablished under
theWTO-World Bank Information Technologies forDevelopment Project, incollaboration withother
international institutions suchasUNCTAD andtheITC. Moreover, support would beprovided to
3Circulated asJobN597,dated 3February 1997
4Circulated indocument WT/COMTD/M/14, dated 17March 1997.
5Circulated indocument JobNo.1429, dated 11March 1997
6Circulated indocument WT/MIN(96)/14, dated 7January 1997
7Circulated indocument WT/COMTD/8, dated 15October 1996WT/COMTD/M/15
Page3
usersthrough theWebwithForums forquestions andanswers tobesetupintheTrade andDevelopment
WebSite.
8. TheChairmancontinuedbysayingthathewantedtosharewithdelegationsthathewasexploring
possibilities withsenior management intheWTO toscale-up thetechnical cooperation activities of
theWTO, inresponse toageneral desire expressed bydelegations. Hewasnotinaposition today
togivemore details, buthoped tobeabletodosointheverynearfuture, atwhich timetheCommittee
would revert tothismatter.
9. TherepresentativeofSwitzerlandpresentedproposalsconcerningtheimplementationmodalities
ofWTO technical cooperation. Hereferred totheSecretariat 'snon-paper onimplementation modalities,
dated 3February 1997. HecitedSection 2,Paragraph A,andwelcomed theideathatanofficial or
anoffice bedesignated asthecentral point forinteraction withtheWTO, andsuggested thatitalso
serve thesame purpose foralltrade-related technical cooperation activities. Concerning Section 2,
Paragraph B,hesuggested thattheselection ofparticipants should alsobedoneaccording toobjective
criteria tobedefined bytheTechnical Cooperation andTraining Division (theTCTD henceforth) of
theSecretariat, andshould include qualifications, experience, activities intheWTO relevant field,
etc.Concerning Section 3,Paragraph C,hereferred tothestatement thattheTCTD "...shall, within
theareas ofcompetence andexpertise oftheWTO, develop, execute andparticipate ininter-agency
programmes" andasked wether theverbs “develop ”and“execute ”meant thatitwould become
responsible fortheelaboration andadministration ofinter-agency programmes. Ifso,hewondered
iftheSecretariat hadthenecessary experience andhuman resources tocarry outsuchfunctions.
Concerning Section 4,herecalled thattheWTO Council haddecided thatextra-budgetary contributions
fortechnical cooperation should betransferred intoaTrust Fund, while suchactivities should follow
theGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation, andthatthebudgetary proposal should contain anestimate
ofwork hours allocated byeachWTO division. Since theThree-Year Planwould betheprincipal
instrument tomanage technical cooperation, hesuggested thatitbecarried outintwostages. First,
theTCTD should submit adraftThree-Year Plannolaterthan1September intheyearpreceding the
projects proposed toensure thattheybeconsistent withtheGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation.
They should contain descriptions andestimated costs, inaddition toproposed funding forprojects.
TheBudget Committee would thendecide ontheshare oftheregular WTO budget tobeallocated,
taking intoaccount voluntary contributions totheTrust Fund. TheTrust Fund should becomposed
oftwowindows, withoneear-marked forparticular projects andonenon-ear-marked. Thenon-ear-
marked window could beusedtofinance anyproject fromtheThree-Year Plan. Contributions tothe
Trust Fund should beaccepted onlyforprojects which appeared ontheDraft Three-Year Plan. In
thesecond stage, theTCTD would propose arevised Three-Year Planwhich would indicate themodes
ofdelivery ofevery program, including theimplications interms ofresources andthefunding
arrangements. TheCTD would thenadopt thefinalized Three-Year Plan, ifpossible before theend
ofeachyear. Finally, henoted thathisdelegation would submit itsproposals inwriting, incorporating
anysuggestions from delegations.
10. Therepresentative ofMorocco stressed theimportance oftheproposed Manual andhoped
itwould beaspractical andbriefaspossible, withupdates asnecessary. Hewaspleased thataThree-
YearPlanhadbeenconsidered, asitwould contribute totheefficiency oftechnical cooperation activities.
Hesuggested thatmore information beprovided about theIntegrated Program forAfrica between the
WTO, theITCandUNCTAD, since ithadoffered agood example ofcooperation. Heurged that
evaluations should result ineffective review andbedoneatanintegrated-program level.
11. Therepresentative ofCanada emphasised theimportance which hisdelegations attached to
theManual andhoped thatitwould beaconstant reference toolwhich would beupdated ifandwhen
necessary. Hesuggested that,inthecontext ofthisexercise, WTO might want toconsult other
institutions which provided technical cooperation, either onamultilateral orbilateral basis, toidentifyWT/COMTD/M/15
Page4
anyoverlaps orgaps. TheManual would alsobeauseful input fortheHigh-Level Meeting onLeast-
developed countries.
12. Therepresentative ofCuba stressed thatimplementation modalities ingeneral should beflexible
mechanisms torespond totheneeds ofrecipients onanequitable basis, andincompliance withthe
Guidelines forTechnical Cooperation. Hehoped thatdeveloping countries inallregions would benefit
andthatuniversality beensured. Hewelcomed thesuggestions oftherepresentative ofSwitzerland
regarding afocal point toenhance coordination oftrade programs among allinstitutions. Hehoped
thattheThree-Year Planwould beasimple procedure andwould notemulate some ofthemid-term
reviews intheUNsystem, which sometimes rantheriskofdistracting fromthetechnical assistance
efforts themselves.
13. TherepresentativeofEgyptwelcomedthenon-paperonimplementationmodalities,andstressed
thatthemodalities notdeviate fromtheGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation. Shewaslooking forward
toreceiving thewritten proposal bytherepresentative ofSwitzerland, andasked howthedateof
1September mentioned inrelation totheDraft Three-Year Planwould bereconciled withthedate
of31October setoutintheGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation. Shesaidthattheproposed focal
point might bedifficult toestablish, duetothediversity oftechnical cooperation within acountry,
ranging fromTBTtoagricultural programs, andother matters. Sheasked theSecretariat howitwould
handlerequestsfortechnicalcooperationfromMembers;wetherpreferenceswouldbegivenonaregional
basis, inorder ofsubmission, orifsome other methodology would beused. Shesupported the
preparation oftheManual.
14. Therepresentative ofJapan referred toParagraph 4(d)ofthenon-paper onImplementation
Modalities, andasked whether technical cooperation provided bytheWTO would bebased exclusively
ontherequests ofMembers asstated. Hewondered whether provisions oftechnical cooperation by
donor countries would beexcluded asaresult. Therepresentative oftheSecretariat responded that
theGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation stated thattheSecretariat would respond torequests since
itoperated onademand-driven basis. However, heacknowledged thatitwould benecessary totake
intoaccount thatcertain donor funds hadconditions orpriorities.
15. Therepresentative ofIndia noted thesignificance oftheprovisions inParagraph 2(b)ofthe
non-paperonImplementationModalities,regardingtheobjectivecriteriafortheselectionofparticipants,
which wasalsohighlighted bytherepresentative ofSwitzerland. HewasoftheviewthattheManual
wasthemostimportant project oftheCommittee atthismoment andemphasised thatitshould bebased
ontheGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation. Hereferred toParagraph 3oftheDraft Outline forthe
Manual regarding thedetermination ofbeneficiaries, andsaidthatresource-constraints should betaken
intoaccount. Concerning Paragraph 4,heasked what wasmeant by"geographical balance".
Concerning Paragraph 5,hesuggested thattraining activities should alsoinclude national institutions
intherecipient countries, inthelightofthehighcosts oftraining inSwitzerland.
16. Therepresentative ofZimbabwe urged thattheviews ofrecipient countries beconsidered in
determining technical cooperation andemphasized theimportance ofadhering totheGuidelines for
Technical Cooperation. These activities should allow forflexibility, simplicity, andadaptability vis-a-vis
thebeneficiaries. Hehoped thattheManual would beproduced assoonaspossible, andwould be
reviewed andupdated asnecessary. Helooked forward toreceiving thewritten submission by
Switzerland, andmentioned thathisdelegation would haveadditional ideas regarding implementation
modalities atalaterstage.
17. Therepresentative ofBangladesh referred toParagraph 2(a)ofthenon-paper onImplementation
Modalities andnoted thatmostrecipient countries hadorganizations responsible forexternal resources,
sothere should belittledifficulty inlocating acentral focalpoint. Concerning Paragraph 5,heurgedWT/COMTD/M/15
Page5
thatbeneficiaries beinvolved tothefullest extent possible, sothattechnical cooperation programs would
beframedinaccordancetotheirneeds.Althoughbilateraldonorshadexpertiseincertainareas,balanced
negotiations would provide abetter framework fortheimplementation oftheprojects.
18. Therepresentative ofPakistan saidhisdelegation would forward comments regarding thenon-
paper onImplementation Modalities inwriting. Heappreciated thecomments provided bythe
representative ofSwitzerland, andsupported itsproposal regarding afocal point forallinstitutions.
Although theideacould bepursued inthelongterm, hewasofviewthatitwould bedifficult, asvarious
Ministries dealtwithdifferent aspects related totrade. Hesupported theelement ontraining oftrainers
asnoted inparagraph (v)oftheAnnex ofthenon-paper onImplementation Modalities, andasked
wether theSecretariat hadanyprior experience inthisregard. Hewasofview thatthediscussion
regarding geographical distribution should bebased ontheGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation and
notimpact thepriorities already set.
19. Therepresentative ofJapan wanted toclarify apossible misinterpretation ofhispriorquestion
regarding thebasisofdetermining need, andemphasized thattechnical cooperation should bedemand-
driven. Henoted thattheentire Japanese Cooperation Program wasbased onthisprinciple.
20. Therepresentative ofElSalvador welcomed thecontinuing relationship withtheTCTD. She
recalled thatsince lastyear, herdelegation hadexpressed itssupport forpractical training programs
forofficials. Sherequested further consideration ofthismatter bytheSecretariat andadded thather
delegation would bewilling tocooperate. Shewould provide comments lateronthesubstance ofthe
Manual. Shehoped thatgeographic balance would bemaintained.
21. Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthattheManual hadthepotential ofbeing most useful
andaskedforclarificationregardingParagraph3oftheDraftAnnotatedOutline,concerningthecountries
engaged intheprocess ofaccession totheWTO. Shenoted thatassistance tothesecountries wasfunded
separately from thebudget fortechnical cooperation. Although shedidnotwanttodenysupport to
acceding governments fromtheWTO, shesuggested thatsuchsupport beconsidered separately from
other technical cooperation activities asassistance toacceding governments wasstructurally different.
Shesuggested thatthelanguage berephrased accordingly.
22. Therepresentative ofHaitireferred toParagraph 3oftheDraft Annotated Outline oftheManual
andsupported theinclusion oftheprivate sector asabeneficiary oftechnical assistance. Heasked
theSecretariat toclarify howthiswould becarried about since ittraditionally dealt onlywith
governments. Indoing so,room formanoeuvre should beprovided inorder toavertpossible obstacles.
23. Therepresentative ofMadagascar referred toParagraph 1(vii) ofthenon-paper on
Implementation Modalities, andrequested clarification. Heurged avoiding discrimination against
countries thatwere lesswell-equipped. Hesuggested thatdatabeprovided viatheInternet, which
could reduce headquarters resources, ortravel ofexperts. Herecalled thattheDirector-General had
organized ameeting withtheWorld Bankrecently about related issues andwondered about theproposed
solutions.
24. Therepresentative ofNorway saidthathisdelegation would provide comments atalaterstage.
25. Therepresentative ofSriLanka hoped thattheThree-Year Planwould beflexible, timely and
pertinent totheneeds ofLDCs. Heemphasized theneedforgreater availability ofWTO consultants,
particularly toassist withprocedures regarding anti-dumping andcountervailing duties. Hesaidthat
special emphasis should beplaced ontheManual.WT/COMTD/M/15
Page6
26. Therepresentative ofCote-d-Ivoire saidthatdonors should notberefused togivetechnical
assistance. Sheasked forclarification onPoint 2(c)onthenon-paper onImplementation Modalities,
andwondered whothelocal trainers would beselected. Itcould raise issues ofavailability. The
Chairman replied thattherecipient government would ultimately beresponsible forselecting local
trainers.
27. Therepresentative ofZimbabwe hoped thattheManual would beproduced byMay, and
supported theideas presented thusfarintheDraft Annotated Outline.
28. TheChairman urged delegations tosubmit theircomments inwriting toenable theSecretariat
totakethem intoaccount inrevising thenon-paper onImplementation Modalities.
29. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
(iv) Agenda itemD:High-Level Meeting onLeast-Developed Countries
- Progress Report bytheChairperson oftheSub-Committee
onLeast-Developed Countries
30. TheChairman recalled thatpreparations fortheHigh-Level Meeting would beapriority for
delegations forthefirsthalfofthisyear, andbedealtwithprimarily bytheSub-Committee onLeast-
Developed Countries. Heinvited theChair oftheSub-Committee totakethefloortogivedelegations
aprogress-report onthestateofpreparations.
31. TheChair oftheSub-Committee saidthattheSecretariat hadbooked thelarge UNGeneral
Assembly conference room atthePalais desNations for26-27 June. Sherecalled that, atitsrecent
meeting on28February, theSub-Committee hadagreed thattheviews oftheleast-developed countries
should beoneoftheparameters onwhich theMeeting should bebuilt. Accordingly, theSecretariat
hadbegun aprocess ofinformal consultations withrepresentatives ofleast-developed countries.
Following letters thatwere senttotheIMF, World Bank andUNDP, inviting these organizations
toco-organize theHigh-Level Meeting withtheWTO, ITCandUNCTAD, theSecretariat heldits
firstinter-agency meeting on20March inWTO. TheSecretariat hadreported toherthatthismeeting
hadgonewell; thattheUNDP, World Bank andIMFwerefullyseized oftheimportance oftheHigh-
Level Meeting andwere actively engaged inhelping inwhatever waytheycould toprepare forit,
andthatfurther regular meetings ofaninter-agency nature would takeplace. AsAmbassador Baichoo
hadalready mentioned attheinformal meeting oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment on
Wednesday, he,Mr.Richard Eglin fromtheSecretariat andherself would bevisiting theWorld Bank
andtheIMFinWashington from 2-4April, withaview tojump-starting thepreparatory process.
TheSecretariat aimed tobeinaposition tocirculate adraftAgenda fortheHigh-Level Meeting by
theendofApril, based ontheJointInformal NotebytheITC,UNCTAD andWTO Secretariats, dated
13February. Apreliminary budget estimate wascurrently being prepared bytheSecretariat. ATrust
Fund hadbeensetupintheWTO Secretariat. Sheurged anydelegation whowould bewilling and
inaposition tomake afinancial contribute totheHLM, todosobymeans ofthisTrust Fund. Although
thisFund would bemanaged bytheWTO Secretariat, theHLM would notbefinanced outoftheWTO
budget, butrather byindividual governments, irrespective oftheirMembership ofWTO ortheUnited
Nations.
32. TheChair oftheSub-Committee continued bysaying thattheSecretariat wascollaborating
closely withtheothercoreintergovernmental agencies, andparticularly withITCandtheWorld Bank's
IFC,toenlist theactive support oftheprivate sector fortheMeeting. TheSecretariat wasintheprocessWT/COMTD/M/15
Page7
oforganising aseparate development-NGO seminar afewweeks before theMeeting, tosupport the
Meeting andtoenlist theparticipation ofNGOs where possible; some ofthem were veryactive in
least-developed countries. Itwould begood tohavethem onboard asallies.
33. Therepresentative ofBangladesh noted deepappreciation fortheChair'sefforts, especially
towards associating theLDCs inthepreparatory process. TheHigh-Level Meeting should beobjective-
oriented, andwould require representation fromdeveloped countries aswell. Hehoped thattheresults
wouldbetangible,measurable,andachievable.Hehadtakeneveryopportunitytopublicizethemeeting,
and,inthiscontext, citedhisappeal attherecent Human Rights Forum.
34. TherepresentativeoftheUnitedStatesappreciatedtheChair'seffortsandsaidthathisdelegation
would continue tocontribute tothemeeting 'sobjectives. Hewasofview thatthemost important
outcome oftheHigh-Level Meeting should leadtoabetter awareness oftechnical cooperation activities
extended bytheparties totheMeeting. Thus far,aninformation gapexisted interms ofactivities
offered bytheWorld Bank andtheIMF, especially regarding capacity building inLDCs. Since the
proposed datefortheMeeting attheendofJunewasonly about 90daysaway, hisdelegation was
ofviewthatthisdatewaspremature, raising concerns thattheMeeting would beheld, butwould
lacktangible achievements. Hisdelegation wasoftheview thattheMeeting should notbeheldat
theendofJune, butrather atalaterstage. Herequested theSecretariat toundertake logistical
arrangements toconsider alternative dates early intheFallofthisyear. Alaterdatewould allow for
greater coordination among co-organizers, andforconsultations withtheprivate sector. Inregard to
participation,hesupportedtheinclusionofallleastdevelopedcountries,regardlessofWTOmembership,
allWTO Members aswellasthose governments whowere intheprocess ofacceding toWTO.
35. Therepresentative ofNepal, asobserver, waspleased thatinput, interms ofpriorities ofthe
agenda, wassought from theLDCs themselves, andnoted progress inconsultations withMembers
inGeneva. Hehoped thatthedraft agenda would becirculated assoon aspossible toallow for
preparation time, andthatthisMeeting would bedifferent from other meetings which hadfailed to
produce results. Heurged thattheMeeting takeplace asearlyaspossible tomaintain themomentum,
andwasencouraged thatitwould seektheparticipation oftheprivate sector, andthatNGOs would
beinvolved prior totheHigh-Level Meeting.
36. Therepresentative ofCanada recalled thathisdelegation hadinitially proposed theideaof
aHigh-Level Meeting. It'smainpurpose wastobetter integrate, aswellastoenhance theefficiency
of,trade-related technical assistance, withaview toensuring avoidance ofgapsoroverlaps. He
recalled thatthediscussions within thisCommittee intheFalloflastyear, thecontents ofitsreport
totheGeneral Council, andtheMinisterial Declaration done inSingapore hadallemphasized the
importance ofanintegrated approach inthetrade-related technical assistance activities ofthevarious
Organizations, with special emphasis toincreasing efficiency intheprovision oftechnical assistance
forhuman andinstitutional capacity building. Notwithstanding, hisdelegation could alsosupport other
elements, insofar astheywere setoutintheWTO PlanofAction forLeast-developed Countries,
including further market-access liberalization aslongasthatwasunderstood tobeonanautonomous
basis. Delegates should becareful nottogobeyond theparameters ofwhathadalready beenagreed
inthePlanofAction. Hisassessment ofthepresent stateofpreparations fortheHigh Level Meeting
waslessoptimistic thanthatoftheChair. Important substantive elements ofthemeeting 'sagenda
hadyettobeagreed byMembers; discussions withsome oftheinstitutions hadindicated thataheavy
participation andco-organizer status hadnotalways shown therequired enthusiasm. Hecitedarecent
letter sentbytheWTO totheWorld Bank andIMF, andexpressed some doubt astowhether all
delegations would support theideas contained inthisletter. Inaddition, hebelieved thatdiscussion
withthese organizations thusfarhadnotbeenasenthusiastic asanticipated. Hewasconcerned aboutWT/COMTD/M/15
Page8
thelackofengagement byMembers inthepreparatory process, asmanifested byalackofinput for
example through non-papers. Therecent meeting oftheDevelopment Assistance Committee ofthe
OECD hadalsomade himlessoptimistic, asthismeeting, (held primarily todiscuss ways theDAC
could contribute toasuccessful High Level Meeting), hadbeenonlysparsely attended byofficials
withatrade policy background. Greater national coherence between trade anddevelopment policies
among DAC members hadconsequently notbeenadvanced asmuch ashadbeenhoped. Forthese
reasons, hewasoftheviewthatholding theHigh-Level Meeting bytheendofJunewould berisky
anddifficult. There wasnoquestion butthatthemaininterest which hadtobepursued wasasuccessful
conference which achieved some concrete results; thedatewasfromthisperspective ofsecond order
ofimportance.
37. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthatinanorganizational sense, thetarget
dateof26-27 JunefortheHigh-Level Meeting could beachieved. Therestwould beamatter ofpolitical
will. Hisdelegation supported theproposed date, andencouraged other delegations todoso.
38. Therepresentative ofNorway thanked theChair forherefforts, andsaidthatitwashis
delegation 'sviewthatitwaspossible toholdtheMeeting bytheendofJune. Preparations werealready
under way,andheinterpreted theSingapore Ministerial Declaration toimply thattheproposed time,
"assoonaspossible", waspartofthismandate. Inorder tokeepthisdeadline, itwasimportant
tohaveafocused agenda which would laythefoundation fortangible results. Hewasofviewthat
market access wasextremely important, andurged thatitshould receive asmuch attention astrade-
related technical cooperation.
39. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthattheHigh-Level Meeting should beprepared ina
careful manner inorder toachieve operational andspecific results. Thedateshould besetinlight
ofthepreparations made byMembers. While hehadnoobjection toameeting inJune, hewasaware
thatessential conditions werenotyetmet,andshould bereached quickly ifthetarget datewastobe
kept.
40. Therepresentative ofJapan saidthathisdelegation attached fundamental importance toa
successful High-Level Meeting andstressed thatsuchanobjective required afocused agenda. He
supported thestatement bytherepresentative ofCanada whoemphasized thatthecoreelement ofthe
agenda should becapacity building. Asregards timing, hehoped thattheHigh-Level Meeting would
bewell-prepared. Hewasnotyetinaposition tosaywhether theendofJunewasanacceptable date.
Hisdelegation was,however, notwedded totheendofJune.
41. Therepresentative ofKorea saidthat,eventhough hehadnotreceived official instructions
fromthehome government, hesupported theHigh-Level Meeting andhoped thatitwould besuccessful
andproductive interms ofprinciples andvalues. More clearly defined objectives fortheMeeting
were needed. Regarding thematter ofthedate, hewasoftheviewthatthedateshould besetasa
function ofthetimefactor needed toensure asuccessful andmeaningful outcome oftheMeeting.
42. Therepresentative ofMadagascar noted thatthiswasthethirdmeeting inwhich theHigh-Level
Meeting wasdiscussed. Hesupported theJunedateandstressed thatthemeeting wasafirstphase
inanongoing process. Hedidnotunderstand theanxiety among certain delegations asregards timing,
astheproblems wereformidable andneeded priority attention. Hehoped thatthepreparatory process
would becarried outinamore expeditious manner, andsaidthecurrent pacewastooslow. TheHigh-
Level Meeting should designate concrete objectives according toinitiatives which havebeenexpressed
bytheLDCs themselves. Inthislighthesuggested thatamemorandum bedrafted setting outtheneedsWT/COMTD/M/15
Page9
oftheleast-developed countries, based onideas clearly expressed bytheleast-developed countries
themselves.
43. Therepresentative ofHaiti acknowledged theconcern bysome delegations overtiming, but
wasoftheviewthattheimpetus waspresent. Heurged thatpreparations fortheHigh-Level Meeting
bespedupinacalculated waywithaviewtokeeping withtheJunedeadline. Later, ifinsurmountable
difficulties would arise, thetiming could bereevaluated. Torealize thisobjective, heurged that
delegations beprepared toholdadditional meetings ifandwhen necessary.
44. TheChairoftheSub-Committeeacknowledgedthatdifficultiesexistedinthepreparatoryprocess,
andagreed thatmuch work hadstilltobedone. Shesaidthatthiswasexactly whyshewould need
support andappealed tothedelegations oftheUnited States andCanada, among others, fortheir
confidence, andsupport forherupcoming visittoWashington. Shewasconvinced thattheHigh-Level
Meeting would takeplace asscheduled. Sheintended, soonafterherreturn from Washington, to
organize aninformal meeting oftheSub-Committee toassess thesituation8.Theparticipation of
UNCTAD wasset.Asregards theparticipation from governments attheMeeting, shesaidthatit
would bedifficult toexclude members ofother institutions, justbecause theywerenotaMember of
WTO, andproposed thattheywould allbeinvited. Regarding theagenda, shesaidthattheparameters
wereclearandwerebasedontheWTOPlanofActionforLeast-developedCountries.Furtherdiscussion
onthispoint would delay themeeting further. Shewould beavailable forinformal consultations.
Given thefactthatWorld Bank, IMFandUNDP werebeing asinvited asco-organizers, itwasdesirable
tooffer asortofco-ownership oftheMeeting tothese Organizations.
45. TherepresentativeoftheUnitedStatesstressedthathispriorcommentswerenotdirectedtowards
thecurrent paceofpreparations. Hesupported theChair'sefforts, andsaidthatthepreparations for
theHigh-Level Meeting would nothavecome thisfarwithout herinitiatives. However, thepreparatory
process wascomplicated andwould takeongreater riskwiththecurrent target date. AMeeting as
early asplanned would beagamble which might affect theachievement ofatangible outcome. He
would beopentorevisiting theissue afterhervisit totheBank andtheFund inWashington.
46. Therepresentative ofNorway wasofviewthattoomuch timehadbeenalready beenspent
inthepreparatory process fortheHigh-Level Meeting. Hebelieved thatdelaying themeeting until
theFallwould result inalossoffocus, especially afterthesummer holidays. Heurged thatitbeheld
asplanned.
47. Therepresentative ofCanada replied thattheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment needed
firsttoreach aconsensus onthecentral focus oftheHigh-Level Meeting before deciding uponadate,
andnoted thatthere stillexisted differences ofviewbetween hisdelegation andthatofNorway asto
whatshould constitute thecentral focus oftheMeeting. Until these substantive differences hadbeen
resolved andthebroad linesoftheagenda fortheMeeting agreed, discussions overadateforthe
Meeting would notgofar.
48. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
(v) Agenda ItemE:Other Business
8Thisinformal meeting oftheSub-Committee hasbeenscheduled for8April 1997WT/COMTD/M/15
Page10
49. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland introduced hiscountry 'srevised schedule fortheGeneral
System ofPreferences (GSP), which hadbeennotified totheWTO. Thelistwould bedistributed
soon9.
50. Therepresentative ofCanada requested thathisdelegation 'sdetailed comments regarding the
preparation process oftheHigh-Level Meeting, which hehadtransmitted totheSecretariat atthelast
meeting oftheCommittee inFebruary, beincorporated intheMinutes ofthatmeeting10.
51. TherepresentativeofBangladeshexpressedhisdelegation'sappreciationofthenewGSPscheme
ofSwitzerland.
52. TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee hadreceived requests fromcertain intergovernmental
organizations forobserver status. Thelistofthese Organizations wasincluded indocument
WT/COMTD/W/22. Hisinformal consultations hadindicated thatdelegations would prefer towait
untiltheconsultations, being carried outbytheChairman oftheGeneral Council onthismatter, had
beenconcluded before taking uptheissue intheCommittee. Hetherefore intended tosetthismatter
aside forthetimebeing intheCommittee.
53. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthathisdelegation hadnotyetreached
adefinitive viewontheissueofobserver status, andthatitwould holdfurther consultations. Hehoped
thattheChairman would keepincontact withtheChairman oftheGeneral Council onthismatter.
Herecognized thespecificity ofthenature ofthisCommittee andputMembers onnotice thathis
delegation might, atanappropriate time, request consideration ofthisiteminthisCommittee.
54. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
9Notification ofchanges toSwitzerland 'sGSPhavesubsequently beencirculated indocument
WT/COMTD/N/7
10Subsequently circulated indocument WT/COMTD/M/14/Rev.1