WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/392
23 March 2001
(01-1444)
Original:  English
OKINAWA WORKSHOP ON TRADE-RELATED CAPACITY-BUILDING
CHAIRMAN'S SUMMARY BY MR. SHIOJIRI
Communication from Japan
The following communication, dated 15 March 2001, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Japan with the request that it be circulated to Members.
_______________
OKINAWA WORKSHOP ON TRADE-RELATED CAPACITY-BUILDING
CHAIRMAN'S SUMMARY BY MR. SHIOJIRI
1. The Okinawa Workshop on Trade-Related Capacity-Building was held from 2 to
4 March 2001, in Nago, Okinawa, Japan, co-sponsored by WTO, UNDP, OECD/DAC and the
Government of Japan with the participation of representatives from developed and developing
countries as well as international organizations rela ted to trade-related capacity-building (Participants'
list is attached).  Mr. Kojiro Shiojiri and Mr. Shigeyuki Hiroki from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Japan chaired the meeting.
2. This workshop was held against backdrop of increasing awareness on the importance of trade-
related capacity-building.  The G8 Communiqué issued at the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit last year
stated "In view of critical importance of trade for the development of developing countries,
trade-related capacity-building should be substantially expanded, which would be conductive to the
more effective participation of developing countries in the system and to fuller utilization of improved
market access in their favour."  Such importance of trade-related capacity-building has also been
emphasized in various for a related to both trade and development.
3. The objective of this workshop was to explore ways for mainstreaming and strengthening
trade-related capacity-building which was important  for both development strategy and strengthening
multilateral trading system.
4. In the Session 1, which focused on capacity-building in the Least Developed Countries
(LDCs), explanations were made regarding the curren t efforts to review and strengthen the Integrated
Framework (IF).  Support was expressed among participants on the recent proposal for a pilot scheme,
including establishment of the Steering Committee (IFSC).  It was recognized that more could be
done to enhance this joint endeavour of the International Community.
5. There were requests from core agencies of IF for more contribution to the Integrated
Framework Trust Fund (IFTF).  With this regard, it was noted that the bilateral technical assistance
was another important component of IF, and bilateral assistance should be coordinated through an
integrated approach.  It was pointed out that the ownership of recipients is essential.  DevelopingWT/L/392
Page 2
countries need to bring trade-related projects to mainstream in their own country development
strategy such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (P RSP) or United Nations Development Assistance
Framework (UNDAF).  While IF was formulated for the capacity-building of the LDCs, the
underlying principles of IF was formulated for the other developing countries.
6. Participants shared the view that further progre ss in IF was important in view of the Third
United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.
7. In the Session 2, which focused on specific problems of individual WTO Agreements,
participants could deepen the understanding about the usefulness as well as difficulties in
implementing technical assistance.  On these subjects presentations were made by EU, WTO,
Thailand and concrete example explained by Japan.  It was recognized that the WTO could play an
important role as a focal point for exchange of information and sharing experiences among donors and
developing countries and that a regional approach could be effective.  Although the WTO Secretariatprovides technical assistance, other institutions such as the World Customs Organization (WCO) have
unique expertise in specific areas.  Therefore, cooperation among international organizations should
be encouraged.
8. It was pointed out that when new WTO rules are to be negotiated in the future on such issues
as competition or trade facilitation, the capacity-building component should be incorporated.  It wasalso indicated that the benefits of WTO Agreements  should be clearly demonstrated to the domestic
constituency of developing countries in order to gain political also pointed out that technical
assistance should be focused on and directly supportive of the domestic trade law and policy
adjustment for objective and effective implementation of the WTO Agreements rather than aiming at
general upgrading of capacity.
9. It was understood that "agreement by agreement " approach did take into consideration the
different situations of each developing country and was complementary to "country by country"
approach.
10. In the Session 3, which focused on strengthening "country by country" approach, it was
pointed out that this approach was accepted as common practice among aid community.  DACintroduced discussions among member countries for the Guidelines for trade-related
capacity-building.  Japan explained its programme for actions dealing with Asian economic crises
with a particular focus on SMEs in Indonesia, and transitional economy in Vietnam.  Japan also
introduced capacity-building related to the im plementation of WTO Agreements within APEC.
11. "Country by country" approach has been already accepted as an established and one of the
most effective aid methods. It was recognized th at this approach could be also applicable for
trade-related capacity-building.  It was also recognized that "country by country" approach could becomplementary to other approaches, IF and "agreement by agreement" approach.  To facilitate the
capacity-building and avoid duplication of assistance, coordination among donor countries and
organizations needs to be strengthened, considering existing collaboration mechanism.  In such
process, it is indispensable to maintain transparency and accountability.  Coherence with trade policy
in recipient countries should also be taken into consideration.  In addition to "country by country"approach which have been taken by aid community, regional approach and south-south cooperation
can be further explored in the area of trade-relate d capacity-building as a new attempt.  It is important
that developing countries support other developing countries in the field of trade-related activities.
Involvement of private and academic sectors is also effective to strengthen the capacity.
12. In the last session, a number of comments were made on the overall issues.  Some
emphasized that bilateral assistance should be more effectively utilized in conjunction with IF and
other multilateral efforts of technical assistance.  It was pointed out that major bilateral donors wereWT/L/392
Page 3
expected to take more active leadership in promotin g capacity-building.  It was also pointed out that
the costs of compliance with the WTO Agreements should be balanced by the benefits of the
integration into the world economy and such cost s be internalised in the development policies.
13. Some pointed out that investment dimension should be more focused in this area of
capacity-building, while others raised the importance of public awareness and public participation inorder to involve wider stakeholders including private sectors in the process of domestic policy
formulation.  Empowerment, ownership and governance should be stressed for developing countries
to formulate their national capacity-building programmes.
14. Regional dimension was also an important part of  discussions.  Best experiences learned from
other countries could be shared and utilized, for example, in the framework of south-south
cooperation.
15. As a result of the workshop, there was common understanding on a number of issues
including:
(a) This workshop was a fruitful experience, serving as a unique opportunity to
strengthen the collaboration among trade community and aid community from
developing countries, bilateral donors and international organizations.  This type of
activities should be continued.
(b) Integrated Framework, "agreement by agreement" approach and "country by country"
approach complement one another.  It is important to learn experiences of other WTO
Members in view of the common challenges they are facing.  They expect to show
tangible development and visible outcomes including; IF for pilot scheme,
"agreement by agreement" approach for Customs Valuation, SPS, TBT and TRIPSAgreement, and "country by country" approach for "APEC Strategic Plan" so that
they can attract more public interest and further mobilize financial resources.
(c) One of the most essential factors to effectively promote capacity-building is
strengthening and respecting the ownership of developing countries.  If developing
countries mainstream trade-related capacity-building in their respective developmentpolicies, assistance efforts by the bilateral donors and international organizations will
be much encouraged.
(d) The result of this workshop and the follow-up in each country and international
organization are expected to become useful input n the efforts towards the Third
United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in May.
(e) In addition to the capacity-building, strengthening supply side of the developing
countries and improving market access for their products are also important for theirtrade and development.WT/L/392
Page 4
OKINAWA WORKSHOP ON TRADE-RELATED CAPACITY-BUILDING
Participants' List
Australia
Mr. Paul Flanagan
Director, Development Policy, Australian Agency for International Development
Bangladesh
Mr. MD.Shafiqul Islam
Joint Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of FinanceMr. A.K.M.Abu Bakar Siddique
Joint Secretary (Import and Internal Trade), Ministry of Commerce
Chile
Mr. Julio Antonio Brava Yubini
First Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Egypt
Ambassador Dr. Mahmoud Hassan Farghal
Assistant Minister, Ministry of Foreign AffairsMr. Ayman Abdulsamie Zaineldine
Counselor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
European Commission
Mr. Ignacio Garcia Bercero
Head of Unit, European Commission / BelgiumWT/L/392
Page 5
France
Ms. Florence Dobelle
Head of Unit "Market Access Regional Agreement and Development"
Indonesia
Mr. Herry Soetanto
Director, Multilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Trade
Mr. Mohamad Oemar
Deputy Director, Multilateral Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Kenya
Mr. James Gatobu Tuamwari
Deputy Chief Economist and Head of Depa rtment, Regional and International
Economic Cooperation Department, Mi nistry of Finance and Planning
Mr. Solomon Kamau Huria
Deputy Director of Trade, Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry
Tanzania
Mr. Mtimila Madeje Sembelu Mtimila
Director of Internal Trade, Ministry of Industry and Trade
Thailand
Mr. Krit Kraichitti
Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ms. Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa
Director, Bureau of Multilateral Trade Negotiation, Ministry of CommerceWT/L/392
Page 6
United Kingdom
Ms. Charlotte Saymour-Smith
Head, International Trade Department, Department for International Development
Ms. Rachel Jenkinson
Head of WTO Unit, UK Department of Trade and industry (DTI)
United States of America
Dr. Constance Carrino
Counselor for Development Cooperation,  U.S. Agency for International
Development / Tokyo
Mr. David Cowles
Associate Assistant Administrator, Center for Economic Growth and AgriculturalDevelopment, USAID
Ms. Patricia K. Buckles
Mission Director of USAID /Philippines
Japan
Mr. Kojiro Shiojiri (Chair)
Deputy Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Shigeyuki Hiroki (Chair)
Director, Technical Cooperation Divisio n, Economic Cooperation Bureau, Ministry
of Foreign AffairsMr. Junichi Mara
Director, First International Organizations Division, Economic Affairs Bureau,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Susumu Fujimoto
Deputy Director-General, Customs and Ta riff Bureau, Ministry of FinanceWT/L/392
Page 7
Mr. Mitsuhiro Yokoyama
Counselor, International Affairs Department, General Food Policy Bureau,
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery
Mr. Michitaka Nakatomi
Director, Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau, Ministryof Economy, Trade and Industry
Mr. Tukanori Kitamura
Managing Director, Planning and Eval uation Department, Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Asian Development Bank
Mr. Brahm Prakash
Assistant Chief Economist, Economic Analysis and Research Division, Economics
and Development Resource Center
International Trade Center
Mr. Joseph Smadja
Deputy Executive Director Mr. Brian Barclay
Coordinator, ITC Executive Forum
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Development Assistance Committee
Ms. Ebba Dohlman
Senior Administrator
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Dr. Reinaldo Figueredo
Senior Advisor to the Secretary-GeneralWT/L/392
Page 8
Mr. Marvel Namfua
Interregional Advisor
United Nations Development Programme
Me. Eimi Watanabe
Assistant Administrator and Director
Mr. Georges Chapelier
Principal Technical Advisor, Bureau for Development Policy
World Bank
Dr. Ataman Askoy
Senior Economic Advisor
World Trade Organization
Mr. Paul-Henri Ravier
Deputy Director-General
Mr. Chiedu OsakweHead, Secretariat Working Group on LDCs/IF
__________