WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATION WT/COMTD/W/104
3 October 2002
(02-5332)
Committee on Trade and Development
COORDINATED WTO SECRETARIAT ANNUAL
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PLAN
2003
Note by the Secretariat
Table of Contents
Page No
I. INTRODUCTION: THE DOHA TA/CB COMMITMENTS AND THE
SECRETARIAT STRATEG IC DIRECTION .......................................................................3
II. LESSONS FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2002 ANNUAL TA/CB
PLAN........................................................................................................................... ...............5
III. THE 2003 TA PLAN – A SUMMARY ...................................................................................6
IV. CHALLENGES AND GUID ING PRINCI PLES...................................................................7
V. MEMBERS’ COMMUNICATED PRIORITIES FOR 2003................................................9
VI. SYSTEMATIC, CUMULATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE CAPACITY
BUILDING: NEW PRODUCTS ...........................................................................................10
VII. DELIVERY MODES AND INPUTS  FROM TA RE CIPIEN TS .......................................13
VIII. THE DOHA DEVE LOPMENT AGENDA TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING DAT ABASE..............................................13
IX. THE LEAST DEVE LOPED COUNT RIES .........................................................................14
X. SPECIAL REGIONAL CHALLENGES – AFRICA, SOUTH AND CENTRAL
ASIA, AND THE CARIBBEAN............................................................................................15
A. NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA ’S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD )......................................................15
B. THE JOINT INTEGRATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME FOR AFRICAN
COUNTRIES ............................................................................................................................... .16
C. SOUTH ASIA – SOUTH ASIA ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COORDINATION ...............................16
D. THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM ) ................................................................................16
E. CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES .....................................................................................................17
XI. GENEVA WEEK FOR TH E NON-RESI DENTS ...............................................................17
XII. RESEARCH FOR TRADE CAPACITY BU ILDING.........................................................17
XIII. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS: AGENCIES, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BANKS AND THE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE OF THE
OECD........................................................................................................................... ............18WT/COMTD/W/104
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XIV. THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AG ENDA GLOBAL T RUST F UND ..............................19
XV. 2003 TA ACT IVITIES .......................................................................................................... .19
ANNEX I:  WTO SECRETARIAT LETTER TO TH E OECD/ DAC ............................................20
ANNEX II:  WTO SECRETARIAT LE TTER TO THE WO RLD B ANK....................................22
ANNEX III:  LETTER TO REGIONAL  DEVELOPMEN T BANKS............................................24
ANNEX IV:  LETTER TO UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL ECONOMIC
COMMISSIONS .................................................................................................................... .26
ANNEX V:  INDIVIDUAL LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO COUNTRIES
REQUESTING TA FO R THE 2003 PLAN..........................................................................28
ANNEX VI:  CALENDAR FOR THE DDA NEGOTIATION TRAINING COURSE
FOR SENIOR GOVERNM ENT OFFICI ALS.....................................................................29
ANNEX VII:  CALENDAR OF EXTENSION OF THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK
TO THE LEAS T-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ..................................................................31WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 3
I. INTRODUCTION: THE DOHA TA/CB COMMITMENTS AND THE SECRETARIAT
STRATEGIC DIRECTION
1. This Technical Assistance and Capacity Build ing (TA/CB) Plan is the second in the WTO
Annual Plans since the Doha Ministerial Conference.  At Doha, Ministers established an ambitious set
of TA/CB commitments to respond to WTO negotiations and work programme.  The 2002 TA Planwas the First of the Annual Plans.  A High Level Meeting/Briefing (HLM) on TA/CB took place on
16 July 2002
1.  The purpose of the meeting was to brief Members and observers on the
implementation of the 2002 Plan, and to take stock.  Although the HLM noted the progress made, it
recognised that there was scope for improvement.  Areas of improvement were suggested.
2. The broad parameters of the WTO Secretariat response to the Doha TA/CB commitments
were set-out in the 2002 TA Plan (page 4).  However, in light of the communicated requests and
priorities for the 2003 TA Plan as well as the lessons learnt in the course of the implementation of the2002 TA Plan, it is necessary to provide a sharper strategic direction for WTO TA.  WTO TA must be
seen as part of the overall development plan and/or Poverty Reduction Strategies of TA recipient
countries.  WTO TA does not stand alone.  It forms an integral part of development plans to
contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.  As a consequence, requests and priorities
communicated to the WTO necessarily need to be linked to priorities by countries in their plans.  Theuse of TA for the process of integrating trade into development is in three inter-linked stages, namely:
(i) TA to develop negotiating capacity for the Doha Development Agenda;  (ii) TA to build
institutional capacity to understand the rules and implement agreements;  and (iii) TA to develop
commercial infrastructure for the development goals of revenue generation, increased employment
and poverty reduction.  The comparative advantage of WTO TA will be optimally applied to 1 and 2,although through advocacy, co-ordination and coherence, the WTO will encourage development and
regional institutions to fund trade-related commercial infrastructure.
(1) WTO TA (2) TA by WTO & Specialized Agencies (3) TA by Development &
Regional Institutions
TA to buildnegotiating capacityTA to build institutional capacity for
understanding the rules and
implementationTA for commercial infrastructure,
employment and poverty reduction
3. This Second Annual Plan is a continuation of the implementation of the TA/CB commitments
in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, including the New Strategy for WTO Technical Co-operation,
which was endorsed in paragraph 38 of the Ministerial Declaration.  This Plan takes account of the:
• Formally communicated and identified priorities by beneficiary countries to the
Secretariat;
• suggestions by the membership for improving the design of the 2002 Annual Plan, at
the High Level Meeting on TC and CB, 16 July 2002;
• lessons drawn from the implementation of the 2002 Plan, which were discussed at the
High Level Meeting;
• the decision in the Doha Ministerial Declaration that TA/CB are core elements of the
development dimension of the multilateral trading system with direct implications for
WTO negotiations and work programme;  and
                                                     
1 WT/COMTD/43.WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 4
• need to establish the foundation of WTO TA/CB that will extend beyond the Doha
Development Agenda negotiations and Work Programme.
PARAGRAPHS DOHA TC/CB MANDATES
16 Tariff negotiations: non-agricultural market access
21 Trade and investment
24 Trade and competition
26 Transparency in government procurement
27 Trade Facilitation
33 Trade and Environment
38 Mainstreaming/Implementation/WTO TC&CB New Strategy
39 IF/JITAP – Co-ordination with bilateral donors/agencies
40 Predictable Funding for TA activities
42 LDCs’ Accessions
43 Integrated Framework for TRTA to the LDCs
WTO SECRETARIAT RESPONSES TO THE TC/CB MANDATES
1 Co-ordinated issue-based TA/CB delivery with defined inter-agency groups
2 Integrated Framework for TRTA to LDCs
3 Management of the Joint WTO/OECD TRTA/CB database
4 Co-ordinated TA/CB delivery based on “Understanding” with 6 Regional
Development Banks (RDBs)
5 WTO Annual Plans (TA/CB for Negotiations, Implementation & Trade
Integration)
6 Evaluation and AuditWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 5
II. LESSONS FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2002 ANNUAL TA/CB PLAN
4. Several key lessons were drawn from the Secretariat implementation of the 2002 TA Plan.
These lessons were reviewed with the membership and observers at the HLM on 16 July.  They will
need to be taken into account and integrated into the implementation of the 2003 Plan, if the
objectives of the Plan are to be attained.  In summary, the lessons are that:
• First, demand is infinite and exceeds supply;  as a result sorting and rationalizing are
a necessity and carefully defined strategic partnerships are indispensable;
• second, to achieve sustainability with high yield in trade capacity building, recipient
countries need to ensure that trade priorities and demands for assistance and capacitybuilding (as communicated to the WTO also) need to be integrated into their overall
development plans and strategies for poverty reduction.  This approach will also
assist beneficiary countries to increase national absorptive capacity of TA through
enhanced national co-ordination;
• third, co-ordination challenges remain acute at several levels: at the national level,
amongst agencies, and amongst bilateral donors.  Addressing this challenge must be a
key objective by TA providers and beneficiaries in the TA 2003 Plan;
• fourth, well-defined agency partnerships, careful arrangements with bilateral donors,
and building on these synergies will be essential requirements for fully responding to
the Doha commitments;
• fifth, the role of the Bretton Woods Institutions and the 6 major Regional
Development Banks are key to the implementation of the Doha TC mandates.  Theseroles turn on policy knowledge of the regions, intellectual contributions, and funding
support;
• sixth, recipient countries have shifted priorities in their TA/CB requests.  Greater
need has been expressed for capacity building for trade integration (stimulating
supply-side responses, export diversification, etc) relative to capacity building for
short term TA/CB for WTO negotiations.  As an agency, the WTO cannot deliver, in
this regard, except through co-ordinated arrangements with development agenciesand bilateral donors, and the recipient countries themselves;
• seventh, there is an even distribution of preferences expressed for delivery modes,
which focuses on training in short trade policy courses, training-for-trainers, WTOinternships, seminars, and workshops – all have been requested for;
• eighth, the regions of most dire need and challenge in technical co-operation and
capacity building are Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean, Central Asia, and the twointer-regional groups of the Least-Developed Countries and the acceding countries;
• ninth, there is wide scope for improvement and acceleration in the follow-up to the
Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS) of the Integrated Framework for the
Least-Developed Countries.  There is concrete positive results but a renewed urgencyfor acceleration by bilateral donors and agencies;WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 6
• tenth, technical assistance and market access are not substitutes.  Both are
complementary, but achieving the objectives of one will not serve to fulfill theobjectives of the other;
• eleventh, there is a threshold capacity of the WTO Secretariat to deliver TA.  This
capacity threshold was attained in 2002.  At current levels and staffing strength, the
Secretariat cannot deliver more than approximately 450 high yield, high qualityactivities.  It needs to be emphasised that the Secretariat on a daily basis provides
advisory services to Member and Observer delegations, in Geneva, and by telephone,
and video conference to capital authorities.  Members value this assistance, which
counts as WTO technical assistance;
• finally, ad hoc activities undermine the logic and rationality of WTO TA Plans.  The
principal responsibility for addressing this challenge lies with the Secretariat, butsupport from recipient countries and the membership is indispensable.
5. As part of the overall lessons drawn from the implementation of the 2002 TA Plan, the
Director-General has underlined the necessity for cost efficiency, rationality and transparency in the
use of the resources in the Doha Deve lopment Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF).
III. THE 2003 TA PLAN – A SUMMARY
6. The challenge of the 2003 WTO Annual Plan for TA/CB is to build capacity in the
beneficiary countries for effective negotiations, legal implementation of WTO Agreements, and trade
integration.  To meet this challenge, the 2003 Plan focuses on the complementary objectives of TA
and CB for effective participation in the negotiations , for implementation, and for  trade integration .
Emphasis is on high quality delivered activities, which coherently links identified national activitieswith regional activities.
7. In structure the 2003 TA/CB Plan directly links a number of national activities
2 to 190 highly
focused regional activities, from which all requesting countries will benefit.  In those instances where
the number of national requests for a given subject exceed the capacity of the Secretariat to deliver,
these individual national requests have been grouped into a regional activity.  Based on clear lessonsdrawn from the implementation of the 2002 TA Plan, the number of activities that can optimally be
delivered by the WTO as an individual agency and at current strength is no more than 450.  Activities
have been strictly designed based on the distribution of priorities formally communicated in requests
by 118 countries (disaggregated into 1038) discrete requests.  Most of the activities requested fall
within the parameters of the agreed Doha TC/CB commitments.
8. The individual activities for the 2003 WTO TA/CB Plan are contained in Addendum 1 to this
Plan.  The activities annexed to this Plan for implementation in 2003 have been measured against the
guiding principles of TRTA by the WTO (as in Section IV of this Note).  These are specifically
focused on identified need preferences for highly specialized regional activities, establishing
partnerships and building on synergies with other agencies, bilateral donors and TA providers.  To the
extent possible, the WTO Secretariat will facilitate co-operation on TA between WTO Members and
observers requesting TA, on the one hand, and agencies and bilateral donors, on the other.  In thisregard, the Secretariat has taken specific steps with other TA providers.
9. As part of the 2003 Plan, the WTO Secretariat is in formal communication with the
Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, Regional Development Banks, and the core
multilateral economic institutions to consider appr opriate responses to the balance of the discrete
                                                     
2 Approximately 2 per developing country and 3 per each LDC.WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 7
requests not covered in the 2003 WTO list of plan ned activities.  [Letters to the DAC/OECD and to
the World Bank are contained in Annexes I and II to this Note].  Following on an earlier meeting with
Regional Development Banks on 3 May 2002, a meeting has been scheduled with Regional
Development Banks on 30 October, on implementation of listed and requested activities.  [See annex
III].  A meeting has also been scheduled with the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions
on the implementation of listed and requested activities, and consolidating current work.  [See annex
IV].  Meetings with multilateral agencies and bilateral donors are also scheduled in the context of the
second joint meeting of the IAWG/DAC, 28-29 November 2002.  The WTO Secretariat will inform
Members and Observers of responses from bilateral donors, the Regional Development Banks, and
the core multilateral economic institutions to the balance of the requests from WTO members and
observers.
10. Members and observers who formally requested TA from the WTO Secretariat have had their
requests acknowledged.  They also have been individually contacted and informed of the process of
communicating to other agencies, the DAC/OECD, and the Regional Development Banks, their
priority requests that have either not been covered in national or linked regional activities.  [Format
letter addressed to each of the 118 requesting countries is attached as Annex V to this Note]. Inter-
agency partnerships and strategic partnerships with bilateral donors, as mandated in the DohaMinisterial Declaration, are indispensable for a meaningful and effective response to the trade
capacity building commitments in the DDA.  In this regard, concrete progress has been made, and the
Secretariat is confident that these commitments will be met in the attainment of the Doha TC
commitments, and with sustainability in the period beyond Doha.
11. Trade capacity building for participatio n in WTO negotiations and work programme
falls directly within WTO Secretariat competence.  It will enhance the capacity for effective
participation in the WTO negotiations and work programme.  Trade capacity building for trade
integration  will enhance the ability of beneficiary countries to increase the benefits they draw from
the open, rules-based multilateral trading system.  This is the area where partnerships and synergies
with other multilateral institutions and bilateral donors are of the most urgent need.  Capacity buildingfor trade integration will be based on the New Strategy for TC endorsed by Ministers in paragraph 38
of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, which consists of several core elements, including the concept of
the re-vamped Integrated Framework.  This concept involves a process of multilateral agency/donor
intervention with a beneficiary country to iden tify TRTA priorities through diagnostic trade
integration studies (or trade policy reviews); the products which are then integrated into Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and overall national development plans.
IV. CHALLENGES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
12. The implementation of the 2002 Plan made evident several of the dilemmas and challenges in
WTO technical co-operation.  These challenges were made acute because of the increased scale of TA
activities, the increased number of beneficiary countries, and the changed policy environment in
which TC and CB are now core elements of the development dimension of the multilateral trading
system, and WTO core business.
13. As background, WTO technical co-operation, initially, was based on a demand-driven
principle and practice, according to which the Secretariat was required to respond to all individually
communicated requests.  The environment has changed.  Since 1995, WTO TA activities have now
grown by 660% - from 79 activities in 1995 to over 600 activities requested for 2002.  Demand-driven
TA was possible when demand was limited and manageable, and the number of beneficiary countrieswas small.  Increased membership as well as the deepening and extension of the coverage of WTO
subject matter have drastically changed this situation.  It is now evidently clear that a degree of
sorting and rationalization of communicated requests is required, in close consultations between the
Secretariat and the requesting countries, and based on the priorities  explicitly identified by theWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 8
requesting countries.  This approach is inevitable in light of the infinity of demands and finite
Secretariat resources and capacity limitations.  Several of these challenges clearly require new
guiding principles for the management of TA and CB, which have been applied in this 2003
Plan.
14. First , the Secretariat will effectively deliver on the principle that TA/CB will be based on
Members' determined priorities , but distinct from the compulsion to respond to each discrete and
unsorted demand.  Sorting and rationalization as well as management of TA in consultation with TA
recipients and providers will be a guiding principle .  TA/CB activities will, therefore, need to be
based on the principle of a finite number of specific activities agreed by the requesting country and
the Secretariat, and explicitly based on the requesting country’s priority.
15. Second , as a principle, regional activities will be directly linked to identified and agreed
members’ national activities , in a manner that is understood by TA providers (WTO Secretariat) and
beneficiary countries.  TA/CB shall be provided to beneficiary countries in all agreed priority areas
either at the national or as part of linked regional activities.  Activities at both these levels will need to
be seen as related, since in light of significantly increased number of requests for national activities, it
is obvious that a beneficiary country will not be able to benefit from all areas of TA delivered at a
national level.  In the relationship between national and regional activities, the latter is significantlyincreased.  However, all areas of requests will be covered.
16. Third,  systematic and cumulative capacity-building  again based on Members' explicitly
determined priorities  is a key principle of the 2003 TA/CB Plan.  This has made necessary the
objective of creating programme menu (prepared on the basis of the formally communicated priorities
from beneficiary countries).  This programme menu will assist beneficiary countries to opt for choicesof TA/CB from which they would like to benefit.  The programme menu will provide a clear
understanding of what will be delivered and gained in a systematic and cumulative manner.  A
programme approach responds to views expressed by the membership for a clear statement of menu
presenting a logical order of choices for TA/CB objectives in the various areas of the Doha TC
commitments.  It will also respond to the position expressed by a few countries, either that they do notknow what to ask for or that they need technica l assistance to identify their domestic technical
assistance needs.  This programme menu is work in progress and will be prepared in consultation with
the membership this year, and reviewed yearly.
17. Fourth,  limiting ad hoc  demands and fitful Secretariat responses to a strict minimum, and
ensuring the precedence of authorized Plans over ad hoc  activities is a key principle of this WTO
Annual Plan.  In spite of Secretariat objectives to limit ad hoc  activities to a minimum in the 2002
Plan, the level of ad hoc relative to authorized activities was unsatisfactory and left much scope for
improvement.  Responsibility for this outcome is equally shared between beneficiary countries and
the Secretariat.  In principle and practice, there must be much stricter adherence to limiting ad hoc
activities in the 2003 Plan to a minimum.  This objective is compatible with flexibility.  Flexibility
involves, for instance, the replacement of an activity with another activity, variation in venues and
dates, the transformation of a national activity to a regional activity for greater yield, and finally, insome instances, where unforeseen negotiating dynamics, may create the conditions for a new activity.
18. Fifth,  as a principle, WTO TC/CB and this Annual Plan have been designed on the basis that
beneficiary countries and the Secretariat explicitly consider TC/CB priorities as integral parts of
national development plans and strategies for poverty reduction .  This principle ensures ownership.
It is also in accordance with the Doha Development Agenda, the Monterrey Consensus, and theJohannesburg WSSD, for mainstreaming trade into overall national development plans and Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) .
3  WTO Annual TA Plans should, therefore, not be considered as
                                                     
Implementation Plan of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (paragraph 84 a-e).WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 9
stand-alone TA programmes.  They form part of inputs and priorities that recipient countries reflect in
their development plans and PRSPs.  As a result, therefore, WTO TC/CB only provide part
contributions to trade development.  It cannot provide all expected TRTA from beneficiary countries.
This is why the 2003 Plan is based on concrete arrangements worked out with identified multilateral
agencies with contributory comparative advantages in trade capacity building, 6 RegionalDevelopment Banks, the UN Regional Economic Commi ssions, and bilateral donors.  In principle and
practice, therefore, beneficiary countries also requi re including their TRTA pr iority needs into their
development plans and PRSPs.
19. Finally,  as a principle, WTO TC/CB and market access are complementary.  Both provide
contributions to poverty reduction and development, but they are not substitutes.  Furthermore,
beyond WTO TC/CB and market access, other factors are operative within beneficiary countries.
V. MEMBERS’ COMMUNICATED PRIORITIES FOR 2003
20. In response to Secretariat invitations to WTO Members and observers to communicate
TA/CB priorities as well as requests for discrete activities, 118 countries communicated priorities,
based on 1038 activities in a descending order as follows:
• Singapore Issues (148);
• Capacity Building (internship positions, Training-for-Trainers programmes, national
trade policy courses, trade policy seminars) (114);
• Trade in Services (84);
• Rules (74);
• Agriculture (57);
• Market Access (56);
• TRIPS (55);
• Implementation (54);
• Trade Negotiation Courses and Doha Development Agenda Advanced Course for
Senior Government Officials (49);
• Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) (49);
• Trade and Environment (46);
• Integrated Framework for the Least-Developed Countries (44);
• Information Technology and WTO Reference Centres (42);
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (42);
• Dispute Settlement (25);
• Mainstreaming (25);WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 10
• Customs Valuation (23);
• Accessions (17);
• Integrated Database (17);
• 2-week Regional Trade Policy Courses (12);
• Textiles and Clothing (5).
VI. SYSTEMATIC, CUMULATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE CAPACITY BUILDING: NEW
PRODUCTS
21. Members in their communicated priorities and requests have expressed a clear preference for
systematic, cumulative and sustainable capacity building.  These encompass the delivery of activitiesthat are not one-off, but which are iterative.  They  involve activities such as internships, short and
regular trade policy courses, training-of-trainers prog ramme, etc.  These are activities that are not only
linked to the public sector, but also to the priv ate sector, academia and/or policy think-thanks.
Achieving this objective will depend partly on the Secretariat and also partly on the recipient
countries in a close knit partnership.  In order to achieve systematic and cumulative capacity building,
the Secretariat has developed key new products:
• First , seven (7) regional training workshops have been designed around the
functioning network of 120 WTO Reference Centres.  These regional training
workshops will focus on achieving Training-of-Trainers objectives in the TA
programmes, which will be progressively developed.  Originally, WTO Reference
Centres were established for the purposes of access to WTO documentation, data and
databases.  They have operated very efficiently, and are one of the most successful
WTO technical assistance programmes.  They are now being re-designed to includetraining-for-trainers objectives on the range of WTO subject matter.  As designed,
this activity, to be delivered regionally to countries with WTO Reference Centres,
will seek to develop a core of trade policy experts on the range of WTO subject
matters.  There will be two participants from each country to the regional courses.
They will be selected from government and from any academic institution designatedby the government for WTO collaboration.  The workshops will run iteratively and
will cover the range of WTO subject matters.  The series of workshops to be run
under this programme will be tried on a pilot basis for LDCs, in March 2003, in
Geneva.  This activity will be managed by the Technical Co-operation Division with
the co-operation of the Training Institute, and the Informatics Division;
• Second , the Secretariat has now elaborated on the Regional Advanced Doha
Development Agenda (DDA) Negotiations Training Courses for Senior Government
Officials.  These courses, proposed as a response to the Doha negotiations and work
programme, were signalled in Annex I of the 2002 Plan.  The implementation of
these courses has already begun.  The courses cover 7 regions and the Non-Residents(groups with the greatest need).  These courses are organized and implemented in a
tripartite relationship between the WTO, a designated academic institution/policy
think-thank (to serve the region), and a regional institution.  These courses are distinct
from the WTO 2-week short trade policy courses.  At these courses for Senior
Government officials, the focus is on issues arising in the Doha negotiations.  Thevalue-added is that issues in the negotiations are addressed.  Resource persons areWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 11
drawn from the WTO, the recipient countries, the participating regional institution,
and the collaborating academic institution.  The implementation of these courses has
already begun (See calendar of courses at annex VI of this Plan];
• Third , the WTO internship system has now been extended, fully developed and
consolidated.  There are 4 components to the internship network system:
- The Regular WTO internship, in which in terns are selected locally in Geneva,
by WTO Divisions.  These interns work in-house for a period of 3 months.
They earn a stipend of CHF 1,500 (See WTO/COMTD/W/104/Add. 1 –
page 57);
- The Dutch internship system.  Interns under this programme are treated as
WTO staff Members.  They work in-house for a period of 2 years;
- In addition, a WTO Regional Co-ordinator internship has been designed.  In
this new internship, the intern will be paid by the WTO, and will be based in
the Mission of a rotating co-ordinator of each of 7 designated groups, for a
period of 6 months, without extension .  At the end of six months, the system
will rotate to the next designated group co-ordinator of the 7 identifiedgroupings.  (Groups select their rotating co-ordinators).  These groups are:
(i) the ACP – both the Geneva Secretariat and the office of the rotating
country co-ordinator;  (ii) the WTO African Group;  (iii) the CARICOM;
(iv) the GRULAC;  (v) the SAARC;  (vi) the WTO LDCs’ Consultative
Group;  and, (vii) the Informal Gr oup of Developing Countries.  The
internship system will be strictly limited to these 7 groupings. Continuation
will depend on the availability of resources, the feedback received from the
7 recipient regions, and to continuing need.  Interns under this system will be
paid CHF 3000, plus travel expenses, from the DDAGTF.  Implementation
will begin in January 2003 with the new TA Plan;
- To complete the internship system, is the WTO mission internship, which has
also been developed.  Under this system, interns are paid for by the WTO and
based in selected developing countries' missions in Geneva.  These
internships are offered to nationals of developing countries, including LDCs
and economies in transition.  Interns under this system will be paid CHF3000 plus travel expenses.  This new internship system underwent successful
experimentation, on a pilot basis, with Zimbabwe and Jamaica, in the lead-up
to the Doha Ministerial.  Funding for these internships is provided for by
bilateral donors.  These donors have already pledged resources, which will
permit the funding of 14 WTO mission internships over the next two-year
period;
- To sum up on the WTO internship system , there are several evident
advantages.  It will compensate for capacity shortfalls in designated groups
and/or selected missions.  Knowledge and understanding of the multilateral
trading system and trade policy will be developed and significantly enhanced.
Specialized skills will develop in the course of coverage and participation in
WTO meetings and negotiating sessions by the interns.  Interns will beassisted and directed to activities that focus on the Doha negotiations, and the
capacity to implement WTO Agreements for their countries.WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 12
• Fourth , the Secretariat (the TCD; the Statistics Division; and, the Training Institute)
is finalizing the development of a "Trade Negotiations Tool Kit for Negotiators". Thespecific purpose of this tool kit is to prepare developing and least-developed countries
for the Doha Negotiations.  There are three inter-related components of this Trade
Negotiations Tool Kit for Negotiators:
- a simulation package for trade negotiations, acquired by the Training
Institute;
- a user friendly software for the Integrated Database/Consolidated Tariff
Schedule, under development and refinement by the Statistics Division;  and,
- a software for Negotiations and Training – developed jointly by the TCD and
the Inter-American Development Bank.  This software will enable trade
negotiators to comparatively analyze text-based proposals in the negotiationsmade by other parties.
• Finally, a TA/CB Programme Menu is under policy development.  This programme
menu, based on the overall priorities expressed by Members, will offer several
advantages.  First, it will present a set of trade capacity building choices, which will
be of assistance to those countries who so metimes express difficulties to know what
to ask for.  Second, it will assist beneficiary members and observers in makingrational choices in a way that will satisfy their expressed preference for cumulative
capacity building.  Third, it will make clear the expected benefits that will accrue
from the selection and delivery of any particular activity on the menu.  Country
priority preferences will be fit under the Programme Menu, which falls into
7 categories namely:
(i) PROGRAMME I: OUTREACH;
(ii) PROGRAMME II: ACCESSIONS;
(iii) PROGRAMME III: NEGOTIATIONS;
(iv) PROGRAMME IV: IMPLEMENTATION OF WTO AGREEMENTS;
(v) PROGRAMME V: SINGAPORE ISSUES;
(vi) PROGRAMME VI: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY/WTO REFERENCE
CENTRES;
(vii) PROGRAMME VII: TRADE INTEGRATION:
- Integrated Framework;
- trade mainstreaming;
- Trade Policy Reviews.
22. Choices could be optimally made either on the basis of a sequential selection or on the basis
of specific domestic trade policy circumstances.  This programme menu will be carefully developed
and presented to the COMTD before the end of 2002.WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 13
VII. DELIVERY MODES AND INPUTS FROM TA RECIPIENTS
23. Relevant delivery modes are a necessary complement for the effective delivery of TA in the
2003 Plan.  Based on Members preferences these span seminars, workshops, training activities,
training-of-trainers activities, the WTO internship system, video links, short trade policy courses,
collaboration with academic institutions and/or policy think-thanks.  These delivery modes are allapplied in this plan, based on the explicit set of preferences expressed by requesting countries.  WTO
modes of delivery will be further expanded to include trade clinics .  This will involve specialized
missions to developing and least-developed countries with special needs on trade policy questions that
require answers to problems arising from implementation, transition periods, and other immediate
needs.  The objectives of these trade clinics include institutional capacity building in the course of
providing advisory services.  In the course of these missions, specialized WTO staff will provide on-
the-spot advice on particular trade policy problems for the government, which may include in areasthat relate to trade policy, the Doha negotiations, and implementation of WTO Agreements.  This new
dimension of trade clinics is essential to be sure that WTO TA remains relevant.
24. Relevant delivery modes improve TA delivery.  At the same time, inputs from TA recipients
will enhance TA absorption.  In this regard, several factors are critical namely, a well defined national
programme for WTO negotiations and implementation, identification of institutions for long-termtrade capacity building, and the provision of matching resources (in both hardware and software) to
complement and better absorb externally delivered TA by the WTO and other agencies.  South-South
TA will improve the relevance and quality of trade-related technical assistance.
25. Several high income and high skilled developing countries can make and are making
important contributions to provide TA to other developing countries with greater need.  This is beingdone in several ways.  These high skilled developing countries are offering scholarships to
participants from least developed and developing countries, with greater need, in their training
institutes, and seeking to organize joint courses w ith the WTO.  The increase in activities of this
nature would significantly enhance the capacity building effects of WTO TA.
VIII.  THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING DATABASE
26. The DDA TRTA and Capacity Building database is a central pillar of present and future
WTO Annual Plans for TA and CB.  It is a joint project with the OECD.  It was formally established
through a joint announcement by the WTO Director-G eneral and the OECD Secretary-General, on 16
May 2002.  A joint formal WTO/OECD report will be presented to the General Council at its
December meeting.
27. The database is a mechanism for:
(a) Transparency of TRTA delivered;
(b) exchange and sharing of information;
(c) minimization and avoidance of duplication;
(d) estimation of progress in the implementation of the Doha mandates on technical
assistance and capacity building;
(e) co-ordination and coherence;WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 14
(f) meeting the objectives of the report mandated in paragraph 41 of the Doha Ministerial
Declaration; and,
(g) encouraging as well as assisting beneficiary countries to manage their TRTA needs
(for in-country co-ordination).
28. The database will be formally launched in December, when it is presented to the General
Council.  It will be indispensable in monitori ng the effective implementation of the TC and CB
commitments in the Doha Development Agenda by showing activities delivered, co-ordinated agency
delivery as undertaken in various fora, and cumulation of activities in beneficiary countries.
IX. THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
29. The 49 Least-Developed Countries have priority focus.  They have the most urgent and acute
trade development needs.  They constitute the real challenge for the WTO.  The WTO has significant
contributions to make to LDCs' trade development, but on its own cannot meet the full complexity of
that challenge.  This is why the Integrated Framework, chaired by the WTO,4 is the best response to
the challenge posed by the LDCs and other low income economies.  There can be no quick fixes
because this is capacity building for development.  It is a long-drawn out process.  Progress depends
on a variety of factors of which WTO contributions, multilateral agency intervention, bilateral donor
support, but most importantly, recipient country owne rship are interdependent.  Thirty-five of these
LDCs are in Africa, 13 in Asia, and 1 in the Caribbean.
30. A simple approach to short term technical assistance and capacity building is necessary but
insufficient for addressing the needs of the LDCs.  A meaningful approach requires trade integration
to ensure that trade works for poverty reduction a nd development.  To realize this objective, TA
providers (agencies and bilateral donors) and LDCs’ beneficiaries need to work together so that TAand CB are delivered within a coherent policy framework, and trade priority areas of action are
integrated into development vehicles such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and
development plans.
31. To begin this process of TA for trade integration, the preparation of diagnostic trade
integration studies for countries that have not gone through this process, is required.  This is anecessary first step.  This procedure is now being systematically applied to LDCs under the gradual
extension of the re-vamped Integrated Framework.  DTISs have been completed for three countries
(i.e. Cambodia, Madagascar and Mauritania) and are underway for a second wave of 11 countries.
5
32. The purpose of the diagnostic trade integration studies is to identify the structural weaknesses
and constraints impeding a country's integration into the multilateral trading system and the global
economy (in this case the LDC).  These studies review and analyze a country's export and import
performance, assess the macroeconomic environment and investment climate, assess the international
policy environment, including the market access constraints to a country's exports, and analyze
specific sectors for output expansion, exports and employment.  These studies conclude with
recommendations for policy reforms, institutional capacity implications and action plans (of priority
TA recommendations) for eliminating the constraints and taking advantage of the opportunities.
33. The role of trade capacity building for trade integration, following priority recommendations
in the DTIS, will include support for policy and regulation formulation, development of capacity to
                                                     
4 The Integrated Framework is composed of the International Monetary Fund, the International Trade
Centre, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development
Programme, two rotating donor representatives, and two LDCs' rotating representatives.
5 WT/IFSC/W/11/Rev.1WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 15
implement policy, sector-specific support, infrastructure support (for example, energy, transportation,
communication, information technology, customs modernization, laboratories for testing to meet
international standards, etc).  Attached to this 2003 TA Plan, as annex VII, is the calendar for DTIS
being implemented in the LDCs.
34. The 2003 TA Plan essentially focuses on the assistance that the WTO can deliver.  In the
2003 TA Plan, LDCs will receive:
(a) 117 national activities (or 47% of the total number of WTO national TA activities);
(b) 150 regional activities from which the LDCs will also benefit as members of the
regions of Africa, Asia/Pacific; and the Caribbean;
(c) 5 strategically designed activities focused only on LDCs namely, WTO Reference
Centres Training Activities, with the objective of Training-of-Trainers; Internet
access for LDC Reference Centres; annual accessions seminar; Workshop on TradeNegotiation Skills; and, the Advanced Training Programme for Senior Government
officials on the DDA;  and
(d) the Integrated Framework focused exclusively on LDCs, with the decision by Heads
of Agency at their last meeting, to extend it to all LDCs before the conclusion of the
Doha trade negotiations, on the basis of the agreed criteria.
X. SPECIAL REGIONAL CHALLENGES – AFRICA, SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA,
AND THE CARIBBEAN
A. 
NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA ’S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD )
35. As noted in the lessons drawn from the implementation of the 2002 TA Plan, Africa is one of
the three regions of most dire trade policy need.  The WTO Secretariat has designed several activitiesto respond to the pressing needs for institutional trade policy and capacity building needs in Africa.
The JITAP has made, and continues to make, an important contribution to Africa’s needs.
36. The New Partnership for African Development, NEPAD, is a commitment by African leaders
to eradicate poverty and place Africa on a path of sustainable growth and development.  It is a long-
term vision of an African-owned and African-led development programme.  The NEPAD is designedto promote (through a peer review mechanism) good governance and democracy, the rule of law,
economic and corporate governance, in return for increased investment, aid and development support
from the developed countries, and full market access for Africa’s exports.
37. At the moment, the WTO does not yet have a formal relationship with the NEPAD.
However, the WTO is exploring ways of using the NEPAD as a vehicle for the delivery of trade-
related technical assistance to Africa.  In this regard, active consultations are underway between the
Secretariat (the Technical Cooperation Division) and the NEPAD Secretariat.  The Head of theNEPAD Secretariat was invited to address the membership at the 41
st session of the COMTD on
1 July 2002.  This dialogue is expected to continue, and will focus on the contributions that trade and
the multilateral trading system can make to support the NEPAD, and to Africa’s trade development.
38. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), in Johannesburg, Director-
General Dr Supachai pledged WTO support for the NEPAD, and expressed a commitment to identifyconcrete WTO programmes and projects in support of the NEPAD.  In this regard, a Secretariat Note
is currently under preparation.WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 16
B. THE JOINT INTEGRATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME FOR AFRICAN COUNTRIES
39. The Joint Integrated Programme for African C ountries (JITAP), jointly undertaken by the
WTO, ITC and UNCTAD, has played a critical and positive role in strengthening human and
institutional capacity building in 8 African coun tries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana,
Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda), from 1997 to the present.  The programme was recentlyreviewed, with recommendations made for its improvement and enhancement. A JITAP Management
Meeting of donors, beneficiaries and the three executing agencies has re-affirmed commitments to a
new phase of JITAP, which will focus on the im plementation of the Doha Development Agenda.  In
this regard, donors have emphasised the necessity to adapt the JITAP to poverty reduction, in addition
to its original focus on human and institutional capacity building.  Several donors have underscored
the necessity of complementarity between the JITAP and the Integrated Framework.  The
Management Review has also made evident the necessity to gear the JITAP to respond to the tradeand development needs of the beneficiary countries.  A decision has been taken by the Management
Committee to consolidate and complete outstanding programmes in the first phase of JITAP II.  The
next phase of JITAP II will involve a menu-based (à la carte) approach to the needs of new
beneficiary countries.  A decision is yet to be taken on the number of countries prior to their selection.
C. 
SOUTH ASIA – SOUTH ASIA ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COORDINATION
40. Countries in South Asia also require priority attention in the delivery of WTO TA.  The South
Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)  comprises seven South Asian countries namely
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.  These countries are involved in
trade negotiations for regional cooperation and in the WTO Doha negotiations, including those
involved in the accession negotiations.  They constitute a region of special TA challenge and requireenhanced TA.  There are different levels of development amongst countries in the region.  Special
attention is focused on the LDCs in the region.  This is a region where some of the countries like India
and Pakistan with higher skill levels will be of assistance in providing TA for trade institutional
capacity building to the other countries in the region.  These countries will benefit from specially
designed national and regional activities in the 2003 WTO TA Plan, as well as from the consolidatedWTO internship programme.
D. 
THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM )
41. Countries in the Caribbean face significant trade policy and trade development challenges as
well.  These countries are small in market size.  Ten of the fourteen CARICOM countries are non-
residents.  Only 4 have missions in Geneva.  In spite of their low institutional capacity for trade policy
formulation, advocacy, and negotiations, they are nevertheless, confronted with several major
negotiations that are taking place at the same time.  These include the Economic PartnershipAgreement (EPA) negotiations between the ACP and the EU; negotiations for the Free Trade Area of
the Americas (FTAA);  the Caribbean Common Market negotiations;  multiple bilateral negotiations;
and, the Doha negotiations.  Director-General Dr. Supachai has met the Caribbean Ministers to review
areas of concern and priorities.  WTO Secretariat officials are working closely with the region to
boost their negotiating capacity; and in this re gard is cooperating closely with the CARICOM
Secretariat, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Mach inery (CRNM), and the Or ganization of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS).  WTO TA will be delivered through national and regionally designed
activities, and deeper support provided through the extended system of WTO internships for Regional
Co-ordinators and Capacity Constrained Missions.  The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
and its Institute for Latin American Integration (INTAL), are joined in a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) for assistan ce to the entire region.  However, the strategic framework for
targeted assistance to the Caribbean is based on an MOU with the CARICOM Secretariat.  The
Organization of American States is in close collaboration with the WTO in the training for SeniorWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 17
Government officials on the DDA Trade Negotiation Course with the University of the West Indies
(UWI).
E. CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES
42. Two countries in Central Asia are WTO Members (Kyrgyz Republic and Georgia).  All the
others are engaged in the accession process, with the exception of Turkmenistan, which is stillcontemplating accession.  The importance of the negotiations is even more acute, as their productive
capacity has often been negatively affected by distorted policies of the past, which added to the
difficulties of adjustment to open, market based economic policies.  Some countries in the region have
levels of economic development that do not substantially differ from those of developing countries,
with similar per capita incomes and GDP.  The trade policy negotiating challenges for these countries
are thus quite considerable, as this is the first real opportunity for most of these countries to be
actively involved in any multilateral negotiating process.  WTO TA is geared, at this moment,
towards a fuller and better participation of Central Asian Countries in the multilateral trading system,
through dissemination of information and knowledge on the WTO Agreements on both a broad and
specific level.  One WTO Ministerial Trade Confer ence was held before the summer to specifically
address the concerns of countries in the region.  WTO's technical assistance programme is cumulative
and includes a mix of offer and supply, targeted at various levels of decision-making within nationaladministrations and across the region.  Collaboration with other international, regional and sub-
regional organisations has been developed and strengthened (through close cooperation with ECO,
BSEC, EBRD, UNECE, UNCTAD, JVI, APEC, bilate ral and multilateral donors).  Previously,
countries in the region were largely excluded from WTO's technical assistance programmes funded
under the regular budget, this situation has now sign ificantly changed with the establishment of the
WTO Global Trust Fund for technical assistance.  More activities have been scheduled for these
countries in the 2003 TA Plan.
XI. GENEVA WEEK FOR THE NON-RESIDENTS
43. Geneva Week for WTO Non-Residents was innovative.  It responded to one of the most felt
needs in WTO trade capacity building in recent times.  This year, it was increased from one to two,and is now funded from the WTO regular budget.  The main value of Geneva Week is that it provides
the opportunity for non-residents to interact with the Geneva-based work of the WTO.  The main
channels through which this happens are briefings by the chairs of WTO bodies, and/or the
secretariat; participation in formal and informal meetings of the WTO.  Geneva week is usually timed
to coincide with meetings of major WTO bodies such as the TNC, the General Council, negotiating
groups, or the CTD;  and informal interaction with resident delegations.  During the Geneva Week
held prior to the Doha ministerial, non-residents me t with the chair of the General Council to state
their views on inputs into the draft ministerial declaration.  It should be emphasised that the type of
presentation given by chairpersons or the secretariat are not training sessions.  They are briefings on
the state of play of WTO work.  As such Geneva Week is a key element in technical co-operation and
training activities undertaken by the WTO as part of its annual plans.  It should also be noted that
during Geneva week, participants receive hands-on training on Information Technology  tools.  In
expressing their satisfaction with the functioning of Geneva Week, several participants have referred
to it as "the Standing WTO Committee of most importance to them".  Geneva Weeks in 2003 will be
timed to coincide with meetings and preparations for the Cancun Ministerial.
XII. RESEARCH FOR TRADE CAPACITY BUILDING
44. There are strong technical assistance and capacity-building effects emanating from policy-
relevant research.  As in the implementation of the 2002 Annual TA Plan, research by the WTO
Development and Economic Research Division will continue to provide factual and analytical
information for the use of developing countries in the negotiations.  The research agenda of the WTOWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 18
Secretariat, for which the DERD is responsible, will continue to provide a sound and critical basis for
trade capacity building.  This aspect of ca pacity building is now evident in the on-going
implementation of the WTO Work Programme for the Least-Developed Countries, and the request for
analytical studies by several countries in their inputs into the 2003 TA Plan.  Most of the research for
trade capacity building will be met by the WTO Secretariat (the DERD and the Trade Policy ReviewDivision).  Least-developed and other developing country research will be met through inter-agency
diagnostic trade integration studies.  Fourteen of such studies are already underway for the LDCs.  In
addition, WTO trade capacity building research will be undertaken in cooperation with the OECD,
UNCTAD, and the World Bank.
XIII.  STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS: AGENCIES, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS
AND THE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE OF THE OECD
45. Inter-agency arrangements and strategic partnerships are essential in order to fully respond to
the technical co-operation mandates in the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  These arrangements are
necessary to complement areas of competence beyond the WTO.  These arrangements require
tremendous and continuing efforts in co-ordination.  In this regard, the WTO is working at four
distinct but inter-related levels namely:
(a) The Integrated Framework, focused on the Least-Developed Countries;
(b) the JITAP, focused on selected African countries;
(c) dialogue already initiated with the World Bank and the six major Regional
Development Banks.
6  The foundation for this partnership was laid at the first-ever
WTO-World Bank Regional Development Bank Dialogue Forum, on 3 May 2002.
The understanding was reached, inter alia , that the WTO, the World Bank and the 6
major Regional Development Banks would work together in partnership.  Regional
Development Banks will convene meetings of Trade and Finance Ministers in their
region to which the World Bank and the WTO would be invited.  The purposes would
include, inter alia , preparing diagnostic trade integration studies, pursuing effective
follow-up to these studies, implementation of the technical cooperation and capacitybuilding mandates in the Doha Development Agenda, and the overall objective of
mainstreaming  trade into PRSPs and national development plans.  Concrete activities
have already begun with the collaborative delivery of trade policy courses and
negotiation courses between the WTO, the Regional Development Banks, and
relevant regional institutions;  and
(d) the meeting of the core multilateral agencies
7 and the Development Assistance
Committee of the OECD.  The first meeting was held from 17 to 18 January 2002.The second will be held from 28 to 29 November 2002.  A relevant report will be
prepared for the COMTD and for the General Council.
46. Further developments on inter-agency arrangements and strategic partnerships will be
reported in periodic revisions of the Secretariat Note prepared in this regard for the High Level
Meeting on Technical Cooperation and Capacity  Building (WT/COMTD/W/102).
                                                     
6 African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Arab Monetary Fund (AMF),
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),Islamic Development Bank  (IsDB)
7 IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP, World Bank, WTO.WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 19
XIV. THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA GLOBAL TRUST FUND
47. In its decision of December 2001, the General Council established the Doha Development
Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDA GTF) and defined its terms of reference.  The establishment of the
Fund gave strong and positive impetus to the implementation of the technical cooperation and
capacity building mandates in the Doha Development Agenda.  It has created a solid basis for morepredictable funding of WTO technical cooperation and capacity building.  It has facilitated the smooth
implementation of the 2002 TA Plan.  Donors have responded very positively to the creation of the
DDAGTF and provided significantly increased re sources to the Secretariat in 2002.  Pledges
registered for 2002 reached CHF 21.5 million (almost double the amount received in 2001),
exceeding by far the target of CHF 15 million initially approved by the General Council.  The
unprecedented scale in WTO technical assistance activities has made the Secretariat all the more
conscious of its responsibilities in terms of cost effectiveness and meaningful delivery of TA in theareas of the Doha mandates.  The Director-General and Senior management are determined to keep
improving the cost efficiency, rationality, and tran sparency in the use of resources made available
through the DDAGTF.  Resources in the DDAGTF will be used to fund Annual WTO TA Plans and
the implementation of the New WTO Strategy for Technical Cooperation.
48. Due to the complexity of subject-matter, increased scale of operations, and the many
conflicting demands on the Secretariat, it is considered that guidelines will be necessary for the use of
the resources of the DDAGTF.  This will require guidance from the membership.
XV. 2003 TA ACTIVITIES
49. Designed activities are listed in Addendum I to this document.WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 20
ANNEX I:  WTO SECRETARIAT LETTER TO THE OECD/DAC
Direct line: (+41 22) 739 5250
Direct fax: (+41 22) 739 5690Email: chiedu.osakwe@wto.org
Mr. Jean-Claude Faure
ChairmanDevelopment Assistance Committee
OECD
2, rue André-Pascal,75775 Paris Cedex
Fax: 33 1 44 30 61 41
Reference:  ns02/mo/TA2003/oecd-dac rev
23 August 2002
Dear Mr. Faure,
The WTO Secretariat is now in the process of preparing the 2003 Technical Assistance Plan,
pursuant to the Doha Development Agenda.  In light of recent meetings and consultations with theDAC members, I write to seek your support for responding to the trade capacity priority needs, whichhave been formally communicated to the WTO Secretariat by beneficiary countries.
As you already know, in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, Ministers undertook specific
commitments on technical cooperation and capacity building in eleven key areas.  You will recall, I amsure, paragraph 39 of the Declaration, in which Ministers underscored the urgent necessity for theeffective coordinated delivery of technical assistance with bilateral donors, in the OECD Development
Assistance Committee and relevant international and regional intergovernmental institutions, within a
coherent policy framework and timetable.
Immediately after Doha, the WTO Secretariat prepared the first Technical Assistance Plan.
We are in the process of preparing the second Plan, based on the Doha technical assistancecommitments.  A key area of improvement in the Technical Assistance Plan is the necessity for
partnership with agencies, regional institutions and donor countries, with comparative advantages in
trade capacity building.  The WTO is convinced that the OECD/DAC has vital and indispensablecontributions to make in responding to the implementation of the trade capacity building commitmentsin the Doha Development Agenda.  We are pleased with the positive response and support that wehave received from your institution in meeting this challenge, and we look forward to deepening thispartnership for next year.
As part of the process for designing the 2003 Technical Assistance Plan, the WTO Secretariat
formally requested beneficiary countries to communicate their priority needs.  The response has beenvery good and extremely useful.  The WTO Secretariat has formally received over 1,000 requests forspecific activities from about 104 countries.  On the basis of these formally communicated requests,the WTO Secretariat will be able to implement two activities per requesting country (three activities for
each least-developed country) and approximately 150 highly specialised and focused regional
activities, from which all requesting countries will benefit.  These activities will be those within thecomparative advantage of the WTO.  In sum, these will total approximately 400 activities.
./..WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 21
For those activities to which the WTO Secretariat cannot respond as an individual agency and
needs to work in partnership with others, it is suggested that you kindly consider any possible
appropriate response that you can offer.   It is felt that bilateral donors, within the framework of the
OECD/DAC, have a key role of play, in recognition of the importance of trade in development as
expressed in the DAC Guidelines on Strengthening Trade Capacity for Development .
I will shortly forward a compilation of specific activities not included in the 2003 WTO
Technical Assistance Plan, which the OECD/DAC could consider with a view to providing appropriate
responses.  I would like to consult with you on appropriate follow-up on this important subject for theimplementation of the Doha Development Agenda.  I have written along the same lines to multilateraland regional donors.
Finally, I would like to re-emphasise the importance the WTO Secretariat attaches to
deepening the partnership with the OECD/DAC.  Indeed, the joint IAWG/OECD meeting scheduled for
28-29 November 2002, following the meeting held on 17-18 January this year, which we jointlychaired, will be yet another excellent opportunity to take forward this partnership, and morespecifically to take stock of progress in our collective response to the trade-related technicalassistance and capacity building challenges.  I will be in touch with you shortly to discuss the planningof this important meeting.
Sincerely yours,
Chiedu Osakwe
Technical Cooperation DivisionWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 22
ANNEX II:  WTO SECRETARIAT LETTER TO THE WORLD BANK
Direct line: (+41 22) 739 5250
Direct fax: (+41 22) 739 5690Email: chiedu.osakwe@wto.org
Mr. Uri Dadush
DirectorTrade Department
The World Bank
1818 H Street NW,Washington, D.C. 20433
Fax: 1 202 522 2578
Reference:   ns02/mo/TA2003/WB
22 August 2002
Dear Mr. Dadush,
The WTO Secretariat is now in the process of preparing the 2003 Technical Assistance Plan,
pursuant to the Doha Development Agenda.  In light of recent meetings and consultations with theWorld Bank, I write to seek your support for responding to the trade capacity priority needs, whichhave been formally communicated to the WTO Secretariat by beneficiary countries.
As you already know, in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, Ministers undertook specific
commitments on technical cooperation and capacity building in eleven key areas.  Immediately afterDoha, the WTO Secretariat prepared the first Technical Assistance Plan.  We are in the process ofpreparing the second Plan, based on the Doha technical assistance commitments.  A key area of
improvement in the Technical Assistance Plan is the necessity for partnership with agencies, regional
institutions and donor countries, with comparative advantages in trade capacity building.  The WTO isconvinced that the World Bank has vital and indispensable contributions to make in theimplementation of the trade capacity building commitments in the Doha Development Agenda.  Weare pleased with the positive response and support that we have received from your institution inmeeting this challenge, and we look forward to deepening this partnership for next year.
As part of the process for designing the 2003 Technical Assistance Plan, the Secretariat
formally requested beneficiary countries to communicate their priority needs.  The response has beenvery good and extremely useful.  The Secretariat has formally received over 1,000 requests forspecific activities from about 104 countries.  On the basis of these formally communicated requests,the Secretariat will be able to implement two activities per requesting country (three activities for each
least-developed country) and approximately 150 highly specialised and focused regional activities,
from which all requesting countries will benefit.  These activities will be those within the comparativeadvantage of the WTO.  In sum, these will total approximately 400 activities.
For those activities to which the WTO Secretariat cannot respond as an individual agency and
needs to work in partnership with others, it is suggested that you kindly consider any possible
appropriate response that the Bank can offer.  It is felt that the World Bank has a key role to play,
particularly in its capacity as the leader in trade mainstreaming process by core multilateral agencies,and in light of the discussions by the Heads of Agency and the Joint Communiqué agreed at theirmeeting at the World Bank on 26 February 2002.
./..WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 23
I will shortly forward a compilation of specific activities not included in the 2003 Technical
Assistance Plan, for which the World Bank could consider specific responses that it could provide.
Thereafter, I propose to undertake consultations with identified multilateral, regional and bilateral
technical assistance providers who could provide responses, in support of the DDA.
Sincerely yours,
Chiedu Osakwe
Technical Cooperation DivisionWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 24
ANNEX III:  LETTER TO REGI ONAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS
Direct line: (+41 22) 739 5250
Direct fax: (+41 22) 739 5764Email: chiedu.osakwe@wto.org
See list of 6 Regional Development Banks
Reference:   HLS/100 (n:\tc\regbank\let-23oct)
16 August 2002
Dear Mr.------,
I would like to recall the dialogue that WTO Director-General Mike Moore initiated with the six
major regional development banks and the World Bank on 3 May 2002.  Also please recall the
follow-up letter to the dialogue by the Director-General on 3 June 2002.  I have been requested to
pursue follow-up on the basis of the understanding that emerged at the dialogue, and communicatedin the 3 June letter by the Director-General.
As suggested in the letter by the Director-General, regional development banks have a
significant and substantive contribution to make in such areas as (i) the implementation of the Doha
Development Agenda; and (ii) preparation of country-specific Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies(DTISs) for countries in your region (not necessarily LDCs).  Several of these countries are requestingfor such studies.  We could advance a WTO-Regional Development Bank partnership in these twoareas in the context of the WTO Technical Assistance Plan for 2003, which focuses on trade capacitybuilding priority needs of countries.
The WTO Secretariat, in active consultation with the WTO membership, has just initiated the
preparatory process for the 2003 Technical Assistance Plan, involving countries in your region.  Wewould like your Bank to be a key part of this process in partnership with the WTO.
The DITSs, three of which have been prepared for the LDCs under the Integrated Framework,
have proved to be an effective instrument for assessing the competitiveness of an economy, and for
identifying the impediments to the meaningful integration of the country into the multilateral tradingsystem and the global economy.  These diagnostics have provided an effective mechanism forbuilding domestic consensus for necessary policy reform, for prioritising the needs of trade-relatedtechnical assistance and capacity building, for co-ordinating donor responses to the identified needs,and for stimulating necessary supply-side responses.  As demands for DTISs are increasing from
non-LDC developing countries, I would like to invite regional development banks to consider the joint
undertaking of preparing DTISs in non-LDC developing countries located in your region, inpartnership with the WTO.
In light of the foregoing, I would like to invite your designated representative to a meeting of
the Regional Development Banks and the WTO.  It would be useful if this representative could be
your Bank's focal point on WTO-Regional Development Bank matters.  I propose that the meeting willbe convened on 30 October 2002, starting at 9.00 a.m., at the WTO building in Geneva.  The purposeof the meeting would be to explore a partnership on the two suggested areas.  A draft agenda wouldbe forwarded to your designated representative.
./..WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 25
I would also like to take this opportunity to invite your designated representative to the second
seminar on trade mainstreaming and the Integrated Framework, entitled "Integrating Trade into
Development Strategies: The Role of Policy, Technical assistance, and Capacity building.", which will
be held on 31 October and 1 November 2002.  The seminar is organised by the IF core agencies(IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP, World Bank, and WTO).  T he programme for this seminar is attached to
this letter.
I would be grateful if you could provide the name of your representative to the above meeting
and seminar to Ms. Maika Oshikawa (tel: 41 22 739 5643; fax: 41 22 739 5764; e-mail:maika.oshikawa@wto.org) by 15 September 2002.  Please feel free to contact myself or Ms.Oshikawa, if you have any further questions.
Yours sincerely,
Chiedu Osakwe
Director
Technical Cooperation DivisionWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 26
ANNEX IV:  LETTER TO UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMISSIONS
Direct line: (+41 22) 739 52 50
Direct fax: (+41 22) 739 56 90Email: chiedu.osakwe @wto.org Economic and Social Commisson for Western Asia
Economic and Social Commission for Asia/Pacific
Economic Commission for EuropeEconomic Commission for Latin America/CaribbeanEconomic Commission for Africa
Reference:   HLS/100 (n:\tc\regbanks\23octESCWA)
16 August 2002
Dear Sir/Madam,
As you know, the Doha Ministerial Declaration, adopted by Trade Ministers last November,
confirmed technical cooperation and capacity building as core elements of the developmentdimension of the multilateral trading system.  Moreover, Ministers stressed the critical importance of
coordination with other inter-governmental organisations, including with regional development banks
and economic commissions, for the realisation of the Doha Development Agenda.  This message wasreiterated by the heads of the six major regional development banks at their meeting with the WTODirector-General on 3 May 2002 (see attached the report of the meeting).
At the 3 May meeting, it was suggested that regional development banks and regional
economic commissions had a significant and substantive contribution to make in such areas as (i) theimplementation of the Doha Development Agenda; and (ii) preparation of country-specific DiagnosticTrade Integration Studies (DTISs) for countries in your region (not necessarily LDCs), several of whoare requesting for such studies.  I believe that we could advance a WTO-Regional EconomicCommission partnership in these two areas in the context of the WTO Technical Assistance Plan for
2003, which focuses on trade capacity building priority needs of countries.
The WTO Secretariat, in active consultation with the WTO membership, has just initiated the
preparatory process for the 2003 Technical Assistance Plan, involving countries in your region.  Wewould like your Commission to be a key part of this process in partnership with the WTO.
The DITSs, three of which have been prepared for the LDCs under the Integrated Framework,
have proved to be an effective instrument for assessing the competitiveness of an economy, and foridentifying the impediments to the meaningful integration of the country into the multilateral tradingsystem and the global economy.  These diagnostics have provided an effective mechanism forbuilding domestic consensus for necessary policy reform, for prioritising the needs of trade-relatedtechnical assistance and capacity building, for co-ordinating donor responses to the identified needs,
and for stimulating necessary supply-side responses.  As demands for DTISs are increasing from
non-LDC developing countries, I would like to invite regional economic commissions to considerexploring a partnership for preparing DTISs in non-LDC developing countries located in your regionwith the WTO.
./..WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 27
In light of the foregoing, I would like to invite your designated representative to a meeting of
the Regional Economic Commissions and the WTO.  It would be useful if this representative could beyour Commission's focal point on WTO-Regional Economic Commission trade capacity building
matters.  I propose that the meeting will be convened on 30 October 2002, starting at 2.00 p.m., at the
WTO building in Geneva.  The purpose of the meeting would be to explore a partnership on the twosuggested areas.  A draft agenda would be forwarded to your designated representative.
I would also like to take this opportunity to invite your designated representative to the second
seminar on trade mainstreaming and the Integrated Framework, entitled "Integrating Trade into
Development Strategies: The Role of Policy, Technical assistance, and Capacity building.", which willbe held from 31 October and 1 November 2002.  The seminar is organised by the IF core agencies(IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP, World Bank, and WTO).  T he programme for this seminar is attached to
this letter.
I would be grateful if you could provide the name of your representative to the above meeting
and seminar to Ms. Maika Oshikawa (tel: 41 22 739 5643; fax: 41 22 739 5764; e-mail:maika.oshikawa@wto.org) by 15 September 2002.  Please feel free to contact myself or
Ms. Oshikawa, if you have any further questions.
Yours sincerely,
Chiedu Osakwe
Director
Technical Cooperation DivisionWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 28
ANNEX V:  INDIVIDUAL LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO COUNTRIES
REQUESTING TA FOR THE 2003 PLAN
Direct line: (+41 22) 739 5250
Direct fax: (+41 22) 739 5764
Email: chiedu.osakwe@wto.org F A X
To: Countries Requesting TA for 2003 Plan Fax No: See list
From: Chiedu Osakwe
DirectorTechnical Cooperation DivisionDate: 13/08/02
Number of pages (including this one): 1 Ref: TEC/100
Dear ,
Thank you for your communica tion dated ------ 2002 pertain ing to your Government's requests
for trade-related technical assistance and capacity building activities for the year 2003.
Your request will be examined internally in the Secretariat and in consultation with your
Delegation, in light of the commitments on technical cooperation and capacity building in the Doha
Development Agenda.
Mr. ----------- in the Technical Cooperation Divisi on and Regional Coor dinator for ------------, will
shortly contact your Delegation.  He will consult on your priorities and seek to reach mutualagreement on the TRTA/CB activities for your country (both at the national and regional levels).  Theresults of the consultations will be incorporated into the Coordinated WTO Technical Assistance Plan
for 2003.
As you already know, the 2003 TA Plan will be considered by the Membership in the
Committee on Trade and Development, and its financial implications discussed by the Budget,Finance and Administration Committee.
For those trade-related technical assistance and capacity building requests to which the WTO
will not be able to respond as an individual agency, we will ensure that they are transmitted to thecompetent multilateral agencies as part of the process of inter-agency coordination, to bilateraldonors, members of the DAC/OECD, and to the Regional Development Banks (RDBs).  For suchrequests, follow-up will be required on both our parts.
Yours sincerely,
Chiedu Osakwe
Director
Technical Cooperation DivisionWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 29
ANNEX VI:  CALENDAR FOR THE DDA NEGOTIATION TRAINING COURSE FOR
SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Country
GroupingDate Regional Body Academic
InstitutionCost-
sharing
arrangemen
t
(WTO/
Regional
body)TCD contact
Latin America 10 – 21 June
2002Organization of
American StatesGeorgetown
University,
Washington0/100 Gómez Torán
Arab
CountriesDec 2002
/Jan 2003Arab Monetary
FundForeign Trade
Training Centre/
American
University of
Cairo/Cairo
University50/50 Seif  El Yazal
Central and
Eastern
Europe15-29
October
2002European Bank for
Reconstruction and
DevelopmentJoint Vienna
InstituteSmeets
English-
speaking
AfricaNov/Dec
2002NEPAD & African
Development BankStellenbosch
University,
South AfricaYeboah
Asia and the
Pacific28 April – 10
May 2003Asian Development
BankBeijing University 75/25 Krommenacker
Non-resident April 2003
[back-to-
back with
Geneva
Week]IMD, Lausanne Osakwe
Blank
Oshikawa
Caribbean
countries2003 Organization of
American StatesUniversity of the
West Indies,
BarbadosGómez Torán
French-
speaking
Africa2003 NEPAD & African
Development BankAfDB
Training Institute,
AbidjanYeboah
Central Asian
and Caucasus2003 Centre for Trade
Policy and Law,
CanadaTbilisi, Georgia 75/25 Smeets
LDCs 2003 TBC TBC TBC Sajal Mathur/
J.-M. FortinWT/COMTD/W/104
Page 30
List of invited Members and Observers*
East Asia and the Pacific (29): Bangladesh; Bhutan*; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia*; China,
People's Republic of; Chinese Taipei; Fiji; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Korea; Republic of;
Lao People's Democratic*; Macau, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal*;Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Singapore; Samoa*; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Thailand;
Tonga*; Vanuatu*; Viet Nam*.
French-speaking Africa (26): Algeria* , Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape
Verde*, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Congo Dem. Rep., Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti ,
Equatorial Guinea*, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania , Morocco , Niger,
Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia .
English-speaking Africa (21): Botswana, Egypt , Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles*, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan* ,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Latin America (18):  Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Caribbean countries (15): Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.
Central and South East Europe (17): Albania, Belarus*, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia*, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia.
Central Asian and Caucasus Countries (11): Arme nia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz
Republic, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Arab Countries (16): Algeria*, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon*, Mauritania,
Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia*, Sudan*, Tunisia, UAE,  Yemen*
Non-residents (35): Andorra*, Antigua and Bar buda, Armenia*, Bahamas*, Burkina Faso, Chad,
Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Laos*, Macao, China, Malawi, Maldives,
Mali, Namibia, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Samoa *, Sao Tome and Principe*, Seychelles*, St. Kitts
and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Suriname,
Swaziland, Togo, Tonga*, Uzbekistan*, Vanuatu*WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 31
ANNEX VII:  CALENDAR OF EXTENSION OF THE INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK TO
THE LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Item Milestones Planned delivery date
Malawi Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 28 Nov.-8 Dec. 2001
 IF Mission 27 April 2002
 Delivery to client 30 June 2002
 Workshop 15 Sept. 2002
 Final Version  
Senegal Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 9-16 Nov. 2001
 IF Mission 4-15 Feb 2002
 Delivery to client 30 June 2002
 Workshop 30 July 2002
 Final Version  
Lesotho Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 28 Nov. – 14 Dec. 2001
 IF Mission 22 March – 1 April 2002
 Delivery to client 30 June 2002
 Workshop 15 July 2002
 Final version  
Yemen Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 4-13 Feb. 2002
 IF Mission 15 May 2002
 Delivery to client 15 July 2002
 Workshop 15 Sept. 2002
 Final version  
Ethiopia Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 20 June 2002
 IF Mission 15 September 2002
 Delivery to client 30 November 2002
 Workshop 1 January 2002
 Final version
Nepal Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 15 Aug. 2002
 IF Mission 30 Sept. 2002
 Delivery to client 15 Feb. 2003
 Workshop 15 March 2003
 Final version  
Eritrea Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 15 July 2002
 IF Mission 15 Sept. 2002
 Delivery to client 30 Nov. 2002
 Workshop 15 Feb. 2003
 Final version  
Djibouti Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit tbd
 IF Mission tbd
 Delivery to client tbd
 Workshop tbd
 Final version tbd
Burundi Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 15 Sept. 2002WT/COMTD/W/104
Page 32
Item Milestones Planned delivery date
 IF Mission 15 Nov. 2002
 Delivery to client 30 Jan. 2003
 Workshop 15 March 2002
 Final version  
Guinea Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 15 July 2002
 IF Mission 15 Sept. 2002
 Delivery to client 30 Nov. 2002
 Workshop 15 Feb.2003
 Final version  
Mali Trade Integration Study Pre-mission visit 15 July 2002
 IF Mission 15 Sept. 2002
 Delivery to client 30 Nov. 2002
 Workshop 15 Feb. 2003
 Final version  
__________