WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/33
10 October 2001
(01-4922)
REPORT (2001) OF THE
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
AND
THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Chairman:  Ambassador Nathan Irumba (Uganda)
I. INTRODUCTION
1. This report covers the activities of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) and the
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (SCLDC) for the period 27 October 2000 to
8 October 2001.1
2. The CTD held five formal sessions during the period, on 27 October 2000 (continued on
8 November 2000), 16 February 2001, 9 April 2001, 22 May 2001 and 8 October 2001.  The Minutes
of these meetings are contained in documents WT/COMTD/M/31, WT/COMTD/M/32,
WT/COMTD/M/33, WT/COMTD/M/34 and WT/COMTD/M/35.2  The 31st and 32nd Sessions were
chaired by Ambassador Ransford Smith (Jamaica).  At the 32nd  Session, Ambassador Nathan Irumba
(Uganda) was elected Chairperson of the CTD, and chaired the subsequent sessions of the Committee.
Eight informal meetings were held on 19 January 2001, 9 February 2001, 22 March 2001, 9 April
2001, 17 July 2001, 13 September 2001, 28 September 2001 and 1 October 2001.
3. Two seminars were held under the auspices of the CTD on the subjects of "Technology, Trade
and Development" (14 February 2000) and "Government Facilitation of E-commerce for
Development" (14 June 2000).  The Chairman reported on these seminars to the succeeding meetingsof the CTD.  These reports are annexed to the minutes of those meetings, (WT/COMTD/32 and
WT/COMTD/M/35).
3
4. The Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries held four formal meetings, on
6 December 2000, 12-13 February 2001, 9 April 2001  and 20 July 2001.  The Minutes of these
meetings are contained in documents WT/COMTD/LDC/M/22, WT/COMTD/LDC/M/23,
WT/COMTD/LDC/M/24, and WT/COMTD/LDC/M/25.  Three informal sessions were held on
17 November 2000, 25 January 2001 and 21 March 2001.  A Joint Integrated Framework Core
Agencies Seminar was organized on "The Policy Relevance of Mainstreaming Trade into Country
Development Strategies: Perspectives of Least-Developed Countries" on 29-30 January 2001.
Ambassador Benedikt Jónsson (Iceland) chaired the 22nd and 23rd sessions of the Sub-Committee.  At
the 33rd Session of the CTD on 9 April 2001, Ambassador Simon Fuller (United Kingdom) was
elected Chairman of the SCLDC, and he chaired the Sub-Committee as of that date.
                                                     
1The last annual report of the Committee is contained in document WT/COMTD/28 of
21 November 2000.
2 WT/COMTD/M/35 to be issued.
3 WT/COMTD/M/32 and WT/COMTD/M/34.WT/COMTD/33
Page 2
5. A request for observer status was received by the CTD at its 32nd Session from the
"Organisation internationale de la francophonie".  Requests for observer status had earlier been
received from the League of Arab States, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
and the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting.  Decisions on these requests are still pending.  A
full list of intergovernmental organizations with observer status in the Committee is contained indocument WT/COMTD/W/22/Rev.5.
II. WORK OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
6. The principal themes addressed by the Committee during the period covered in this report
were the following:
A. Special and differential treatment in favour of developing countries;
B. Technical cooperation and training;C. Report of the Joint Advisory Group on the International Trade Centre
UNCTAD/WTO;
D. Small economies;
E. Development dimension of electronic commerce;
F. Technology, trade and development;G. Notifications regarding market access for least-developed countries;
H. Generalized system of preferences (GSP);
I. Regional trade agreements:  Notifications under the Enabling Clause;
J. Financing for Development:  Preparatory Conference for the International Conference
in March 2002;  and
K. Work Programme of the CTD.
A. S
PECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN FAVOUR OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
7. The CTD continued its review  of the application of the special provisions for differential and
more favourable treatment of developing countries in the WTO Agreements.  Following a request by
the CTD at its 29th Session on 28 July 2000, the Secretariat prepared a paper on the "Implementation
of Special and Differential Treatment Provisions in WTO Agreements and Decisions"
(WT/COMTD/W/77).  The objective of the paper was to provide an overview of the implementation
of special and differential treatment provisions of the WTO agreements and decisions. Where
available, information relating to the level of implementation of specific provisions was provided,
along with comments and statements made by Members regarding the implementation of specific
provisions.  The paper built on, and updated, information contained in WT/COMTD/W/35 andWT/COMTD/W/66.  Document WT/COMTD/W/77 was prepared for the 31
st Session of the
Committee and discussions on it continued at the 32nd Session.  It was agreed that special and
differential treatment provisions would remain an item on the agenda for future meetings of the CTD,
and that the updating of information on the implementation of special and differential treatment
provisions would take place on a regular basis.  For the 34th Session, the Secretariat had prepared
document WT/COMTD/W/85 which aimed to reflect the state of discussions on special and
differential treatment according to written proposals made and discussions held in the various other
WTO bodies.  The Committee took note of the document and agreed to revert to the item at its next
meeting.
8. The Chairman of the General Council, in a letter dated 2 August 2001, requested the CTD "to
review all special and differential treatment provisions in the WTO Agreements and report to the
General Council by 30 September 2001 on how they could be operationalised and further enhanced".
The Chairman of the CTD held three informal consultations in response to that request on 18 and
28 September and 1 October.  To assist delegations, the Secretariat prepared an updated documentWT/COMTD/33
Page 3
(WT/COMTD/W/77/Rev.1) covering all aspects of special and differential treatment.  This document
was given a first formal discussion at the 35th Session.
B. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING
9. At the 31st Session, the Committee considered a draft Secretariat paper entitled "A Strategy
for Technical Assistance in the WTO".  This pape r was transformed into a working document for the
32nd Session (WT/COMTD/W/78).  Following oral and written comments, a revision
(WT/COMTD/W/78/Rev.1) was taken note of by the Committee at its 34th Session.
10. At the 31st Session, the Committee took note of the Three-Year Plan (2001-2003) for
Technical Cooperation (WT/COMTD/W/79), and at its 34th Session it took note of a follow-up report
(WT/COMTD/W/84).
11. A Secretariat document with respect to th e WTO Programme for Training regarding the
regular trade policy courses held in Geneva (Three-Year Plan 2001-2003)(WT/COMTD/W/79/Rev.1/Add.1 and WT/LDC/SWG/IF/7/Rev.1/Add.1) was taken note of by the
Committee at its 31
st Session.  In addition, at its 34th Session, the Committee took note of Report on
Training which contained the results of a review of the objectives for the trade-policy courses to
ensure that such objectives could be effectively measured (WT/COMTD/W/82) and a Secretariat note
on Trade Policy Courses 2000 (WT/COMTD/W/86).
12. Following a reorganization of technical cooperation and training activities in the Secretariat, a
new Strategy for WTO Technical Cooperation (W T/COMTD/W/90), a Coordinated WTO Plan for
Technical Assistance Activities (WT/COMTD/W/90/Add.1) and a note on Future Activities of the
WTO Training Institute (WT/COMTD/W/89 and Corr.1) were discussed at the 35th Session.
Members generally welcomed the new Strategy and the note on Future Activities.
C. REPORT OF THE JOINT ADVISORY GROUP ON THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE
UNCTAD/WTO
13. Ambassador Anda Filip (Romania), who had chaired the 34th Session of the Joint Advisory
Group on the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO,  presented the report on that Session (ITC
document: ITC/AG/(XXXIV)/188) at the 34th Session of the CTD.  The Committee took note of that
report.
D. CONCERNS AND PROBLEMS OF SMALL ECONOMIES
14. A seminar on small economies was held under the auspices of the CTD on 21 October 2000.
At its 31st Session, the CTD took note of a report by the Chairman of the CTD on that seminar
(annexed to WT/COMTD/M/31).  It was agreed that work in the CTD on small economies should
continue and that the Chairman should hold informal consultations as to the precise nature of such
work.  At the 32nd Session the issue was taken up under the CTD Work Programme for 2001 and it
was agreed that the Secretariat be asked to draw up terms of reference for a possible study on trade-
related constraints of small economies.  Further consultations would be held on the proposal for a
study once the terms of reference became available.  Following informal consultations on 22 March
2001, a draft of a proposed study on small economies was circulated to Members containing the draft
terms of reference, structure and time-frame for such a study.  The issue was raised again by therepresentative of Barbados at the 34
th Session.WT/COMTD/33
Page 4
E. DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
15. The General Council decided, on 17 July 2000, to reinvigorate the WTO work programme on
e-commerce.  The CTD was one of the four subsidiary bodies invited to pick up their work on
e-commerce, identify cross-sectoral issues, and report back to the General Council at its regular
meeting in December 2000.  In order to consider its report to the General Council in December, theCTD agreed to meet informally on 25
 October 2000, adding a briefing on e-commerce by
WTO Secretariat staff and staff from the ITU, ITC, and UNCTAD to the second Geneva Week for
Non-Resident Members and Observers.  On the basis of the briefing and the subsequent discussion,
the Chairman provided a report to the 31st Session of the CTD (WT/COMTD/26).  The CTD agreed
that the Chairman forward his report as amended to the General Council in fulfilment of its request.
16. As requests by Members, a seminar on "Government Facilitation of E-commerce for
Development" was held under the auspices of the CTD on 14 June 2001.  The seminar containedfour sessions on regulation and deregulation, promotion of modern information and communication
technologies, education and information, and government coordination.  The presentations and the
questions focused on some of the ways in which governments (and international organizations) can
facilitate e-commerce, how these in turn impact on development and the preconditions for success.
The Chairman presented a report on the seminar, on his own responsibility, to the 35
th Session of the
CTD (annexed to WT/COMTD/M/35).  The proceedings of the seminar fed into the Committee's
consideration of the issue of electronic commerce, as part of the overall WTO Work Programme.
17. At the 34th Session Members were asked what type of work they wished the CTD to carry out
on electronic commerce as compared to the topics they preferred to treat in the context of the General
Council.  The following discussion was not conclusive.  However, many delegations emphasized theimportance of the development implications of electronic commerce, both at the 14 June
CTD seminar and at a dedicated discussion on cross-cutting aspects of electronic commerce held
under the auspices of the General Council on 15 June 2001.  The CTD therefore held an informal
meeting on 17 July 2001 to discuss further work in the CTD on e-commerce and development.  The
Secretariat had prepared a draft proposal for a programme of work on e-commerce in the CTD as abasis for the discussion.  The draft proposal was revised in light of comments made by delegations
and taken up again at the 35
th Session (WT/COMTD/W/92).
18. The delegation of Cuba presented a communication entitled "Need for Unrestricted Global
Electronic Commerce" (WT/COMTD/W/87) to the 34th Session of the CTD.  The Committee took
note of that communication.
F. TECHNOLOGY , TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
19. Following a suggestion by the delegation of Zambia for the CTD to carry out work on
technology-related issues (WT/COMTD/W/67) a seminar on "Technology, Trade and Development"
was held under the auspices of the CTD on 14 February 2001.  It was addressed by speakers from
Geneva-based delegations, capitals, universities, other intergovernmental organizations and the WTO
Secretariat.  Although the seminar was, regrettably, sparsely attended, those who took part recognized
the high quality of the interventions during the day and the keen interest of the debate.  It was widelyrecognised that technology is a key driver in the trade and development process and that in the last
two decades, the highest growth rates have been re corded in industries, goods and services exhibiting
high technology content.  However, there were great disparities in the degree to which developing
countries have been able to benefit from technologies.  Foreign investment can help technology
transfer to developing countries but developing countries also benefitted to a largely varying extentfrom foreign investment.  The upgrading of domestic technological capabilities also required
governments to create a suitable environment and adopt appropriate policies.  Issues with regard to
the opportunities and challenges of the WTO Agreements in that respect were also raised.  TheWT/COMTD/33
Page 5
Chairman of the CTD reported back, on his own responsibility, to the 32nd Session of the CTD.  His
report, which sets out the main points raised in statements and discussions is annexed to
WT/COMTD/M/32.
G. MARKET ACCESS FOR LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
20. Notifications of market access for least-developed countries are currently made following two
different procedures.  Measures taken under the Ge neralized System of Preferences (GSP) are sent to
the CTD under the provisions of the Enabling Cl ause while measures taken by other developing
countries under the 1999 waiver4 are notified to the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG).  The
Chairmen of the CTD and the CTG held consultations on how to unify the consideration of market
access announcements in favour of LDCs in one forum.  Following those consultations the CTD
agreed, ad referendum, to refer notifications of market access measures for LDCs to the
Sub-Committee on LDCs for substantial examination and reporting back.5  The CTG agreed to a
corresponding procedure.6
H. GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES
(i) Notifications
21. At its 32nd Session, the CTD had before it two notifications regarding the Generalized System
of Preferences (GSP).  The delegation of Canada ha d notified a modification of its' GSP scheme in
favour of LDCs which had entered into force on 1 September 2000 (WT/COMTD/N/15).  The
delegation of Norway had made a notification on its entire GSP scheme as currently applied
(WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.2).  The CTD took note of these notifications.  The representative of the
United States informed the 32nd Session that her delegation had notified additional GSP preferences
for more than 1,800 products lines for Africa, including a number of LDCs.  It related to all
designated African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act with respect to the GSP
section.  The notification (WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.3) was taken note of at the 34th Session.  For its
32nd Session, the CTD had also received a communication from Japan concerning a Proposed Reform
of its GSP Scheme in Favour of Least-De veloped Countries (Document WT/COMTD/29 and
WT/LDC/SWG/IF/12 of 6 February 2001).  The actual notification (WT/COMT/N/2/Add.10) was
before the 34th Session at which it was taken note of.  At the 35th Session the CTD had before it a
notification by the European Communities regarding it s "Everything But Arms" initiative in favour of
LDCs (WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.2) which was referred to the Sub-Committee on LDCs for substantive
consideration and reporting back.
(ii) Study
22. At the request of some Members the Secretariat presented a study entitled "The Generalised
System of Preferences:  A Preliminary Analysis of the GSP schemes in the Quad" (WT/COMTD/93)
to the 35th Session.  The aim of the study was to provide an introduction to the functioning of the
GSP, including the preferences provided by majo r developed countries and the benefits drawn by
developing countries.  A preliminary disc ussion of the document was held at the 35th Session.
I. REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS : NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE .
23. At its 31st Session, the CTD had before it a notification (WT/COMTD/N/13) from the parties
to the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and a copy of the
                                                     
4 WT/L/304 of 15 June 1999.
5 WT/COMTD/M/32.
6 G/C/M/47.WT/COMTD/33
Page 6
corresponding treaty (WT/COMTD/N/24).  At the demand of the parties, the Committee heard a
formal presentation of the Treaty at the 32nd Session and took note of the notification.
24. At the 31st Session the CTD also took note of a notification from the Parties of the East
African Community (WT/COMTD/N/14) and the text  of the corresponding treaty (WT/COMTD/25).
At its 35th Session the CTD had before it a notification regarding aspects of the Treaty of the West
African Economic Union (WT/COMTD/ N/11/Add.2) of which it took note.
J. FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT : PREPARATORY CONFERENCE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE IN MARCH 2002
25. The General Council at its meeting on 17 July 2000 agreed that the CTD should be the contact
point for an input from the WTO to the UN High Level Event on Financing for Development, then
scheduled to take place in January 2001, and that the Chairman of the CTD should be in contact with
the Preparatory Committee for that High Level Event.  It was also agreed that issues which might beraised in the context of the preparations for the High-Level Event would be discussed in the CTD.
The Financing for Development Event was subsequently postponed to February 2002.  At the
31
st Session of the CTD, the Secretariat briefed the Committee on the state of play of preparations.
Three informal meetings of the CTD were held on 19 January, 9 February 2001 and 9 April 2001 for
which Members had an informal paper by the Secretariat to stimulate the discussions.  Followingdiscussions in the CTD Members asked the Secretariat to prepare a short statement which could
constitute the WTO Members' political input into the event.  At the 8 November 2000 meeting of the
CTD, the Chairman had proposed to invite the Co-Chairs of the Preparatory Committee at an
appropriate moment to address the Committee on progress in the preparations for the High-Level
Event and discuss with Members.  An informal m eeting between the Co-Chairs and the Bureau of the
Preparatory Committee and the Members of th e CTD took place on 9 April 2001.  The WTO
contribution (WT/COMTD/30) was brought to th e 3 and 4 May 2001 meeting of the Preparatory
Committee by the Director of the Development Division.  He reported back to the Committee at its
34
th Session at which delegations were also given the opportunity to express views they considered
not entirely satisfactory reflected in the agreed political document.  At its 35th Session, the CTD was
informed by the Secretariat of developments in the preparatory process for the UN International
Conference on Financing for Development.
K. WORK PROGRAMME OF THE CTD
26. A draft work programme for 2001 was discussed informally at the 31st Session of the CTD.
Discussions continued at the 32nd Session for which the Work Programme for 2001 and been put into
draft form in document WT/COMTD/W/81/Rev.1.
III. WORK OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
27. The principal themes addressed by the Sub-Committee since its previous report were:
(a) Follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least-Developed
Countries' (LDCs) Trade Development;
(i) Integrated Framework for trade-related technical assistance to LDCs;
(ii) Market Access for products originating in LDCs ;
(iii) LDCs' Accession to the WTO; and
(iv) Trade Policy Reviews of LDCs.
(b) The Third United Nations Conference on Least-Developed Countries (LDC-III);WT/COMTD/33
Page 7
(c) LDCs Preparations for the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference;
(d) WTO Technical Cooperation for LDCs;
(e) Work Programme for 2001
(a) Follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least-Developed Countries'
Trade Development
(i) Integrated Framework for trade-related technical assistance to LDCs:
28. The Sub-Committee continued its work on the Integrated Framework for trade-related
technical assistance to LDCs (IF), in particular, on the review of the IF as mandated under
paragraph 6 of the Framework document.7 Attention was centred on operationalizing the decisions
taken by the Heads of six core Agencies on 6 July 2000.8 With the adoption of the proposal for an IF
Pilot Scheme,9 new arrangements for strengthening and revitalizing the IF were agreed to. As part of
the new arrangements, the Sub-Committee noted the reports by the Chairman of the IF Steering
Committee (IFSC) on its meetings held on 15 March 2001 and 3 May 2001.10  The Sub-Committee
was also briefed by the Secretariat on the implementation of the Pilot Scheme and the meetings of the
Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) which were held on 1-2  December 2000, 31 January 2001,29 March 2001 and 17 April 2001.
11
29. At the 22nd Session, the Sub-Committee held discussions on proposals to operationalize the IF
based on the results of the review. At the 23rd Session, the Sub-Committee adopted the Proposal for an
IF Pilot Scheme (WT/LDC/SWG/IF/13).  The Secretariat also reported on the Joint IF Seminar held at
the WTO, on 29-30 January 2001, on the "Policy Relevance of Mainstreaming Trade into CountryDevelopment Strategies: Perspectives of LD Cs" (WT/LDC/SWG/IF/15/ Rev.1).  At its 24
th Session,
the Sub-Committee noted the reports by the IFSC and IAWG on the IF Pilot Scheme.  A progress
report on the IF was circulated (W T/LDC/SWG/IF/17/Re v.1).  At its 25th Session, the Sub-Committee
was informed of the selection of LDCs for the Pilot Phase (WT/IFSC/W/4), whose implementation
was based on the development of the Pilot Phase Work Programme (WT/IFSC/W/2) and theestablishment of and contributions to the IF Trust Fund (WT/IFSC/W/3).  The Sub-Committee would
continue its work on the IF in 2002.
(ii) Market Access for products originating in LDCs
30. Following a request by the Sub-Committee, the Secretariat prepared a survey of the current
market access opportunities for LDCs. The compilation was revised in light of Members comments
and presented at the Third United Nations Conference for LDCs, as part of the WTOSub-Committee's contribution to the Confer ence (WT/LDC/SWG/IF/14/Rev.1 and Add.1).
Significant improvements in market access for LDCs were notified and discussed in the
Sub-Committee.  For periodic monitoring, the Sub-Committee noted the importance of notifications
of existing measures or improvements in market access for LDCs. Members also took note of the
improvements in market access reporting procedures, whereby all LDC specific notifications,received by the CTD and CTG, would be forwarded to the SCLDC for substantive discussions and
reporting back, as appropriate.
                                                     
7 WT/LDC/HL/1/Rev.1.
8 WT/LDC/SWG/IF/2
9  WT/LDC/SWG/IF/13 adopted at the 23rd Session of the Sub-Committee.
10 The reports are contained in WT/C OMTD/LDC/M/24 and WT/COMTD/LDC/M/25.
11 Reports of the meetings are contained in WT/COMTD/LDC/M/22, WT/COMTD/LDC/M/24, and
WT/COMTD/LDC/M/25 respectively.WT/COMTD/33
Page 8
31. At the 22nd Session of the Sub-Committee, New Zealan d notified and elaborated its decision
to provide duty-free and quota-free access to all LDC exports (WT/COMTD/27).  At its 23rd Session,
the Sub-Committee was briefed by the Secretariat on the preparation of the market access survey for
LDCs.  The US also notified the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which included some African
LDCs amongst its beneficiaries (WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.3).  At its 24th Session, the Sub-Committee
revised and agreed to submit the survey of market access opportunities to the Third United Nations
Conference for LDCs (WT/LDC/SWG/ IF/14/Rev.1 and Add.1).  At its 25th Session, the
Sub-Committee discussed Japan’s notificat ion (WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.10) and Morocco’s
notification (G/C/6 and WT/LDC/SWG/IF/18) of market access measures in favour of LDCs.
Switzerland and Norway, informed Members of impr ovements in their GSP schemes in favour of
LDCs which would be notified shortly.  Member s also took note of the duty-free and quota-free
treatment accorded to all LDCs under existing G SP schemes by Hungary, Czech & Slovak Republic.
(iii) LDCs' Accession to the WTO
32. Upon request from Members, the Secretariat prepared a Status Report on LDCs' Accession to
the WTO for the Sub-Committee’s consideration.  In light of the comments received from Members at
the 23rd and 24th Sessions, the paper was revised and submitted to the Third United Nations
Conference for LDCs, as part of the WTO Sub-Committee's contribution to the Conference
(WT/LDC/SWG/IF/11/Rev.2).
(iv) Trade Policy Reviews of LDCs
33. At its 23rd Session the Sub-Committee invited the Director of the Trade Policies Review
Division to brief Members on the new approach adopted for preparing Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs)
of LDCs.  At the 24th Session of the Sub-Committee, the Secretariat updated Members on the strategic
plan for TPRs in LDCs. Members welcomed the new approach to prepare TPRs for LDCs.
(b) The Third United Nations Conference on Least–Developed Countries (LDC-III)
34. At its 22nd Session, the Sub-Committee discussed and agreed upon on possible contributions
of the Sub-Committee to the LDC-III Conference.  At its 23rd Session, the Sub-Committee invited
UNCTAD to provide a briefing on the preparatory pr ocess for the LDC-III Conference to be held in
May 2001, in Brussels.
35. Based on comments and suggestions from Members and the Director-General, the
Sub-Committee at its 24th Session, agreed to contributions submitt ed to the LDC-III Conference in six
areas:  (i) a Report by the Director-General on the implementation of the IF
(WT/LDC/SWG/IF/17/Rev.1);  (ii) a report on main streaming (WT/LDC/SWG/IF/15/Rev.1);  (iii) a
survey of market access opportunities for LDCs (WT/LDC/SWG/IF/14/Rev.1 and Add.1);  (iv) a
status report on LDCs’ accession to the WTO (WT/ LDC/SWG/IF/11/Rev.2);  (v) a Report by the
Director-General on  the institutional integration of LDCs into the multilateral trading system
(WT/LDC/SWG/IF/16/Rev.1);  and following consultations, (vi) a paper on Food safety and Quality,
Standards and Technical Regulations (WT/LDC/SWG/IF/10).
36. At its 25th Session, the Sub-Committee invited UNCTAD to brief Members on the results of
the Conference.  The Sub-Committee also considered follow-up to WTO contributions at the
Conference.  The Sub-Committee agreed to continue discussions on follow-up work incorporating the
results of the Trade commitments at LDC-III, in a manner consistent with the mandate of the WTO.
The Chairman was mandated to bring forward spec ific proposals to carry forward work in the
Sub-Committee.WT/COMTD/33
Page 9
(c) LDCs Preparations for the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference
37. At its 25th Session, the Sub-Committee was briefed by the LDC Coordinator on the
preparatory meeting of LDC Ministers to be held in Zanzibar, Tanzania, on 24 July 2001.  The
Secretariat also briefed Members on the arrangements and support to be provided to LDCs to facilitate
their participation at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference, in Doha.
(d) WTO Technical Cooperation for LDCs
38. At its 22nd Session, the Sub-Committee considered the WTO Programme for Technical
Cooperation contained in the document WT/COM TD/W/79/Rev.1 and WT/LDC/SWG/IF/7/Rev.1.
At its 25th Session, the Sub-Committee was briefed by the Secretariat on the Reorganization of WTO
Technical Assistance.  Members were also informed of the Joint WIPO-WTO Technical Cooperation
Agreement for LDCs (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/21).  Participants of the Fourth Short Trade Policy
Course for LDCs, participated as Observers at the 25th Session of the Sub-Committee.  Members
welcomed their participation and made specific proposals for the future programming of these
courses.
(e) Work Programme for 2001
39. The Sub-Committee at its 22nd Session adopted its Work Programme for 2001.  The
programme was subsequently revised in light of changes in the timing of planned activities(WT/LDC/SWG/IF/8 and Rev.1).
__________