RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/M/16
30May1997
ORGANIZATION(97-2271)
Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Sixteenth Session
NOTE ONTHE MEETING OF20MAY 1997
Chairman: H.E. Mr.D.Baichoo (Mauritius)
1. TheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment adopted theagenda ascontained inWTO/AIR/585,
withunder"OtherBusiness"oneitem:Observerstatusforinternationalintergovernmentalorganizations.
(i) Agenda ItemB:WTO Technical Cooperation andTraining Activities asThey
Relate toDeveloping Country Members
- Three-Year PlanforTechnical Cooperation: 1997-1999
2. TheChairman recalled thattheGuidelines forTechnical Cooperation stipulated thattheThree-
YearPlanforTechnical Cooperation wastobeapproved bytheCommittee. TheCommittee might
wish toconsider today thedraft WTO Three-Year PlanforTechnical Cooperation covering the
period 1997-99, which theSecretariat hadcirculated indocument WT/COMTD/W/25, andwhich is
thefirstofitskind. Hesuggested thatthisplan, including itsCover Note, beconsidered forapproval
atthismeeting, withthenecessary flexibility suggested therein.
3. Therepresentative oftheSecretariat drew attention toanumber ofexamples oftechnical
assistance. First, technical assistance regarded alltheoperational Divisions ofWTO. TheThree-Year
Plan(thePlan) envisaged certain events which werenotthesoleconstituents oftechnical cooperation
activities. Technical cooperation activities were carried outbytheSecretariat every day,with
delegations, seeking advice onvarious problems. Thework hadincreased aftertheestablishment of
theWTO, because implementation counselling wasneeded bydelegations. Hedrewattention tothee
examplesofthiscounselling.IntheRulesDivision,delegationswouldbringintheirproposedlegislation
foradvice. These consultations were notreflected intheThree-Year Plan. Regarding thetariff
schedules, technical assistance wasbeing provided concerning therevision oftheharmonized system
oronissues ofrenegotiation pursuant tomodification orwithdrawal ofconcessions, which wasdone
byWTO 'sMarket Access Division. TheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing the
Settlement ofDisputes required thattheSecretariat provide technical assistance todeveloping countries
incaseofadispute, which wasusually donebytheLegal Division. These wereimportant illustration
oftheamount ofwork which wasbeing carried outbythevarious Divisions bywayoftechnical
assistance, which werenotreflected intheThree-Year Plan. Hesuggested thatdelegations takeaccount
ofthevastareaoftechnical assistance being provided which wasnotcontained intheThree-Year Plan,
when approving thePlan, which onlydealt withseminars andworkshops, mostly inthecapitals.
Second, oneoftheobjective ofthetechnical cooperation activities wastobuild along-lasting and
effective program forWTO Members. Specially inrelation toleast-developed countries, programs
wereconducted andrepeated afterintervals withaviewtobuilding andmaintaining awareness ofWTO
framework. Third, theSecretariat needed thenecessary flexibility intheimplementation ofitsprojects.WT/COMTD/M/16
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Since many actors wereinvolved, there wasalways ariskofchanges intiming andinparticipation,
which needed tobeaccommodated.
4. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthatthedocument wasauseful firststep,
which could beimproved upon. Herdelegation realised thatitwasmainly anindicative document.
Shesuggested thatitbeupdated, perhaps twice ayearandtolisttheactivities which hadbeenconfirmed
aswellasfollow-up given. Some budget aspects needed tobeclarified since itwasnotclear toher
delegation whatwasmeant by"projects atnocosttoWTO".
5. Therepresentative ofNewZealand endorsed theThree-Year Plan. Hisgovernment hadmade
acontribution tothetechnical cooperation activities andwould maintain thefunding overthenext
three yearplanning period. Itwasdesirable tomaintain aconsistent effort inthisarea. Members '
long-termcommitmentswouldreinforceWTOprocesses,bothonthepartofdonorsandoftherecipients,
whowould bemaking adjustments totheirbureaucracies toadjust totheirobligations under theWTO
Agreements. Hestressed theimportance offlexibility, toaccommodate boththerecipient government
andtheSecretariat, facing competing demands onitsstaff. Finally, hisdelegation wasinterested in
implementation modalities, andinthiscontext, thepaper circulated bySwitzerland.
6. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland alsoconsidered thedocument tobeanimportant working
document. Heunderstood theconstraints which confronted theSecretariat todrawupadetailed Plan,
andassuch, hisdelegation considered itaninstrument which could beimproved. Hisdelegations
hadmade suggestions concerning theimplementation modalities. Hewould welcome more detailed
information onthebudgetary elements, bothasfarasthefinancial aspect wasconcerned andthe
allocation ofresources. While inviewofthetightdeadlines hisdelegation wasprepared toaccept
thedocument, itwasunderstood thatitwasnotthefinalform oftheThree-Year Plan, which his
delegation considered afundamental toolfortechnical cooperation bythisorganization.
7. Therepresentative ofNorway noted withsatisfaction theinformation inthisrevised version,
inparticular paragraph 6ofthecover note, indicating theshare ofleast-developed countries inthe
allocation offunds, aswellasthatonpage23ontradeandenvironment. Heemphasised theimportance
ofapplying dueflexibility intheimplementation. Hisdelegation would welcome acontinued revision
andsurveillance ofthePlanandonthatbasis wasready toadopt itasanindicative document.
8. Therepresentative ofMorocco wasoftheview thatthePlanembodied theimplementation
oftheGuidelines. While heconsidered itauseful firststep, thePlaninitspresent formwasnotready
tobeadopted andwarranted more in-depth reflection onitspresentation. Forexample, theevent
involving Morocco, assetoutinnumber 67,wasnotaWTO, butessentially anUNCTAD event.
Hesuggested thatthePlanindicate, incases where WTO wasnothesoleagency involved, what
percentage ofeachproject wasWTO financed andwhatother agencies wereinvolved inwhatmeasure.
9. Therepresentative oftheUnited States considered thePlanagoodfirststepinidentifying the
breadth ofwork undertaken bytheWTO andbygovernments. Itprovided agood snapshot ofthe
technical cooperation activities andthefinances involved. Hisgovernment hadcontributed totechnical
assistance programmes forcountries intransition, withaviewtomaking WTO asuniversal aspossible.
Some datasupplied inconnection withtraining forleastdeveloped countries would beofrelevance
inthepreparation oftheHigh Level Meeting onLeast Developed Countries. Hisdelegation would
needmore time, ascertain elements needed more clarification, inparticular interms ofthebudget.
10. Therepresentative ofIndia saidthatitwasahelpful document, andthathisdelegation would
revert toitatalaterstage.WT/COMTD/M/16
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11. Therepresentative ofTanzania welcomed thePlanandnoted, referring tonumber 41inthe
Plan'slisting oftechnical cooperation events, thathisdelegation understood thatthisevent hadnot
yettaken place, asdiscussions were stillunderway.
12. Therepresentative ofCanada welcomed thePlanasatoolshowing howtechnical assistance
would shape upinthenextthreeyears. Likeothers, hisdelegation encouraged theSecretariat toupdate
thePlanonaregular basis, perhaps twice ayear. Thedocument wasparticularly helpful forthe
preparation oftheHigh-Level Meeting inOctober, andhesuggested thatWTO ensure thatother
organizations involved intheHigh-Level Meeting prepare similar documents withaviewtohaving
acomplete picture ofallactivities available toleastdeveloped countries.
13. Therepresentative ofBangladesh welcomed thedocument asataskwellaccomplished. Iwas
anindicativedocumentwhichwouldbeusefultomanydelegations,includingthoseoftheleastdeveloped
countries. Itwould beaconstant source ofreference forbeneficiaries oftechnical cooperation, for
identification ofareas where suchtechnical cooperation could bemostusefully effected and,asthe
delegations ofUnited States andCanada hadpointed out,itwould alsobeauseful source ofdatafor
theHigh-Level Meeting which could bereplicated byother bodies aswell. Hisdelegation stressed
theneedforacontinuous andregular update.
14. Therepresentative ofTrinidad andTobago expressed theneedforarevision ofthedocument,
sincetherewerestillsome areasofconfusion. Henoted instances where thepaper referred toactivities
bytheSecretariat where nofunding bytheWTO wasprovided, andwhere themain thrust ofthe
executionwaswithanotherorganization,inparticularWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization(WIPO).
Henoted certain areas, inthesection oncomments, where activities weresubject toapproval bythe
funding government andhewondered whatwould happen ifapproval wasnotgranted. Thequestion
arose because itwasnotcleartohisdelegation whatthebasiswasforfunding fromtheregular budget
asopposed tovoluntary funds. Inreferring tonumber 146inthePlan, (consultation onaccession
oftheRussian Federation) hewondered whatwasmeant bytechnical assistance. Hedidnotconsider
suchconsultations withanacceding government andresulting travel bytheSecretariat staffastechnical
cooperation inthestrictest sense. Hehoped thatthisbeclarified intherevised paper. Thedocument
should reflect theexistence oftheLatin American andCaribbean Group. Hewondered whether the
documentcouldreflectthestepswhichtheSecretariattooktoensurequalitycontrolintechnicalassistance
activities. When planning technical assistance activities onathree-year basis, basicreference andbasic
trainingmaterialswereneeded,whichcouldhavesomepermanenceintheprocessofdeliveryoftechnical
cooperation, overthewide membership oftheWTO inthethree-year planperiod. Hedidnotsee
anyreference inthedocument tothecreation ofsuchtraining material. Hewondered whether the
useofinformation technology fordistance learning andtraining would enable thefunds available to
theSecretariat tobemore effectively utilized. There wasacasetobemade fortheuseofinformation
technology toenable delivery oftechnical assistance toreach wider audiences atlower costs.
15. Therepresentative ofJapan welcomed thePlanasauseful document, providing transparency
ofWTO technical cooperation asawhole. Heemphasised theimportance ofretaining flexibility in
theimplementation oftechnical assistance.
16. Therepresentative ofKorea, said,inresponse tothepoint raised bythedelegation ofTrinidad
andTobagoontheissueoftechnicalcooperationtoaccedingcountriesinparticularasregardsproject146
(Russian Federation), thathehadadifferent opinion. Hehadattended many accession working party
meetings andwasconvinced thatacceding governments, irrespective oftheireconomic size,needed
assistance.WT/COMTD/M/16
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17. TheChairman noted theneeds expressed toupdate thepaper onaregular basis, toimprove
quality control, togiveclarifications, inparticular asregards thebudgetary elements, certain inputs,
anduseofinformation technology.
18. Therepresentative ofTrinidad andTobago clarified thathisonlyconcern wasthatfunds destined
fortechnical cooperation should notbeusedtoassist government intheiraccession process. Hewas
oftheview thatthere should beadistinction between funds fortechnical assistance todeveloping
countries andfunds forconsultations ortravel toacceding governments.
19. Therepresentative ofAustralia noted thatinearlydiscussions ontheGuidelines, thepoint had
beenmade thataccession andtechnical cooperation were separate activities. Shesuggested inthat
context thatthePlanclarify thesources ofthefunding. Secondly, thatthePlanindicate where WTO
operated inconjunction withother organization. ThePlanwasauseful document fortransparency
andforthepreparations fortheHigh-Level Meeting. There wasaneed forflexibility.
20. TherepresentativefromMoroccosuggestedthatareviseddocumentmightincludeaclassification
oftheprojects bycertain parameters, suchasco-organizing events, accession etc.
21. Therepresentative ofEuropean Communities supported theviewexpressed bythedelegation
ofMorocco thatasecond draftmaybeuseful, inwhich theprojects would becategorized, perhaps
inthesamemanner aswasdoneintheManual andwhich listed thedifferent Divisions within theWTO
which were involved.
22. Therepresentative ofEgypt welcomed thePlanandsupported thepoint made bythedelegation
ofMorocco. Healsosuggested thatthePlanindicate howassistance wasgiven tocopewiththe"Built-in
agenda". Hisdelegation would revert tothePlanatalaterstage.
23. Therepresentative oftheSecretariat saidthattheSecretariat would circulate anupdate assoon
aspossible, inanycasebefore thenextmeeting oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment (CTD),
which wasonlyplanned for26September, when thebulkofthe1997would already havebeenspent,
andwould therefore notbetimely. Turning tosome ofthequestions, hesaidthatquality control,
although important, wasnotappropriately addressed inthePlan, which wasaninventory ofactivities.
Hedrew attention toproject number 148,which envisaged useofnewtechnologies. Costtothe
Secretariat inthose items where "nocosttoSecretariat" wasindicated, meant thattheWTO budget
wasnotinvolved. Listing onlythose events which weresolely organized bytheWTO would shorten
thePlanconsiderably, asmany events wereorganized incollaboration withothers. Forexample, events
relating tocustoms evaluation, tariffs, HSsystem, etc.weredoneincollaboration withother agencies.
CertaineventsoninvestmentweredoneincollaborationwithUNCTAD,andthoserelatingtointellectual
property rights withWIPO.
24. TheChairman requested thatcomments besubmitted inwriting totheSecretariat within a
fortnight,followingwhichtheSecretariatwouldrevisethePlan,takingintoconsiderationsuchcomments.
25. TheCommittee tooknoteoftheThree-Year Planandofthestatements made.
- Manual onTechnical Cooperation andTraining Activities
26. TheChairman outlined thedraftManual onTechnical Cooperation andTraining which drew
ontheGuidelines fortechnical cooperation adopted inOctober 1996. TheManual provided adescription
ofthetechnical cooperation andtraining activities available intheWTO, explained howMembers could
benefit from suchassistance andhowrequests should befiledtoparticipate intheactivities. Since
implementation modalities hadnotbeenadopted, theyhadnotyetbeenfullyincorporated intothetext.WT/COMTD/M/16
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27. Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthattheManual wasshaping upwell, although itcould
beshorter. While, incertain aspects, itreflected thewaytechnical cooperation wascurrently carried
out,thismight notbethewaytheCommittee wished ittoseefuture technical cooperation.
28. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthattheManual wasanevolving document which should
takeintoconsideration theresults oftheCommittee 'sdiscussion onmodalities andonthedifferent
types oftechnical cooperation activities managed byWTO. Hewondered wether theManual would
beavailable ontheInternet orthrough otherinformation technology channels. Electronic dissemination
would beanadvantage, asitwould ensure thepossibility toconstantly update theManual. Itwould
beuseful iftheresults ofHigh-Level Meeting onLeast-Developed Countries beincorporated intothe
finalversion ofthedocument, asthesemight haveanimpact ontheSecretariat 'stechnical cooperation
activities. Regarding theissueoffunding, onpage22oftheManual, herecalled thaton18July1996,
theGeneral Council hadsetupatrustfundtocollect voluntary contributions fortheWTO technical
cooperation activities. Therelevant Decision stipulated thatactivities tobefinanced bythefundhad
tobeinconformity withthepriorities indicated intheGuidelines established forWTO technical
assistance. Hesuggested thatthiselement behighlighted under theManual 'sheading offunding of
technical cooperation.
29. Therepresentative ofNorway saidthattheManual wasauseful factual presentation ofWTO
technical cooperation activities, andwelcomed theviews ofitspotential users. Hisdelegation agreed
withtheviews expressed bytherepresentative ofMorocco thatthepresentation should beasshort
aspossible inorder toenable abroader audience togetabetter understanding oftheWTO technical
cooperation activities. Nonetheless, hesuggested toinsert, onpage22,areference totheopentrust
fundwhich hadjustbeencreated aswellasanindication oftherelatively small amount available for
technical cooperation through theregular budget.
30. Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthatthedocument would assist government authorities
involved inorganizing andplanning technical cooperation activities vis-a-vis theWTO. Hisdelegation
agreed withtherepresentatives ofMorocco andNorway thattheManual wastoolong. Forexample,
theinformation inbox3onpage9might notberelevant forthepurpose oftheManual. Hesuggested
topublish theManual asaloose-leaf document tomake iteasier toupdate andmore userfriendly.
Perhaps theThree-Year Plancould beincorporated.
31. Therepresentative ofTrinidad andTobago referred topage 10oftheManual (Modes of
Delivery), andsuggested toinclude areference totraining modules anddistance learning withthehelp
ofinformation technology. Theindication ofinformation technology intheThree-Year Programme
under itsitem148wasnotsufficient .TheInternet wasnotnecessarily thebestwaytodeliver technical
assistance. Teleconferencing andthecreation oftraining modules onelectronic media suchasCD-ROM
anddiskettes should alsobeconsidered toallow forarepeatable means ofdelivering technical assistance.
32. Therepresentative ofEgypt recalled thathisdelegation wasamong those whohadrequested
theManual andwaspleased withtheresult. Itwould serve asasource ofinformation tovarious
government entities notfamiliar withtheactivities ofWTO. Making itavailable ontheInternet would
beanadditional helpful means ofproviding theinformation. TheManual would alsobeuseful in
preparatory process fortheHigh-Level Meeting asleast-developed countries could benefit from the
information itcontained inpreparing theirneeds assessments.
33. Therepresentative ofEcuador saidthattheManual wasuseful, especially forthosegovernments
seeking toobtain technical assistance, although itcould beshorter.
34. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland clarified thatwhen hehadreferred totheInternet, itwas
notasamode ofdelivery oftechnical assistance, butasawayofdisseminating theinformation containedWT/COMTD/M/16
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intheManual. However, using theInternet could encourage participation fromothersectors, especially
theprivate sector, andwould ensure larger dissemination oftheinformation ontechnical assistance
provided bytheWTO.
35. Therepresentative ofMongolia saidthatthedocument would helpnewMembers andacceding
countries togainawareness ofWTO technical cooperation activities. Itwould alsohelpcountries in
identifying theirneeds ofassistance andintheselection ofsuitable modes ofdelivery.
36. Therepresentative ofDjibouti saidthattheleast-developed countries, acceding countries and
countries intransition considered theWTO training programs tobecrucial. Theexisting courses which
gave participants achance tolearn about theWTO andenabled them tomeet withdelegates and
government officials fromother countries aswellasSecretariat staff, wereidealintheirformat. He
thanked theSwiss government andthehighofficials whohadreceived theparticipants ofthecourse
when theywere inBern.
37. TheChairmansummarizedthesuggestionsmadeandinvitedthosedelegationswishingtosubmit
comments todosoinwriting within afortnight. Herecalled thatanychanges following thefinalization
oftheimplementation modalities would alsobeincorporated intothedocument. TheCommittee took
noteofthestatements made.
- Implementation modalities
38. TheChairman recalled thatanotebytheSecretariat onthismatter, dated 3February 1997,
hadbeenthebasis forthework oftheCommittee onthisitem. AttheCommittee 'slastmeeting, I
hadurged delegations whoannounced theirintention topresent comments andproposals inwriting
todosoattheearliest possible opportunity. Asaresult, aninformal notebySwitzerland wascurrently
being circulated.
39. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland thanked therepresentative ofDjibouti forhispositive
impression ofthemodest Swiss contribution tothetradepolicy seminar organized bytheWTO. Turning
totheimplementation modalities, hesaidthatthehisauthorities 'ideas weresetoutinapaper based
ontheSecretariat paper of3February 1997. TheSwiss proposal reproduced thatpaper, butwith
suggested changes appearing inboldprint. Hisdelegation hadtriedtotakeonboard comments made
byMembers aswellasthose made bytheSecretariat. Themajor change wasasimplification. Ithad
firstbeensuggested topresent theThree-Year Planintwostages. Thefirststage would include a
draftonwhich Members would comment anddonors could thenhavepicked projects theywished to
sponsor. During thesecond stage, theCommittee would haveaccepted thedraft. TheSwiss proposal
narrowed theprocedure down toonestage. ThefirstaimoftheSwiss contribution wastoensure that
technical assistance delivered bytheWTO Secretariat wasinlinewiththepriorities andtheobjectives
established bytheMembers. Second, thattheWTO technical assistance wasdelivered inatransparent
waysoastoenable Members tofollow developments and,ifnecessary, tocontribute bygiving
orientation. Hisdelegation hoped thatwiththemodalities proposed, theCommittee would manage
todraw ontheexpertise oftheWTO Secretariat.
40. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland drew theattention oftheCommittee toanumber ofpoints
intheproposal. First, itsuggested some additional elements withrespect tothepresentation ofthe
Three-Year Plan. Itshould bedetailed forthefirstyear, andthere should beadescription ofeach
program including themode ofdelivery chosen, anditsimplications onfinancial andhuman resources
aswellasthesource offunding. Interesting ideas hadbeenvoiced during thediscussion andhis
delegation wasopen totakeonboard comments made bytherepresentatives oftheEuropean
Communities andMorocco toclassify thedifferent activities oftechnical cooperation according to
themes andaccording totheshare taken onbytheWTO intheimplementation oftheactivities itcarriedWT/COMTD/M/16
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outjointly withother organizations. Hisdelegation would modify itsproposal according tothese and
other comments made during thediscussion. Asregards the"urgent requests" referred toin
paragraph 4.1(e) ofthedraft, itwastheviewofhisdelegation thatthese, during thefirstyear, should
onlybetaken intoconsideration iftheywerewellfounded. However, flexibility wasneeded andthe
wording "bearing inmind theregular program" leftacertain room ofmanoeuvre fortheSecretariat
tointerpret whether agiven request should befollowed upornot.Heasked aclarification ofthelast
partofthesentence inparagraph 5(b)oftheSecretariat 'snotewhich read“...should include asufficient
flowofinformation andapermanent availability oftechnical expertise andadvise ”.Itwasthenotion
of"apermanent availability oftechnical expertise andadvise ”which wasnotfullycleartohisdelegation.
41. Therepresentative oftheSecretariat, inreferring toparagraph 4.1(e), clarified thatnotonly
urgent, butalsounforseen requests would beaccommodated totheextent possible, bearing inmind
theregular programme anditsimplications forfinancing andpersonnel. With reference to
paragraph 5(b),theSecretariat would attempt arewording. Theparagraph meant toindicate thatthere
would beprograms, notonaone-off basis, butensuring acontinuity inthedelivery oftechnical
assistance activities, inparticular inthecaseoftheleast-developed countries. Theparagraph also
intended torefertoimproved electronic assistance, which wasenvisaged induecourse andwhich would
allow WTO torespond more promptly torequests forinformation andhaveanefficient two-way
exchange. TheWebsitewhich wascurrently being developed intheWTO withitsquestion andanswer
facility served asanexample.
42. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthat,while theSwiss paper wasauseful
document, itattempted perhaps toomuch tomicro-manage, andwent intotoomuch detail. Some
points raised inthepaper, suchascoordination withother institutions, wereimportant. Inthatcontext
shesuggested that,inaddition totheWorld Bank, theInstitute forEconomic Development aswell
astheVienna Institute which dealtwitheconomies intransition could alsobementioned. Herdelegation
would come backtothepaper atalaterstage.
43. Therepresentative ofCanada welcomed theSwiss clarifications andcautioned nottointroduce
toomuch rigidity intheplanning process, inparticular withreference tosome ofthesuggestions under
paragraph 4.1. Suchrigidity would hamper acertain degree offlexibility deemed desirable, which
hisdelegation hoped wasnotitsintended purpose. Asregards themonitoring andfollow-up exercise,
which wasuseful, hesuggested tosetoutfromthebeginning theexpected outcomes oftheprogrammes,
bywayofintroducing some kindofbenchmark against which toevaluate theprogrammes. His
delegation considered thepaper overall auseful framework andemphasised theneedtoensure that
theSecretariat would notspent toomuch timedrawing upplans andreporting onthem butrather
implement them asfaithfully aspossible.
44. Therepresentative ofIndia saidthathisdelegation found theearlier Secretariat Paper, dated
3February acceptable. TheSwiss paper wascurrently being examined byhisauthorities andhewould
come backwithsuggestions inafortnight together withhisdelegation 'sviews ontheManual andthe
Three-Year Plan.
45. TherepresentativeofMoroccosaidthathisdelegationagreedwiththeSwissviewsthatabalance
should bestruck between flexibility andrigidity. Flexibility could onlybeachieved ifbased onspecific
points ofreference, intheform ofdetailed rules ofthesortsuggested bytheSwiss delegation.
Implementation ofsuchrules could bedone inamore orlessflexible manner, depending onthe
requirements ofthebeneficiary government. Hewasoftheviewthatevenmore details wererequired
thatthose setoutintheSwiss paper. Since theWTO wasinnovating inthisarea, strict rules ofthe
game needed tobedrafted, withaviewtocreating acertain tradition.WT/COMTD/M/16
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46. Therepresentative ofNorway welcomed theSwiss contribution asameans tocreate more
predictability. Anextensive work onplanning would bejustified ifthiswork could generate more
funds, extending thebasis fortechnical assistance. While thepaper could perhaps bereworded to
avoid theimpression ofmicromanagement, thepaper should present asmuch predictability aspossible
astohowthefunds were spent. Hehoped thatthepaper could befinalized without undue delay.
47. Therepresentative ofKorea saidthatmodalities should alsobeestablished forother categories
ofprojects, suchasthosefunded bybilateral donors orthosemainly implemented byotherorganizations,
incollaboration withtheWTO.
48. Therepresentative ofDjibouti saidthatitwould bedesirable tohavemore ideasonassessment
andfollow-up oftechnical assistance projects.
49. Therepresentative ofColombia saidthattheSwiss paper, though useful, wasperhaps somewhat
toodetailed, inparticular asregards paragraphs 2and4.Herdelegation would prefer amore general
document, liketheonepresented bytheSecretariat on3February 1997.
50. Therepresentative ofTrinidad andTobago would welcome incorporation ofmostofthe"Modes
ofDelivery" assetoutintheSwiss paper intotheManual onTechnical Cooperation andTraining
Activities. Sub-paragraph (vi)ofparagraph 1might dealwithdistance learning. Under paragraph 3,
"coordination with other international institutions", collaboration with theInternational
TelecommunicationsUnionshouldbeenvisagedconcerninginformationtechnologytoincreasecountries'
capacity touseelectronic methods ofcommunication.
51. TheChairman proposed toinstruct theSecretariat torevise itspaper taking intoconsideration
comments made. TheCommittee soagreed.
(ii) Agenda ItemC:Programme ofWork fortheAutumn
52. TheChairman recalled that,atitslastmeeting inMarch, theCommittee haddiscussed itsWork
Programme for1997. While agreement wasreached ontheCommittee 'swork programme forthe
firsthalfoftheyear, atleastonedelegation hadsaidthatitwasnotinaposition totakeadefinite
viewatthattimeonaproposal thatinthesecond halfoftheyeartheCommittee undertake areview
oftheparticipation ofdeveloping countries inworld trade. Would theCommittee nowbeinaposition
toagree toplace onitsagenda atitsSeptember meeting anitementitled "Review oftheparticipation
ofdeveloping countries inworld trade", andifsowhatguidance didtheywishtogivetotheSecretariat
inpreparing background documentation toassist ourdiscussions under thisitem? Referring tosome
statements made attheCommittee 'slastmeeting, hefurther suggested thatbefore theCommittee prepare
itsreport totheGeneral Council attheendoftheyear, anopportunity begiven attheCommittee 's
meeting intheautumn fordelegations tocomment onanyaspect ofanother itemintheTerms of
Reference(TORs) oftheCTD, inparticular "Review oftheApplication ofSpecial Provisions inthe
Multilateral Trade Agreements andRelated Ministerial Decisions inFavour ofDeveloping Country
Members,inParticularLeast-DevelopedCountryMembers",whichmightwarrantdelegations'attention.
While delegations should notlosesightofthisimportant itemontheagenda, theCommittee carried
outamajor review ofthesubject lastyearandhefeltthere wasnoneedtorepeat thatexercise again
untilsome more timehaspassed.
53. Therepresentative ofMorocco suggested thattheChairman holdconsultations onthismatter
andsubsequently inform delegations oftheirresults, byfax. Depending ontheiroutcome adecision
could betaken whether therewasaneedfortheCommittee tomeetagain onthisissue. TheChairman
saidthathewould follow up.WT/COMTD/M/16
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(iii) ItemD:High-Level Meeting onLeast-Developed Countries
54. TheChairman saidthatthisitemhadbeenplaced ontheagenda oftheCommittee 'smeeting
inorder thatdelegations bekeptabreast ofpreparations fortheHigh-Level Meeting onLeast-Developed
Countries andthatthismeeting seemed atimely occasion todoso.Inthiscontext, herecalled that
theCommittee onTrade andDevelopment, atitsmeeting on17February hadrequested theSub-
Committee tofollow uponthepreparations initiated bytheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment,
under theusual guidance oftheCommittee itself. TheSub-Committee hadaccordingly taken upthe
matter under theleadership ofitsChairperson, Ambassador Eveline Herfkens oftheNetherlands.
Heplaced onrecord hishighregard andappreciation forthewayinwhich shehadlaunched theprocess
andtheenergy shehadbrought tothetask. Herecalled thatatitsmeeting on18April, theSub-
Committee onLeast-Developed Countries haddecided onthedates fortheHigh-Level Meeting and
thatareview meeting beheldjointly withUNCTAD attheendofJunetocarry forward thepreparations
fortheHigh-Level Meeting. Thedateforthisreview meeting hadbeensetfor26June. Informal
consultations would needtobeheldoverthenextcouple ofweeks toestablish theagenda fortheJune
meeting. TheSecretariat hadinformed himthatpreparations fortheHigh-Level Meeting were
progressing well.
55. Therepresentative ofMorocco cautioned against establishing adouble-track process. Atthis
meeting, hewould welcome aprogress report from theSub-Committee 'sChair onthepreparations
fortheHigh-Level Meeting andsuggested thattheSub-Committee dealwithanymatter relating to
theHigh-Level Meeting, toavoid taking uptheworkoftheSub-Committee inthisCommittee, including
theagenda ofthejointUNCTAD/WTO Junemeeting.
56. TheChairpersonoftheSub-Committee,AmbassadorHerfkens,recalledthattheSub-Committee,
atitsmeeting on18April, hadagreed onthedates oftheHigh-Level Meeting (27-28 October 1997),
onthebasic format oftheMeeting, which would include Roundtable discussions, bothoncountries
andonissues, ontheneedtoavoid, ifpossible, aplenary session, andthattheMeeting would bea
common exercise withUNCTAD, ITC,UNDP andtheBretton Woods Institutions. Inthatcontext
theCommittee hadcautioned thattheexercise should notbemicro-managed byoneinstitution alone
andhaddecided toorganize ajointmeeting involving theGeneva-based institutions on26Junetoreview
thepreparatory process. Theinformal consultations ontheagenda forthisJunemeeting should be
seeninthislight. TheDirector-General oftheWTO hadsentletters toall48least-developed countries,
spelling outtheapproach oftheHigh-Level Meeting, andtransmitting achecklist toassist theleast
developed countries intheirdetermination oftheirneeds fortrade-related technical assistance. She
recalled thattheselection oftheleast-developed countries which would be"featured" attheHigh-Level
Meeting itselfintheRound tables would bedoneonthebasisoftheirneeds assessment. Thechecklist,
which hadbeenestablished inacommon effort byallsixparticipating institutions, alsoprovided for
thepossibility torequest technical assistance tohelptheLDCs incompleting thechecklist. Furthermore,
background documents were being drafted bytheparticipating institutions, inparticular inventories
ofeachoftheinstitutions 'trade-related technical assistance projects totheleast-developed countries,
apaper onthemarket-access conditions facing theexports ofindividual LDCs andapaper ontherelevant
useofinformation technology. Drafts ofthese papers would bediscussed atthenextinter-agency
meeting on29Mayatwhich sheintended tobepresent. Shealsorecalled that,attheSub-Committees '
Aprilmeeting,shehadannouncedtheestablishmentofatrustfund(documentWT/COMTD/LLDC/W/6,
dated 1Mayrefers) andinvited delegations tobecome donors tothetrustfund. Shealsosaidthat,
before themeeting oftheIMF/World Bank Development Committee inWashington, theGroup of24,
which wastheGroup of77fortheBretton Woods institutions, hadbeendiscussing theHigh-Level
Meeting, which hadprompted telephone callsandletters toherfrom, inparticular, Sub-Sahara African
countries, which werenotallleast-developed. Thishadinspired hertohopethattheHigh-Level Meeting
would leadtoother initiatives, covering awider range ofdeveloping countries, which would beWT/COMTD/M/16
Page10
benefitting from asimilar typeofexercise. Shewasencouraged bysuch signs ofinterest and
commitment totheprocess onthepartofthebeneficiaries, given thatanysuchinitiative could only
besuccessful, ifreally demand-driven.
57. Forthesakeoftransparency andclarification, theChairman requested theSecretariat toprepare
aninformative Noteonthestateofpreparations oftheHigh-Level Meeting forcirculation todelegations
assoonaspossible.
58. Therepresentative ofBangladesh welcomed theinitiative bytheDirector-General andconfirmed
thathisgovernment hadreceived theletter andchecklist. Hisauthorities wereconfident andindeed
hadreceivedsignalsthatkeyplayersinglobaltradingsystemwouldactivelyparticipateintheHigh-Level
Meeting. Hisdelegation waspleased thattheTrust fundhadbeensetup,andhoped thatcontributions
fromdonors would begenerous. Theneedforconsultants forLDCs 'preparations ofneeds assessments
waswellrecognized andhewasconfident thattheselection would bemade inappropriate consultation
withthebeneficiary countries, oratleastbetuned totheirrequirements. Aformat forNGO participation
alsoneeded tobeworked out,which would ensure thatNGOs notbesode-linked fromthemainevent
soasnottobeabletobenefit fromorcontribute totheHigh-Level Meeting. Theuniversality inthe
global trading system could notbeachieved without theleast-developed countries. TheHigh-Level
Meeting wasanopportunity toreverse thecourse ofmarginalization. Itwould helpmake thetrading
régime trulyglobal andhisdelegation wasconfident toseesome newapproaches tothisattheMeeting.
Itwould alsoenable amore thorough integration oftechnical assistance activities among thevarious
agencies inorder tomake theimpact more results oriented. Hewelcomed theincreased cooperation
between notonlyWTO, UNCTAD andITCbutalsobetween these bodies andtheBretton Woods
institutions. Theleast-developed countries werehoping thatincreased market access fortheirproducts
aswellasexpanded investments flows would beamong theresult oftheHigh-Level Meeting. Inthis
regard, theywerealsolooking tothesuccess ofthepilotseminar, organized inJune, byUNCTAD.
Hewondered ifthere would notbescope foraneffective association inthepreparatory process of
theHigh-LevelMeetingwithUNIDO.TheDenverSummitoftheG-7wouldnodoubthaveanimportant
impact oftheMeeting. Tothatend,thePrime Minister ofhiscountry hadaddressed aletter onbehalf
oftheLDCs totheleaders oftheG7countries, withtheobjective tosensitise them astoLDCs '
expectations andaspirations. Hehadinformation indicating thatsome leaders hadalready reacted
withfavourable action. TheWTO hademerged overthepastthree years asanimportant player in
theglobal trade field. TheCommittee andTrade andDevelopment anditsSub-Committee onLeast-
developed Countries hadaroleininjecting adevelopment orientation inWTO 'sgoalandpurposes,
which wascrucial foralldeveloping countries ingeneral andtheLDCs inparticular. Thiswould also
assist ingenerating thedesired kindofpolitical commitment totheWTO. TheCommittee onTrade
andDevelopment would therefore alsoneedtohaveasignificant roleinthepreparations ofWTO 's
nextMinisterial Meeting nextyear.
59. Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthathewould welcome acopy oftheletter sentbythe
Director-General totheleast-developed countries. Thereview meeting planned for26Junewould
provide anoccasion fortheSecretariat toprovide delegations thenecessary information, withaview
todiscussing itatthatmeeting inthelightofinformation provided bytheother participating agencies.
TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee hadrequested theSecretariat toprepare aninformative note
onthestateofthepreparations oftheHigh-Level Meeting.
60. Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthatithadcertain questions regarding thebudget, which it
would raisewiththeSecretariat bilaterally, atalaterstage.
61..The Committee tooknoteofthestatements made andcommended theChair oftheSub-Committee,
Ambassador Herfkens forherwork.WT/COMTD/M/16
Page11
(iv) Agenda ItemE:Information onRegional Trade Agreements Notified totheCommittee
onTrade andDevelopment Under theEnabling Clause
62. TheChairman saidthatthisitemhadbeenplaced ontheagenda athisrequest. Hehadbeen
informed bytheSecretariat thattheCommittee didnothave anup-to-date document containing
notifications ofRegional Trade Agreements (RTAs) notified under theEnabling Clause. Forthesake
ofcompleteness andtransparency, heproposed thattheCommittee instruct theSecretariat tocompile
alistofallRTAs notified under theEnabling Clause andtoissue thelistasaCTD document.
63. Therepresentative oftheUnited States wasparticularly concerned thattherehadnotbeenself-
notification bythose countries which hadsuchregional arrangements andencouraged thatthistake
place, inaddition totheinformation which theSecretariat would circulate. Since thenumber ofregional
arrangements wasincreasing, itwasimportant thattheprinciple oftransparency beadhered to.His
delegation alsoencouraged appropriate referral ofsuchregional arrangements totheCommittee on
Regional Trade Agreements, aswasalready thecaseofother regional arrangements pursuant toother
provisions intheWTO legal system. Hehadwanted toaddthiscomment aspartoftheproposed
exercise.
64. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities supported theprevious statement andinsisted
thatregional agreements benotified under theEnabling Clause butalsothattheybeexamined under
Article XXIV (GATT) orArticle V(GATS).
65. Therepresentative ofVenezuela supported theproposal made bytheChairman asitwasaway
toincrease transparency ofregional tradearrangements negotiated under theEnabling clause. However,
hewasoftheviewthatdiscussions delegations hadhadinthepastshould notberepeated, inparticular,
tocautioned nottotakeoutofthecontext ofthisCommittee notifications andthereview taken place
under theEnabling clause. While anyinformation requested bytheCommittee onRegional Trade
Committee from thisCommittee could beprovided upon request, itshould nevertheless beensured
thatanyregional trade arrangements notified under theEnabling Clause should bedealtwithbythe
Committee onTrade andDevelopment.
66. Therepresentative ofIndia supported theinformation gathering exercise, fortransparency
purposes, ofallthose regional arrangements notified under theEnabling Clause. Hisdelegation
nevertheless didnotagree withthesuggestions made bythedelegations oftheUnited States andtheEC
thattheybeexamined bytheCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements. Thisshould bedonebythe
Committee onTrade andDevelopment. Heinvited those countries withanyviews onthistocirculate
them todelegations innon-papers.
67. Therepresentative ofEcuador drewtheCommittee 'sattention tothemandate oftheCommittee
onRegional Trade Agreements (CRTA), inparticular Article 1(a)which stipulated thattheCRTA
carry outtheexamination ofagreements inaccordance withtheprocedures andterms ofreference
adopted bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods, theCouncil forTrade inServices ortheCTD, asthecase
maybe,andthereafter present itsreport totherelevant bodyforappropriate action. Therefore itwas
uptotheCTD todecide whatarrangements theCRTA should dealwith. Hesupported thestatements
made bytherepresentatives ofVenezuela andIndia.
68. Therepresentative ofColombia supported theproposal made bytheChairman aswellasthe
statement made bytherepresentative ofVenezuela.
69. Therepresentative ofSingapore supported theChairman 'sproposal andsuggested thatthe
Secretariat prepare ashortbackground noteastowhattheEnabling Clause entailed interms ofregional
trading arrangements. Heshared theviews expressed bytherepresentatives ofVenezuela andIndiaWT/COMTD/M/16
Page12
inthatthere wasareason fortheEnabling Clause anditsprocess which wasdifferent from theone
contained under Article XXIV GATT andArticle V,GATS.
70. Therepresentative ofMexico supported theproposals made bythedelegations ofVenezuela
andIndia.
71. Therepresentative oftheUnited States clarified thathisproposal wasnotintended tomean
thattheCRTA examine allregional trading arrangements notified under theEnabling Clause under
theprovisions ofArticle XXIV (GATT). Thiswasanother issuewhich could bediscussed atanother
appropriate time. Nevertheless, pursuant totheCRTA 'sterms ofreference, thatCommittee dealt
withallregional trading agreements, including thosewhich would benotified under theEnabling Clause.
Discussion under theEnabling Clause would ofcourse remain intheCTD buttheunderstanding of
theTORs oftheCRTA wassuchthatinformation onregional trading arrangements notified under
theEnabling Clause should beprovided toit.Inevitably, there would beanissue raised bysome of
sucharrangements which would require examination under theprovisions ofArticle XXIV. Theonly
basis onwhich totakesuchdecisions would beagreater measure oftransparency thanhitherto had
beenthecase. Itwasanissuewhich should beaddressed toavoid loosing credibility overtheEnabling
Clause andthisCommittee 'sability todealwitharrangements notified thereto.
72. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andrequested theSecretariat tocompile a
listofallregional trading arrangements notified under theEnabling Clause andtoissue thelistasa
document oftheCTD.
(v)Agenda ItemF:Other Business
- "Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations".
73. TheChairman recalled thatfollowing guidance fromtheGeneral Council, theCTDhadgranted
observer status toanumber ofintergovernmental organisations. Document WT/COMTD/W/22 listed
these organisations. Aswasalsonoted inthatdocument, some requests forobserver status fromother
intergovernmental organisations remained pending. Onthebasis oftheGeneral Council guidelines
forobserver status forintergovernmental organisations, hehadconducted further informal consultations,
andhewasnowinaposition topropose tothisCommittee thatitextend observer status totheAfrican,
Caribbean andPacific Group ofStates (ACP) andSouthern African Development Community (SADC).
Asregards other intergovernmental organizations, hisinformal consultations were continuing. The
representative ofMorocco suggested thattheChairman pursue hisinformal consultations onthismatter
withtheChairs oftheother WTO bodies, inparticular withtheChairman andtheGeneral Council.
TheCommittee agreed togrant observer status totheACP andSADC.