WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/43
20 September 2002
(02-5038)
Committee on Trade and Development
HIGH LEVEL BRIEFING/MEETING ON TECHNICAL COOOPERATION
AND CAPACITY BUILDING FOR CAPITAL-BASED SENIOR OFFICIALS
Geneva, Tuesday, 16 July 2002
Report by the Secretariat
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. A High Level Briefing/Meeting on Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building was convened
by the Director-General on 16 July 2002, to coincide with the presence of capital-based seniorofficials attending the Third Session of the Trade Negotiations Committee, 18-19 July 2002.  The
objectives of the meeting were:
(a) to brief Members and Observers on the recent developments in WTO technical
cooperation and capacity building, on which mandates had been established by
Ministers in Doha;
(b) to provide a status report on the implementation of these mandates within the
framework of the 2002 TA Plan and draw attention to lessons leant; and,
(c) to receive guidance from Members on the planning of WTO TA for 2003, in advance
of the WTO Fifth Ministerial Conference.
2. The fully attended Briefing/Meeting lasted one half  day.  Overall, delegations in their statements
reconfirmed that technical cooperation and capacity building were core elements of the Doha
Development Agenda.  They noted that implementation of these mandates was an integral part of theon-going negotiations.  They expressed satisfaction and welcomed the substantial progress that had
been made since Doha, including on the implementation of the 2002 TA Plan, on inter-agency
coordination, and the consolidation of a solid financial platform for WTO TA through the Doha
Development Agenda Global Trust Fund.  It was considered that there was still room for
improvement.  In this regard, they offered specific suggestions, including:
• The relative importance of training, in particular, training for trainers (TOT) and distance
learning, were emphasized;
• The launching of the 12-week Trade Policy Courses in Africa, as well as the Advanced
Training Course for government officials (i .e. the Annex I courses), was welcomed.  Some
considered these courses a first step in establishing regional trade policy training centres,
including in other regions, with the collaboration of regional development banks and locally-
based universities/academic institutions;WT/COMTD/43
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• It was re-stated that TA planning should take into account both short-term objectives focused
on trade negotiations, including the implementation of WTO Agreements, as well as long-ternobjectives on trade integration and development of human resources and institutions;
• The usefulness of the Integrated Framework as a way to address supply-side issues and long-
term capacity building was again re-emphasised;
• Delegates were unanimous on the critical importance of enhanced coordination with other
agencies on specific issues (e.g. UNCTAD in the area of trade and investment), as well as in
addressing trade integration issues (e.g. the World Bank's assistance to enhance tradeinfrastructure);
• Most delegations sought greater transparency in reporting WTO TA activities, and called for
greater restraint on ad hoc  activities.  They underscored the primacy of planned over and above
unplanned activities.  At the same time, a few reiterated the necessity for a degree of flexibility on
the part of the Secretariat to respond to negotiating dynamics.
• Proper auditing and evaluation of WTO TA activities were considered key elements for increased
accountability and transparency;
• While commending the Secretariat, delegations expressed concern that TA delivery should
not overload the Secretariat and jeopardize its performance of other salient functions (e.g. theservicing of WTO meetings);
• The constraints on available human resources in the Secretariat was recognised.  Use of
retired GATT/WTO officials and exploration of outsourcing TA to outside providers weresuggested;
• The value of quality over quantity in TA delivery was highlighted;
• The understanding emerged of the importance of taking account of the regional dimension in
TA delivery, which would allow participants to share similar experiences;
• TA delivery by developing countries to other developing countries was acknowledged and
encouraged;
• It was acknowledged that more assistance was needed to meet the needs of small Geneva-
based delegations, and the necessity to provide financial assistance for capital-based officials
to attend key meetings in Geneva;
• The Secretariat was strongly advised to organise back-to-back TA activities with meetings of
the negotiating bodies;
• The importance of the selection of candidates at TA and training activities was stressed in
order to maximise the benefits of TA.  In this connection, the primary responsibility lay with
governments;
• The Non-substitutability between market access and TA was reiterated;
• The importance of the DDA TRTA and CB Database was stressed as an essential tool for
coherence and transparency;WT/COMTD/43
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• Delegates underscored the daunting challenge of demand-driven TA, and acknowledged rather the
practical necessity of focusing more on beneficiary country TA priorities.
Secretariat Briefings
3. The Director-General recalled that at Doha, Members agreed that technical cooperation and
capacity-building constituted core elements of the development dimension of the multilateral trading
system.  Since Doha, there was concrete evidence to demonstrate that signficant improvements had
been made and important gains achieved.  The Director-General referred, in particular, to the
endorsement of the Coordinated WTO Secretariat Annual TA Plan 2002 by the Committee on Trade
and Development on 6 March, the successful Pledging Conference held on 11 March, the first
meeting with Regional Development Banks and the World Bank held on 5 May 2002, and the
establishment of the Doha Development Agenda Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity
Building Database in cooperation with the OECD.
4. Deputy Director-General Ravier focused his intervention on the implementation of the TA Plan
for 2002.  As of 10 July 2002, a total of 298 activities had been undertaken, including 198 planned
activities; thus, 39 per cent of the 2002 TA Plan had been executed so far.  Though this appeared to be
somewhat slow in terms of rate of execution halfway through the year, implementation was
progressing smoothly, in particular for regional activities.  In fact, almost 50% of the planned regionalactivities had been executed so far while the rate of implementation for national activities stood at
32%.  With improved collaboration from beneficiary Members, he was confident that WTO activities
would be more focused and productive in the second half of the year.
5. The Director of the Technical Cooperation Division (TCD) reported on the increased volume of
TA activities by the WTO Secretariat since Doha (i.e. 600 projected activities in 2002, over 70%increase from 2001).  The funding predictability had been boosted by pledges made to the newly
established Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund for 2002 amounting to CHF 24 million, a
60% increase from the year before.  Despite the increased demand and resources for post-Doha TA,
difficulties had been identified in relation to some beneficiary countries, including inadequate
communication of needs and priorities, insufficient absorptive capacity, not enough coordinationbetween Geneva-based missions and capitals, and minimal progress in the incorporation of trade-
related needs into national development plans and PRSPs.  Concerns were also expressed about timely
remittances of the pledges and the degree of flexibility in the use of resources.  Other challenges
included the impossibility of reaching an equilibriu m between infinite demand for TA and the finite
supply of human and finance resources available; inter-agency coordination, in particular, in meetingdeveloping countries' needs for trade integration; and the necessity of reinforcing the complementarity
between market access and TA.
6. In preparing for the Secretariat TA Plan for 2003, the TCD Director outlined two strategic
objectives: (i) trade capacity building for negotiations, where the WTO had a comparative advantage
over other institutions; and (ii) trade capacity building for trade integration, where coordination with
other agencies and bilateral donors was required, and indispensable guidance was sought from
Members and Observers on the planning for 2003, in particular, on their priorities, which needed to becommunicated by the end of July.  Once inputs were received from the membership, the Secretariat
would draw up the draft Plan, which would be submitted to the October session of the Committee of
Trade and Development, and then to the Budget, Finance and Administration Committee. Finally, the
Director made a short presentation and demonstration of the newly established DDA TRTA and CB
Database, whose web-based application would be ope rational in October 2002.  The objective of the
database was to improve  transparency, coordination and coherence in overall TA delivery.
7. The Director of the WTO Training Institute referred to the doubling of the 12-week Trade Policy
Courses held in Geneva as of September 2002; the launching in July 2002 of two region-basedWT/COMTD/43
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courses in Africa jointly with the Universities of Casablanca and Nairobi; the first pilot Internet-based
course on basic principles; and, the WTO Universities programme.
8. The Director of the Technical Cooperation Audit (TCA) reviewed two main issues, namely, the
methodology used by the WTO for auditing, monitoring and evaluating TA, and lessons learned
during the first 18 months of operations of the TCA unit.  Given the limited resources devoted toevaluation in relation to the number of activities carried out by the WTO, most activities would be the
subject of self-evaluation by the providers themselves through back-to-office reports.  In fact, only
few activities would be observed by the TCA Unit directly.  In relation to the lessons learned, he
informed participants that, overall, the quality of execution was very high.  This fact had been
confirmed consistently in feedback from participants and in consultations with representatives of
beneficiary Members.  He also underlined the importance for beneficiary Members to design national
strategies for deriving maximum benefit from WTO technical assistance, for embedding trade in theirdevelopment plans and PRSPs.
Statements by participants
Formal record of Briefing/Meeting to follow.WT/COMTD/43
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Director-General's Introductory Remarks:
1. If  I could welcome colleagues to this meeting, the briefing from our end of the table, will in
total take, I hope, no more than 30 minutes.  I, unf ortunately, have to leave at 11.30, though I should
be able to come back.  My formal remarks will be available to you but I just will just give you a shortcomment because this is about reporting to you on how we are implementing Ministerial instructions
from Doha.  I think our report is a good one.  Dono rs and colleagues are keeping their promises.  I am
proud of the work of our team and the work of  Ambassadors and Representatives in Geneva.
However, of course we can improve our performance.   There have been lessons learnt.  Let me start
with what capacity building is not.  It is not about rich guys paying less equipped smaller guys to
agree with them.  It is not about building roads, seaports or airports or telling Governments to make
shoes, T-shirts or aircraft.  Other agencies are better equipped to do that and we should work withthem and we are, and as you know for example the ITC gets more than 10% of our budget.  Capacity-
building also is not about creating a lever or a club to delay negotiations on the Doha Development
Agenda.  Our technical assistance, capacity building and training activities are about equipping
Governments to engage negotiations on their defined legitimate self-interest and implementing such
decisions that are made.  But what I and we've learnt over the last few months, we are now preparingour 2003 technical assistance Plan and we have created a space to work through priorities in a more
precise auditable manner.  Submissions have been called for, by the 31
st of July, whether for basic
traditional TA, Training Trainers, Training Negotiators, the Training Institute and its work in Geneva
and now in satellite universities, JITAP, or our new evaluation auditing and benchmarking systems.
All of this must be added into one clear clean budget round.  In the future, we need to seek advicefrom Chairpersons of our Committees and negotiating bodies and working parties on where they
consider we can better assist Members.  If I would be sacrilegious, almost offensive, we are Member-
driven, decisions on funding and priorities on expendi ture must be done by relevant Committees.  But
in my view, that also must be need-driven by those who don't ask.  We need to rectify this gap.  This
is where a database and inventory of assistance from all sources is fundamental to knowing whathappens and what can be improved.  What have I learnt?  Frankly, I underestimated the transaction
costs in time and money of working with other agencies.  On this too, we need Ministers, Senior
officials and Ambassadors, to work together to provide a stronger sense of coherent urgency.  In this
way, we can make more effective use of your resources because many of the other agencies have
skills, networks, and people on the ground to assist.  You will have explained to you later our auditing
evaluation and benchmark systems because you need to know our resources are flowing effectively to
the areas of need.  I will now invite my colleagues to brief you, they will all have their go and in theend we will have a general discussion on how we can improvewhat, I think, are good products based
on lessons we have learnt.
Statement by DDG Mr. Paul-Henri Ravier:
2. I will limit myself to, let's say 5 or 6 preliminary remarks and then I will pass the floor to my
excellent colleagues who know far much more on the different topics than myself.  Very briefly, first
remark, I would like to insist and to reiterate the fa ct that trade-related technical assistance is one of
the WTO subjects where changes have been the most  comprehensive and spectacular in the last few
months, on this only simply four reminders:
(a) The definition of TA has been broadened from updating Members about the rule book
to a formal comprehensive activity covering capacity building, human capacity
building and more and more training and I will come back on this later.
(b) Second reminder, the famous debate whether or not trade-related TA is or is not a
core activity of the WTO or whether or not WTO is or is not a development agencyhas become largely non-relevant for one good reason.  If you read again  paragraphWT/COMTD/43
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38 of the Doha Declaration, you will see that Ministers have confirmed that TRTA
capacity building are core elements of the development dimension of the multilateral
trading system.
(c) Third reminder, technical assistance goes across the full range of the Doha
Declaration, beyond the paragraph 38 that have I just mentioned.  Ten otherparagraphs of the Doha Declaration cover subjects different from the very traditional
ones like market access, e-commerce, trade facilitation, two brand new ones,
competition, investment and environment.  It should be recalled time and again that
the Doha Declaration is not an isolated document issued by Trade Ministers but the
entire community, international community was focused at Doha and it reached an
agreement on the far-reaching Agenda of Doha.
(d) Last reminder of this first remark I think, it has to be reiterated time and again that
now technical assistance has become an integral part  of the negotiating agenda
within the Round and this as you know is  new in comparison with what existed
before; in other words technical assistance is no more in the best efforts category.  It
is now in a situation where any Member can say I refuse to go forward on such a
certain subject because I didn't receive the technical assistance I was entitled to by theDoha Declaration.
3. My second remark is to try to once again remind, nothing of what I am saying currently is
very new, it is just reminders, to remind you what has been so far, the WTO answers to the new
challenges of the Doha Ministerial Declaration in terms of Trade-Related Technical Assistance.
There are mainly eight answers, I am not going to develop them because most of them are going to bedeveloped by the Directors which are siting here on the rostrum with me.
4. But very briefly, first, the famous inter-agency cooperation.  I am not going to list all the
activities that we do in a coordinated basis with other agencies, but I think this is to be reminded once
again, time and again.
5. By all means, keep in mind that sometimes it is easier to say than to do, this is the systemic
question of the mandates of the different international agencies.  You perfectly know that each agency
has its own mandate, pursues its own strategic tasks, and therefore when you coordinate, it is not only
logistics, it is also a substantive matter to see how it is possible to coordinate and to harmonize
speeches and ideas which are not exactly consistent.
6. I am not going to list all the activities that we do in coordination but to remind that our main
partners are indeed the international financial agencies, World Bank and regional ones plus UNCTAD
plus all the others.  A word on ITC, I think that the partnership that we have with UNCTAD, jointlyfifty, fifty on ITC has to be also reminded because this partnership is a) a success, b) answers to the
famous question of the supply side.  Second answer , the famous Integrated Framework, here, I will
skip quickly because it is not exactly the topic of the day but I think that the IF, everybody has to keep
in mind that it addresses two questions, a) it institutionalises the inter-agency coordination, b) it
mainstreams the different speeches of trade people and development people and if it helps tomainstream trade concerns in development strategies, this is the main measure of success of the IF.
7. Third answer provided by the WTO.  The database, Chiedu will comment on the database and
therefore, I will not comment anymore on this except that the database is supposed to provide an
important answer to one of the concerns of not onl y us here in the Secretariat but most donors and
most beneficiaries which is, "who does what", the database is an act of coherence, an act oftransparency and we hope indeed that the country files will be in sufficient number soon, so that we
can say that the database has reached its critical mass.  Coordination with bilateral donors is not lessWT/COMTD/43
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important, this is done largely within the OECD framework, in the DAC, the Development Assistance
Committee, but it is done in way of circumstance and I think it has to be something never be
forgotten. The partnership with regional bank inst itutions and commissions is indeed a fundamental
requirement, this is something that has been deve loped quite a lot during the year.  A certain number
of MOUs have been signed.  I signed personally one with the Asian bank, the DG has signed a couple
I think, starting with the Inter-American Bank, others  are going to be signed and this I think will give
us in a few months a range of tools in order to develop this essential cooperation.
8. My third remark is how those different answers have been integrated namely in the yearly
TA Plan.  For 2002, I would like to remind also in front of you the following significant features.
First of all, the sharp increased in the overall number of activities from 350/400 roughly to a total of
520 activities, the focus on regional activities, and I th ink also this is important and this will grow in
the future.  The rate of implementation altogether of the Plan is, if I may say, roughly on time as far asregional activities are concerned, a little behind schedule as national activities are concerned. It is the
half empty, the half full glass, you can say that we have satisfaction to see that on regional activities
we are on schedule, which is not as satisfactory to see that we are a little behind schedule on national
activities, the reason is basically that, as you know, national activities consume more time and more
human resources and we have been pretty short of th is up to the last two or three weeks when we have
successfully hired those people on yearly contract basi s, and I think, that now the rate of delivery is
going to accelerate.
9. For 2003, and Chiedu is going to develop this, but let me simply say that the main concerns
that we have are, if I may say, roughly the same as they have been for the last two or three years, i.e.
how to properly assess the needs of the Members.  As you perfectly know, TA is demand-driven, thisis well enough but sky not being the limit, you have to balance the necessity to have a demand-driven
process and at the same time, to have a certain degree of management of the demand.  In order to
make a proper assessment, you have lots of methods, the trade policy reviews are one of them and we
rely on it more and more, questionnaires, relationships with delegations by definition, daily
relationships with delegations, contact points in the field, all sorts of opinions that we can receivefrom different sources of information but this is true  that it is an on-going topic.  Subject coverage is
also something which is difficult to manage, some subjects are over-covered, if I may say, other
subjects are under-covered.  It belongs to us to keep a proper balance between the different subjects.
Benchmarking, whether you call it, benchmarking, best practice, I think that Paul will come back on
this so I will not extend on this.
10. My fourth remark, has to see precisely, and it is a transition with what Paul is going to say,
with the monitoring evaluation and audit.  There will be no progress in TA if we don't develop inparallel the process of monitoring, evaluating and auditing our TA.  Here, I am not speaking of
outside, out of the house audit, after all one day Members may decide to have an outside audit of TA
activities, but it is not my topic of this morning.  Paul will develop in front of you in a minute what we
have done so far in terms of monitoring, evaluation and audit and I think that the methodology that we
have developed in the last four five months and I think it will give you some outlines, is the mark thatwe are addressing this problem seriously.
11. Fifth remark, the question of resources, human and financial.  As you know, in front of you,  I
have developed very often this double question, that TA is not only a question of money, it is a
question of money but it is basically a question of human resources.  As far as human resources are
concerned, we have hired 20 people on the so-called Programme Support Fund which are yearlycontracts and that are paid on the 13 per cent which are drawn from the Global Trust Fund.  Those
people have been recruited, they are ready to work and they will give a massive contribution to the
acceleration of the delivery of TA.  Financial resources, my only remark on this, is that we are about
short of the objective of the 15 million Swiss Francs, that were supposed to be put in the Global Trust
Fund by the 30
th June, I think we were short of one hundred thousand Swiss Francs, in order words,WT/COMTD/43
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we received 14.9 by the 30th of June on the objective of 15.  This gives us the possibility to, the
margin of manoeuvre which is necessary.  To give you a broad figure, last year, at the same moment
of the year, we were spending roughly 1 million Swiss Francs per month in terms of TA.  This year, at
the same period of the year, we are spending 1.5 million Swiss Francs a month.  Don't keep those
figure too much because, as you know, it is a very fast-growing activity which means that the data ofone week or one month is quite rapidly obsolete.  My  last remark is about training.  Training or not
training, this is the question.  And it is true that we have more and more pressure from Members to
shift progressively our activities from lecturing people, updating them to training.  So If I could have
the transparent and this will be my last remark on the different products that we have on the market
currently, they have been categorized.  We have, basically keeping in mind that we have now, we can
classify the different products that we have as far as training is concerned, and here I am speaking of
training of the WTO.  Not only of training of the Training Institute and training within the TA.  Those
are other problems  that belong to us to sort out progressively, keep in mind of what I am speaking
here about, is the training activities of the WTO.
12. Broadly speaking, we have three categories: the Geneva-based activities, the distance-
learning activities, and the field-based activities.  On the first category, most of them are well-known
to you, the table here is quite complete, therefore, it is a bit complicated.  You have a) the famousTrade Policy Courses, I will not elaborate on this because they are well-known, the Geneva-based
Policy Courses, the Introduction C ourses for LDCs, those are three-week courses, then you have the
specialized Courses in Dispute Settlement, then the Induction Day, which is one day for the new
comers and the training of trainers.  Claude Mercier will elaborate on this indeed.  The distance-
learning is a category that we are developing very quickly and which may become one of the mostimportant ones as it is technically more difficult, to the contrary to what everybody believes, to
develop distance-learning because it depends on the telecommunication capacity of beneficiaries and
it is sometimes easier to say the to do really.  But th ose are two products that we very much believe in.
The series of five video-conferences is on one side and the Internet-based course where we had first
tried recently, it is a pilot project which was done in English.  It was done from Geneva but distance-learning in different countries, it was obviously a success and the third category, the field-based
activity where you have three main products: the ad-hoc Trade Policy Courses, one in Nairobi, one in
Casablanca which is currently happening, so you know that those are typically new products.  It
consists to decentralize the Trade Policy Courses of Geneva in two capitals.  It may be extended, if it
is a success, once it is evaluated, then it can be perfectly extended to other places but so far we are
working on  two places.
13. You have the short-term Trade Policy Courses, which are included in the TA Plan.  Those are
three-week courses, so far they seem to be extremely successful and lastly you have the Advanced
Training Programme for government officials on Ne gotiating Techniques, those are for those of you
who are familiar with the TA programme of 2002.  Those are the courses which are in the Annex I,
we call them to make it short "Annex I: Trade Policy Courses on Negotiating Techniques" which have
already started and which are going to take off in the weeks and the months to come.  So this is myintroduction if I may say, because it is probably a bit too long.  I thinks now we have to hear from
Chiedu, in order to hear more about what we have learnt and what we are going to do in TA for 2003.
Mr. C. Osakwe:
14. Very briefly, let me know explain to you what we have done.  The details of everything that I
have to say is contained in the document before you.  And you do have one-page of paper that list all
the documentation of the entire presentation that one will make so.  If you do have questions later on,
we can take them but the presentation itself will be very brief.  Essentially what you would see on the
cover page of the slides is the summary of all the points that I have to make.  The Doha TA Mandatesand I will no longer speak on them, because Deputy-Director General Ravier has addressed them, norWT/COMTD/43
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will I speak on the eight sided or eight level Secr etariat response because DDG Ravier has spoken to
them.  Let me briefly focus with you, starting from the third bullet point and the third slide of the
implementation and the results that we had so far.
15. The first implementation result the we need to bear in mind is that we've had a 660 % increase
in the volume of activities that we delivered between 1995 and this year 2002, it is not really so mucha benchmark for achievement although it is in some way. It shows that we have increased their
capacity and we are going to increase their output.  But , essentially it also draws attention to a
problem and that is the problem that  I shall speak later on about regarding the runaway demand for
TA and the possibility of demand to keep up with that so.  We have been able to increase our output,
DDG Ravier spoke with regard to the increase in resources, funding that we've received with regard to
the fast-track positions.  Twenty of them that we have, but it also begins to draw attention to a
problem namely that we should know that there is an optimal capacity, to the Secretariat on capacityto deliver as it is with all other agencies and we have to begin to think about how to actually o
redesign TA activities downwards to have bigger bang for the buck and reduce the number of
activities so that we don't have to run helter-skelter all the time in the Secretariat, so that we can also
be able to do what we are supposed to do as professionals namely service negotiating bodies in
working parties, here in the WTO.
16. For the 2002 Plan and that will be the second bullet, we have an implementation rate of 39%.
It really should be higher at this point in time of the year but it is not for a variety of factors.  We had
a Pledging Conference in March, although we are alright with regard to funding but the pace of the
actual remittances of pledged contributions have not been as fast as they should come and thirdly, we
are also dealing with the situation of the recruitment of the 20 professionals that we've talked about.So the rate of implementation will certainly pick up but currently you should know that actually we
have a 39 implementation rate as of 30
th of June of this year, last month.  We have funding
predictability, the donors have made it possible.  Well, 30 million in pledged contributions between
now and the next three years or so.  But for this year actually, what you will see later on, on the chart,
is that we have about 24 million Swiss Francs in actual pledged contributions for 2002.  With regardto the results also, I have spoken about the importance of timely remittances.  Donors are well-
meaning and they've contributed their pledged resource appropriately but sometimes there is a lag
between pledged contributions and actual remittances.  I should also say that the Secretariat  requires
a degree of freedom with regard to the pledged contributions.  The less earmarking of the
contributions the better for us, it gives us the flexibilities that we need.  But if  we need to watch the
countries we will apply the money, the subject areas to which we apply them and different report and
accounting systems, so a lot of time wasting for the Secretariat and we certainly can improve on that.There are also implementation resources regarding beneficiary country issues.  We do need timely
communication on priorities from the beneficiary count ries, developed as well as least-developed.  As
you will recall, at the fortieth session of the Committee on Trade and Development, we made an
announcement, calling for inputs for the 2003 Plan.  It has also been trickling in, we have not received
the coverage of countries that we need.  Secondly, the Director-General has addressed the letter toTrade Ministers, copied to Development Ministers.  The responses still are very little.  The ball is in
the court of the beneficiary countries and we would require the communication on priorities and
inputs as quickly as possible.
17. In the Committee on Trade and Development, several countries have asked for an extension
of the time-frame and we are willing to do this because the only month when we can work with somedegree of sobriety and calmness is the month of August and this will be in the month of August and,
we need to have those inputs by the end of this month, so that we can do a pretty descent job and put
it back to the membership in September, October and eventually to the Budget and Finance
Committee in November of this year.  There is also a degree of concern with the absorptive capacity
of TA activities in many of the beneficiary countries.  Frequently, activities are scheduled, but theyare delayed, they are postponed, they are deferred and sometimes they don't even take place.  And onWT/COMTD/43
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probing, we have discovered part of the problem, it's not all I mean there are variety of explanatory
factors but part of the problem is that, also there is not really the sort of consolidated trade policy
institutional infrastructure, in some, not all, in some of the beneficiary countries, particularly the very
low-income developing countries, least-developed countries and many countries in Africa with regard
to the absorption of TA.   And I believe that this is an area where we have to work together, withthem, to be sure that the activities with deliver will be absorbed and absorbed also at accumulated
level.  We also have the problem you should know of Geneva capital-based coordination issues and
particularly with the beneficiary countries.  Frequently we are in the middle of friendly fire with
regard to the same Missions and their capitals, regarding the activities that we should include in the
Plan.  It is a very uncomfortable and awkward situ ation and we would ask the beneficiary countries to
address this problem.  Even if as we try to involve ourselves to the best extent as possible.
18. Final point that we need to make, penalty made point that we need to make on this is WTO
TA will not be able to deliver everything to developing countries , it's impossible, and no agency, not
even the World Bank with 10,000 staff can do it.  I think we also have to realize that we deliver here
in the WTO must focus on the agreed commitments on TA.  But for the full "ampleur" of  TA
activities, developing countries, at least beneficiary countries also must remember to make trade and
their trade priorities needs in activities they request are part of their development plan, are part of theirPRSPs.. The quality of TA we deliver, Paul Rolian will make a presentation on that.
19. Next slide, this is simply to show you what as been already said, that in 1995, the Secretariat
delivered  a total of 79 activities.  It has been climbed up ever since, currently with a standard of 600.
It is 660% increase.  I think the point to make here is that we all have to realize that there is a yield
point.  There is a point beyond which we can not go.  And there is such a similar yield point for every
other multilateral agency.  And I think that we, based on my experience,  are at that point and we have
to think about it, together with you receiving guidance from the Membership, hopefully at this
meeting with regard to the 2003 Plan.
20. On funding, I simply repeat what I have said, that the donors have made it possible.  And for
us, now plan properly.  We have the resources, we do not have a resource problem as we had in thePlan, as we has in previous plans.
21. Lessons: we can go through this very quickly because a lot of the points that I need to make
have been already embedded in some other previous points.  First of all, demand exceeds supply.  I
don't think this is anything that's unique, it is not unique to the WTO.  It will always be that way in the
all points of economics, finite resources, and infinite needs, and it is also an area where because of
baring cost, not baring cost the demands will run ad finitum .  We have to realize that we will never
achieve equilibrium.  Demand and supply will always be apart.  So, we would need your guidance, weare also thinking about it, and we do have our own ideas regarding how to improve on what we
deliver, relative to the demands from the membership.
22. Secondly, there are coordination challenges at every level, there are coordination challenges
within the WTO Secretariat.  The coordination challenges among the beneficiary countries, the
coordination challenges amongst the donors and there are coordination challenges at every level.  So,we have to realize that we have a monumental problem with coordination and we can take up the
details of this, if you so wish, in the course of the discussion.   Agency partnerships are indispensable
but more indispensable is the role of the Bretton-Woods institutions.  I am not discounting the role of
other multilateral agencies but without the World Bank and the IMF, we would have not been able to
do a thing.  They are absolutely critical with regard  to that troika of a relationship that we need to
have between development trade and monetary polic ies.  They would also, if I may move slightly
away of from TA, they are also absolutely important with regard to substantive discussions and
negotiations in negotiating bodies and in the work programmes, with regard to the resource of
research, with regard to what should be, matters appropriate for the WTO.  And so I flag it, almost inWT/COMTD/43
Page 11
a cryptic manner but to say that the role and our partnership with the Bretton-Woods institutions are
keen.
23. We have received lots of commentaries about the appropriate balance between seminars and
workshops and training, and we would need your gu idance.  In the past few months, there have been
lots and lots of guidance and statements that we should incline towards training and we are doing thatunder Mr. Ravier's leadership, but I also need to say that a lot, beyond the statements, a lot of the
requests that we are still getting from the beneficiary countries incline towards seminars and national
technical work , so the point is that a statement is be ing made with regard to references also have to be
matched with the actual requests that are being made.
24. I also need to point out, a lesson that has become clear to us, whatever we deliver, with regard
to WTO TA problem, one of the lessons and the feedback that we are getting from the membership is
that shifting should be towards Trade Integration, and that would be technical assistance activities thatfocus on trade-related infrastructure, break in mortar issues, those are also TA activities that the WTO
will never be able to deliver, but which will be  more appropriately deli vered by UNDP , the World
Bank, related agencies, ITC and so we have to, and make this distinction because Members put it to us
but it is important to make that distinction between WTO TA, that is: Trade-related Capacity building
to support the negotiations on the one hand, and on the other hand trade capacity building with regardto trade integration, the distinction is important even as we understand the relationship.
25. One of the lessons we have also drawn is that Members keep telling us that in as much as we
push and we push and we push on technical assistance, we should realize that the complementarity of
technical assistance and market access and that they are not issues of substitutability and I wanted to
bring this to your attention.
26. We believe that the long term future of technical assistance lies with the concept of the
Integrated Framework.  Why?  For the simple reas on that it combines the two things that we have
talked about, 1) Trade Capacity Building to support negotiations on the one hand, and 2) Trade
Capacity Building for trade integration, namely break in mortar infrastructure, and those things that
we cannot do.  Avoiding earmarking is what we have talked about and would help, domesticabsorptive capacity I have already spoken to and I still, let me conclude the lessons by saying that the
significant challenges that we still confront in our technical assistance are posed by countries in the
regions of Africa, South Asia, Caribbean, Central Asia, the least-developed countries and the
developing counties, and acceding countries.
27. We are in the process of drafting the 2003 Plan, and here we will need a lot of guidance from
you, but these are some of the things, these are some of the ideas we have received from you, the first
is, we need to have a strategic focus at two levels, I have already spoken about it, one is TradeCapacity Building for trade negotiations with regard to matters that are WTO competent and
secondly, Trade Capacity Building for trade integration.
28. Secondly, we need your guidance on strategic priorities, we do have to move away from
demand-driven TA, and I do not mean, I do need to be  careful, not move away from Member defined
priorities, our priorities shall always, and always be defined by Members, but we now know that itcannot be demand-driven, that is, explained as responding to every significant concrete request for an
activity from a Member, it cannot be done, because the numbers will grow at infinity and there is no
capacity in the WTO or for that matter, in any other Agency to be able to so deliver and so we will
continue to be defined by our priorities but we have to think about the concept of demand-driven,
bench-marking, several delegations have spoken about bench-marking but we need guidance fromyou.WT/COMTD/43
Page 12
29. In pursuing the 2003 Plan, we will consult informally with the Regional Groups and seek
their bind for it.  Finally, on this particular slide, this is the calendar that has been set out, 31st of July,
please communicate your inputs to the Secretariat.  we have already made several announcements
dating from the month of March, including in a rece nt letter by the DG to Ministers.  October, we
would put to the Committee on Trade and developmen t the Draft Plan for authorization, in November
it should go to the Budget and Finance Committee, in November or December, we would hope to
have a more routine, less ceremonial Pledging Conference  and on first January 2003 we expect to hit
the ground running.
30. Just a final point, it should be in less than two minutes, on the database, we now have a
database on which we are working, in a joint partnership with the OECD, and they are present, the
only Agency with us in this meet ing, the OECD is present, at three working group meetings in which
we had all the Members of the DAC/OECD, includin g all the developing countries that deliver TA,
like Argentina, Brazil and so on and all agencies including Regional Development Banks, who agreed
to objective parameters and calendar for the database.  The database is jointly managed, we have
agreed to the objectives that you can see on the screen, which will serve the purposes of transparency,
exchange of information, avoiding duplication, estimating progress on the TA mandates that we have,
coordination and coherence, and not least, facilitate the report that is expected by the DG to theMembership, at the Ministerial Conference but with an interim report in December this year on
paragraph I, the adequacy of the implementation of all the agreed mandates.
31. Now the database, this is the database, this database is an Internet Web-page  application, you
will be able to pick it up in one of the hard copies of the documents that we have circulated, this
would be open to everyone, it would be on the internet, it will be useable by everyone, this is thehomepage.  At the bottom left-hand corner, you would see the objectives that I have just spoken to.  If
you look at where the cursor currently is, you would see the four parameters on the basis of which you
can make a search of the database, you can search the database by trade-related technical assistance
category and the categories you have there are strictly the categories agreed to the Ministerial
Declaration in Section I, I will shortly show you.  Section II which refers to trade development, thesort of activities that ITC delivers  and then, Section III that deals with infrastructure, you will shortly
see, the sort of trade integration TA activities.  You can also do a search by beneficiary countries, that
is by all the 165 developing and least-developed and associated territories who have ever benefited
from WTO technical assistance.  You can also do a search by the country providers, essentially the 23
Members of the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD and, including as I said, some of
the other countries that are TA providers like Argentina, Brazil and some of the high income East-
Asian Economies that also deliver, and then you can also do a search by Agency-provider.  Now,currently, for Agency-provider, we cannot search, because the data has not been reported except by
the WTO.  For country-providers, we also cannot do a search because data has not been provided yet
the country-providers but there is no crisis, the deadline for them to report data into the agreed
categories is the 31
st of July, next week, so we do have time.  We can do a little search by beneficiary
country and, we cannot do a search by trade-related technical assistance category, but let me give youa little snap shot of where we are.
32. This is the first category, one of the parameters rather, by which you can do a search.  If you
look, you will see all the trade-related technical assistance categories under Section I, they are all the
categories that are covered in the agreed commitments, in the eleven operative paragraphs of the Doha
Ministerial Declaration running right through from Dispute Settlement through Trade and
Environment, Investment, competition and to ou r TAs.  And then of course, you have trade
development and then you have infrastructure, let me just take you through, illustratively and I should
end in seconds.  Let's look at the Canada and Japan data stored at the APEC database.
33. Remember, this is also a group of WTO Members that also delivered trade-related technical
assistance.  We can do a search by current APEC projects.  If I put in the key password of trade, youWT/COMTD/43
Page 13
will see for instance, the category, what we are looking at now is part of the Doha Development
Agenda trade-related technical assistance database, that is our database, it's linked to the APEC
database, you would see a category on the left hand side of the screen "WTO general" as part of
APEC economic integration and you would see a description of a trade as technical assistance
category, that is being given to a group of countries  (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam)and the donor country here is Canada, for instance, and if you go deeper, it will give you the project
number, tells you what it is about, shows you the recipient countries, shows you the donor country,
"Canada", tells you what the name of the programme is, and actually give you a budget that tells you
that it's a total budget of 6 millions dollars to these countries:  Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and
Vietnam, two non-APEC Members: Laos and Cambodi a, actually in the process of WTO accession;
so they are also beneficiaries, and you can see what is being done.  I think I should leave it at that
because this is taking a bit too long but we will be able to give you a further illustration of what wehave been able to do, if you have more questions to ask and if…
Mr. C. Mercier:
34. So far in 2002 we have completed 2 three-month Trade Policy Courses for 57 participants, 2
dispute settlement workshops of one week each for about 30 people, 1 three-week introduction
courses for 25 LDCs and 2 one-day induction courses.
35. As of 8 and 15 July we are running 2 three-month TPCs in Casablanca and Nairobi
respectively for 53 African participants.
36. In mid-September we will be conducting 2 three-month TPCs in parallel for the first time for
60 participants in the new training rooms which the Members have allocated to us.  The second three-
week introduction course for 25 LDC will be held this autumn as well as the 3rd one-week dispute
settlement workshop and a 3rd induction course.  One short course on trade negotiations (theory and
practice) is also foreseen for late autumn for about 20 participants.
37. The ongoing cycle of 6 three-month courses will be completed from Jan-Apr. 2003 for 60
participants.
38. By the time of the Mexico Ministerial Meeting, 2 more three-month courses for 60
participants, 1 more course for 25 LDCs and 2 more dispute settlement workshops will have been
held.  Depending on the future treatment of the regional 3-month TPCs, one or two more Regional
three-month courses would have been held for an additional 60 participants.
39. Globally therefore, during the period January 2002 to September 2003, 300 developing
country officials – possibly 60 more if the regional courses are repeated - will have been trained in thethree-month TPCs, one third of this represents pa rticipation by the LDCs in addition to their own
courses which are repeated twice a year for three weeks.  They will also, by the end of that period in
September 2003, 75 more – possibly 100 – LDC officials, will have attended the three-week courses,
and theoretically up to 50 other LDC officials which have had the opportunity to attend the dispute
settlement workshop and be financed by the budget.  So, this compares, all these figures which runover 400/500 people all together compare with the figure of 90 back in 1999 and 2000, so that gives
you an idea of the increase in training capacity.
40. This presentation does not take into account the numerous developing country officials who
will have been trained through the Trainers' Training programme or those trained through the
videoconferencing facility or the Internet-based courses which have just started as pilot.  Equally andeven less so, whatever training is afforded thr ough the emerging university networking program is not
reflected in these figures.WT/COMTD/43
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Mr. P. Rolian:
41. Mr. Chairman, in the next few minutes, I would like to explain to the meeting the role and
activities of the Technical Cooperation Audit.
42. I will confine my remarks to highlighting three main points.
43. The first concerns what I would call the background  to the function of evaluation.  The year
2001 was a year of transition: not only was it the year in which the evaluation function was
established, in February, in response to Members' clearly expressed desire, but it was also the year, in
October, in which the strategy for WTO technical assistance was debated and approved. In particular
this was the year that saw an end to the debate as to whether technical assistance was or was not a
core function of the Organization.  Certainly, the Doha Development Agenda leaves no doubt that it
is, and it provides a very clear framework within which those activities are to be carried out.
44. This is not merely of academic interest.  In the absence of agreement on the legitimacy of
technical assistance as part of the mandate of the WTO, it would be difficult to conduct a strategically
coherent programme of technical assistance, and to evaluate it.
45. The second point that I would like to highlight concerns the question of methodology .  The
main conceptual work carried out in 2001 was the development of a methodology for the evaluationof WTO's technical assistance, to reflect the specific nature of that assistance.
46. The approved methodology is in the Director-G eneral's Notice to Staff (OFFICE(02)/40), and
has been distributed to Members as well.
In this regard, three observations may be made:
(a) First, the WTO's technical assistance portfolio consists of a large number of activities
(over 500 in 2002) almost exclusively in the form of training and capacity-building.
They are of short duration and cover a great number of different topics, i.e. they are
very fragmented.
(b) Second, because WTO technical assistance is of this nature, the more common forms
of evaluation methodology are not entirely relevant. Evaluation aims at determining
the efficiency of the activities (how are we doing) and their effectiveness and
sustainability (are we doing the right thing)   One of the most challenging aspects of
evaluation in the WTO context is to establish yardsticks for measuring long-term
impact.  Our made-to-measure methodology addresses both aspects, but we need also
to continue to benchmark our activities against best practice and Members’
expectations, and monitor progress in fulfilling the programme.
(c) And third, the resources devoted to evaluation are very limited in relation to the
number of activities that have to be covered.  That is why the methodology calls for a
shared responsibility between the Audit and the providers of technical assistance.
Inevitably, most of WTO's technical assistance will be the subject of self-evaluation
by the providers themselves, since this is the only way to have a sufficient basis fordrawing any conclusions.  These self-evaluations require providers to report in a
more analytical and evaluative manner.  This , together with the findings from the ten
or so activities a year that my unit can observe directly, is used as input into the
broader evaluations which TCA conducts.  These may take the form of thematic
evaluations, tracer or follow-up assessments, and determination of lessons learnedfrom the activities.WT/COMTD/43
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47. But you should not go away with the impression that we are merely indulging in navel-gazing
here.  While it is undoubtedly important that there be feedback from my work to the Secretariat (to
improve what we do), it is equally important to interact with the Members, both beneficiaries and
donors (accountability). TCA systematically seeks feedback from representatives of Members, both in
Geneva and "on location", that can also be an input into evaluation.  Finally, a system of generalreporting to Members, in the  CTD, is provided for.
48. The third point that I would like to draw to your attention relates to some of the observations
made and the lessons learned during the first 18 months of operation.
(a) The first of these is that over all, the quality of execution of WTO's technical
assistance is very high.  It is not just the Auditor who says this; it has been confirmed
consistently in feedback from participants and in consultations with representatives of
beneficiary Members.  WTO staff  are on top of this aspect of their work, professional
in their approach and dedicated to what they are doing.  It is worth recalling in this
connection that, prior to the current fast-track recruitment campaign, most staff were
not hired primarily for their skills in delivering TA, and that in the period under
review the pressure on them of competing work priorities remained high.
(b) The second observation is that making technical assistance successful calls for a
cooperative effort between the WTO Secretariat (providers) and Members
(beneficiaries).  This cooperation can take several forms, from purely practical ones –
pre-activity logistics, meeting room arrangements, security, back-office assistance,
hospitality, etc. – to more substantive issues relating, for example, to the selection of
participants in WTO TA activities.  Appropriate selection of those who willparticipate in training activities means that those activities will have a greater chance
of producing substantive results than they would otherwise.  In a demand-driven and
Member-driven context, the selection of participants is obviously a matter for
Members, but they can and do enhance the impact of TA activities when they make
sure that those who participate really are concerned in their day-to-day work by theissues under discussion, and are likely to remain in the trade business.  More outreach
to sectors other than government also turns out to be a factor which adds value to TA.
(c) Third, there is a need for the Secretariat to continue to focus on what are termed
"upstream" activities, namely analysis of the needs of Members and design of
technical assistance. One of the most important elements is clearly setting out the
objectives that are being sought in a given activity or cluster of activities, or indeed in
the TA programme as a whole.  The identification of needs can rely on more than justthe input from Members; TPR reports, the work of Committees, cooperation with
other agencies may also be factored in.  Thinking about objectives needs to begin
early in the process of determining the programme of activities, whether it is
conceived in terms of national, regional, or substantive criteria, or as is most likely, a
combination of these.  The DDA and the strategy for TA should be fundamentalunderpinnings in devising such a programme, which will be more than a list of
activities.
(d) Fourth, with regard to sustainability, which is the most difficult aspect to evaluate, the
value of TA is enhanced when beneficiaries acknowledge that they have more than a
passive stake in the process.  The success of technical assistance activities over thelonger term will depend on factors such as the following:
(i) beneficiary governments have national strategies for deriving maximum
benefit from WTO technical assistance;WT/COMTD/43
Page 16
(ii) beneficiaries continue with their own capacity-building activities even after
WTO technical assistance has ended, in order to consolidate and extend the
results;
(iii) beneficiaries take steps to extend  technical assistance activities beyond the
immediate recipients to other government and non-governmental actors in thenational context.
(e) Fifth, there is recognition that WTO can address only one aspect of the trade capacity
deficit faced by developing countries, and in particular by LDCs. Having a fuller
understanding of the Agreements and rules underpinning the multilateral trading
system is important, but so is having concretely the possibility of taking advantage of
the opportunities that are beckoning, or at least overcoming the main obstacles to
trading more.  Our evaluation does not focus particularly on this, reflecting the factthat these issues are largely beyond the re mit of the WTO, but it has drawn attention
to the need to reflect in our activities examples of direct concern to the countries
involved, and that lack of capacity covers a range of matters.  It will be interesting to
observe the extent to which, for example,  the idea of mainstreaming WTO policy into
national policy, as provided for in the Integrated Framework programme, canconstitute a response.
Mr. C. Osakwe:
49. If you look at the screen you will see that you have a total of 165 countries that benefit from
WTO Technical Assistance.   You will seen next to Bangladesh the you have 15 which is the totalnumber of Technical Assistance activities.  You will see also that in 2001, Bangladesh conceived 9
Technical Assistance activities for the totality of 2001.  Now, this Database is only up until the end of
the month of June and remember that the only data that has been reported in this database is data from
the WTO, we have not yet received any data from Members, from other agencies, it is work in
progress but as I said in the initial presentation there is no cause for alarm because the deadline wegave for reporting data into the database is the end of this month.  You will see that as of June this
year, already, that is the half-year mark, Bangladesh has already enjoyed or conceived six activities
and here you can see the sort of activities that they have been able, and remember this is only WTO
data, they have trade category, in the middle column  it's just the WTO and in the third column it's the
specific activities, they've had a regional seminar on TBT, assisting in WTO Trade Policy Course,
regional seminar on Trade mainstreaming into PRSPs, a regional seminar on Rules, and Trade and
Environment, Dispute Settlement and so on and so on.
Chairman:
50. I think we will go now to the Membership, there is no cause for panic but I believe there is
cause for alarm, that we do need to feed into th e system the information from the other Agencies,
simply knowing what  we do is not good enough, we should know that anyway, what we do need bythe end of this month is to be able to feed the work in from OECD, from World Bank and from the
membership, so I am not panicking but I am alar med that we haven't made enough progress on this.
Now this is over to the Membership, you have got some comments, advice, we need assistance from
you on this.WT/COMTD/43
Page 17
Japan:
51. Mr. Director-General, I would like to express my  gratitude to your initiative to hold a high
level briefing.  It was very informative.  It has also demonstrated your personal commitment topromoting trade-related technical assistance and capacity building.  I'm convinced that you and your
Secretariat have contributed to furthering the intere sts of developing countries in the WTO.  I would
like to make some very short comments from the perspective of an assistant provider.
52. Japan believes that TRTA/CB activities by the WTO should respond effectively to the needs
which emerge from the mandate set forth in the Doha  Declaration, in order to promote the process for
the Fifth Ministerial Conference.  From this view  point, Japan has been supporting efforts for more
active participation of developing countries in the current negotiations, and wishes to reiterate its
readiness to actively engage in the TRTA/CB.  Japan's quick pledge and disbursement of 1.5 million
Swiss Francs to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund demonstrated our determination to
contribute towards promoting the fast integration of  developing countries in the multilateral trading
system.
53. Japan is pleased to note that the Secretariat is now better equipped to meet the ambitious
targets established in the 2002 Plan.  However, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that one third
of the activities so far executed are ad hoc based.  Although Japan fully understands the need for a
certain level of flexibility in implementing the Annual Plan, Japan fears that if a larger portion of thePlan is to be composed of ad hoc based activities, it may diminish the confidence in the 2002 Plan and
may cause accountability problems.  Therefore, Japan would like to urge the Secretariat to pay due
consideration to our concern.
54. We are also of the view that much efforts are needed for the current work being undertaken
by the WTO Secretariat for the elaboration of the 2003 Technical Assistance Plan.  Needless to say
that this Plan, to be completed with inputs from de veloping countries, should reflect the real needs of
developing countries.  However, we are under th e impression that these inputs from developing
countries, such as priorities of technical assistance or the list of concrete programs, have not been
presented in a sufficiently clear manner so far.  Japan has already taken steps through our embassies
and through the APEC WTO Capacity Building Group network to contact the relevant authorities in
the capitals of countries concerned.  I would like to again invite and encourage all the participants
here to mobilize your respective capitals to elaborate the requests, which should be submitted to theWTO Secretariat before the end of this month.  I also would like to emphasise that your inputs to the
2003 Plan are extremely important in order to make it effective.  Japan believes that it is time for us to
work together for the success of the Doha Development Agenda.  All WTO Members should gather
their respective resources and wisdom to reach our common goal.
Kenya:
55. Doha marked a turning-point in the internati onal economic relations.  For the first time, WTO
Members have committed themselves to unprecedented support for technical assistance for the
integration of developing and least-developed countries into the evolving multilateral trading system.
Developments that have taken place since the Doha Ministerial Conference with respect to technical
assistance and capacity building confirmed the importance and seriousness of the commitment ofWTO Members.  We welcome especially the efforts of the Director-General to explore ways and
means of securing predictable and enhanced funding to improve technical assistance and capacity
building.  In our view, the new phase in technica l assistance and capacity building should now focus
on upgrading technical skills and capacity of both Geneva-based and capital-based officials to
negotiate on various subjects under discussion in the WTO.  These will undoubtedly enable them to
participate fully and being informed of positions in the negotiations.WT/COMTD/43
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56. A good example of what is possible to achieve within some resources and within a well
coordinated framework is the Joint Integrated Assistance Program (JITAP).  JITAP has been a success
story because it combines the development of human and institutional capacity and targets supply-side
constraints.  Indeed, JITAP played an important role in our preparation for and our participation in the
4th Ministerial Conference.  However, some of the activities in the program have not been
implemented due to lack of resources.  For instance, in our case, some of the activities that would
need to be given priority are the assistance to modernize and upgrade our customs procedures and
administration, and the assistance to create coherence amongst stakeholders.  Coherence would reduce
backlog and congestion we frequently experience, and it would reduce duplication and opportunities
for malpractice.  We also need assistance in adopting our laws to make them WTO compliant.
Thirdly, we need assistance for our standards bodies to acquire necessary accreditation that would
greatly facilitate trade, would reduce unnecessary delays linked to inspection, and would reduce thecost of doing business.  Therefore, I feel inclin ed to recommend strongly that future technical
assistance should be channelled through the JITAP program.  This is not to say that seminars and
workshops have not delivered as to their promise, but we are saying that we move to the next level.
57. Negotiations should not be seen as an aid in themselves, and what is more important is for
countries to take advantage of the improved market access opportunities so created.  In this respect,technical assistance and capacity building to address supply-side constraints is equally important.  In
this regard, we encourage the WTO to collaborate with our development partners, as well as with
other international institutions, in order to develop our capacity at the country level.  In addition, the
IF has proved to be a useful program.  In fact, it is so useful that we were compelled to ask for its
extension to other countries.  We would like to thank the IF Inter-Agency Working Group for havingpromised support in this context.
58. With respect to the trade policy programs that  have been initiated in Kenya and Morocco, we
would like to register our appreciation as they provide the best opportunity for middle-level officials
to receive a comprehensive introduction to the multilateral trading system.  We feel that the programs
will enable us to alleviate some of the difficulties we face with respect to having a critical mass oftrade officers.
59. Finally, we want to thank the Technical Cooperati on Division.  In particular, we would like to
recognise the person dedicated and the commitmen t of Osakwe with respect to implementation of
technical assistance needs submitted by our Members.  We would like to assure you that we shall
bring forward as many priorities as we think will be possible, and we shall definitely meet the
deadline of 31
st July.  We feel that, if we get the necessary support, we shall be able to take full
advantage of the opening that would come with the Doha Agreement.  We need to move forward the
Development Agenda.  We would like to call on those Members who may not be in a position to
negotiate their priorities individually, to make sure that they are assisted in identifying the critical
areas that can enable them to participate in inte rnational trade.  We can only achieve development
through trade, and we cannot rely on aid anymore.  I think that time has come when we have to
remain engaged.  We also want to make sure that we upgrade trading within the African continent,because there are enough opportunities that we can enhance.  With those remarks, I submit that we
shall meet all priorities and would require a lot of assistance to identify our priorities.
Morocco:
60. The Doha Declaration said that technical assi stance and capacity-building were one of the
core aspects of the work of the Organization to make it possible for the developing countries to deal
with the crucial phase which would be part of the next Conference.  Never in the history of the
Organization has a Declaration of this kind given su ch an important place and position to these two
pillars of development.  The implementation betw een now and the next Conference will be a real
challenge for the Organization, as regards the amplitude of the needs and complexity of the issues inWT/COMTD/43
Page 19
concern.  We believe that the Organization has all the potential to take up this challenge, and we now
have now funds available within the framework of the Doha Development Fund.   There is the issue
of optimising the resources and their use, so that technical assistance will be both predictable and
sustainable.
61. Our delegation believes that the inclusion of certain parameters will be necessary to ensure
the efficiency of technical assistance and capacity building.  These parameters could be identified
around four areas.  First, specialization in the context of negotiations.  It is essential to concentrate on
ongoing integrated activities, rather than limiting oneself to simply disseminating information about
the WTO Agreements.  But, this means that there would have to be an elaboration of clearly focused
themes and issues.  There will also have to be specialists who will be involved here.
62. Second, technical assistance activities have to be seen within a regional framework.  This
would meet a dual goal.  That is, first, to rationalize the costs so that a larger number of participantsmay be trained, and second, to ensure that there would be greater exchange among trainees coming
from different backgrounds and sharing their experiences within the multilateral trading system.
63. Third, there should be longer periods for technical assistance activities.  Past experience has
shown that the presentation of certain complex themes requires more time for better and fuller
understanding of the issues by participants.
64. Fourth, it would be important to supplement practical training for officials who are
responsible for various issues, so that there are more elaborated structures for handling of the WTO
dossiers.  This type of partnership between administrations should make it possible for the
beneficiaries to have greater practical experience by looking at concrete and specific cases in the host
countries.
65. There are a number of suggestions to be made within the framework of the Technical
Assistance for 2003.  We shall send a full letter to the Technical Cooperation Division.  We wish to
close our comments by expressing a special word of  thanks to the Director-General for his untiring
efforts for the effective implementation of technical assistance in Africa.  Nairobi and Casablanca are
a perfect example of this kind, which has moved away from past pattern.  These activities are seenwithin an innovative framework wh ich would meet the tremendous needs of the African continent.  In
this regard, we also thank the Director-General for having accepted the invitation by the Minister of
Trade.  Following his visit, a memorandum of agreement was signed in our country.  Since the 8
th of
July, we have now launched the course for French-speaking African countries.  We would like the
WTO to expand its activities to other regions so as to make it possible for all developing and least-
developed countries to benefit from this programme.  I would also like to express my thanks to all the
countries for their generous contributions which have made it possible to ensure that this initiativeactually became reality.
Bangladesh:
66. Technical cooperation and capacity-building are an area of the WTO where the Director-
General has brought in renewed emphasis.  His efforts have not only highlighted the need fortechnical cooperation and capacity-building, but also have given it meaning and content that it did not
possess earlier.  The Doha Ministerial Declaration has reference to technical cooperation and
capacity-building in paragraphs 38 to 41, and separately, it has reference in as many as ten times
spread over several paragraphs.  In this document, for the first time, the new strategy for WTO
Technical Cooperation for Capacity Building, Gr owth and Integration was recognized and it
underscores the significance that should be attached to this subject.  It is clear that the Director-
General's policy of highlighting technical cooperation and capacity-building has been strongly
endorsed by the Ministers.WT/COMTD/43
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67. The WTO has comparative advantage in providing technical cooperation and capacity-
building services.  There are very few organizations that have expertise in this new and emerging field
of trade rules.  Yet, we must acknowledge that technical cooperation and capacity-building have never
been the centre of activities of the WTO.  This is perhaps because the WTO is a negotiating forum
and the main priority of the Secretariat is to service negotiation, meetings and dispute settlementprocesses.  However, on account of the unique expertise it has developed, the WTO should be in an
unparalleled position to contribute to capacity-building in trade.  As it is not concentrated on technical
cooperation and capacity building, it does not seem to have a clearly defined strategy and plan for this
purpose.  In practice, technical assistance staff seem to be coordinating these activities on an ad hoc
manner, balancing demands by countries and by the WTO operational divisions.
68. My purpose today is not to present a critic on the WTO's technical cooperation and capacity
building programme.  Instead, what I propose to do, is to outline elements that in our view should be
present in the programme.  It is vital that a mode rn vision is to be developed for capacity-building
with assistance from the WTO.  The new multilateral trade rules are still alien to us, but they are
increasingly becoming more important as we attempt to engage in world trade.  Our objective is to
develop our endogenous capacity within our countries.  However, no matter how much we try, we
will not be able to implement the Agreements unless we have domestic capacity that correctlyunderstands their implications.  Improved understanding would contribute to our more effective
engagement in the negotiating process.
69. The growing complexity of the world trade system necessitates greater involvement of
developing countries and interest groups in policy-making.  This correspondingly requires that the
nature and scope of technical cooperation and capacity building in trade policy change rapidly.  Theclassic structure of technical cooperation seems to work well in the past.  However, since the mid-
1990s, thanks to the emergence of demand for assistance, e-network, the proactive civil society and
pressure for rapid economic reforms, the situation has changed dramatically.  In the new environment,
the old technical assistance concept and institutional structures have become almost dysfunctional.
Technical assistance is increasingly seen as services offered, with donors supporting a network ofproviders and recipients in developing countries engaged in an organic and long term relationship.
Innovative approaches based on ownership by the beneficiary markets, multi-agency efforts and
network have gained ground.
70. There is now a growing awareness that trade issues have to be seen in the broader perspective
of sustainable development and that technical assi stance should be provided through partnership and
interactivity in order to build local skills and apt itude.  Capacity-building, seen as an effective and
modern project, should rely on providing beneficiary-oriented services.  As a beneficiary country inthe technical assistance programme of the WTO, we would like capacity building to be at the core of
technical cooperation, be treated as a long-term objective and designed as such.  This approach should
emphasis endogenous capacity, both in institutions and in human resource development.  In fact, the
two are complementary.  For instance, the WTO could establish a collaborative arrangement with
universities and government training institutes in Bangladesh.  The objective of such collaborativearrangements would be to develop the capacity of the institutes to impart training in the relevant areas
to government officials, the private sector, and civil society representatives.  At the same time, the
faculty of trainers in these institutions could be encouraged to undertake research and policy analysis
on specific areas of trade that are of direct interest to Bangladesh.
71. Where necessary, particularly for government officials, long-term internship or training at the
WTO could continue as is currently being undertaken with financial support from our development
partners.  It is of prime importance that there will be country-specific comprehensive plan for this
purpose.  In the medium-term, while the long-ter m programme is being implemented, there is a need
for more direct intervention, which could be in the form of training, preferably in our country.  I
understand that the Director-General has alread y implemented programmes for three-month longWT/COMTD/43
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regional training in Africa.  Such programmes, if designed to respond to the needs of intended
beneficiaries, could be effective medium-term tools for the delivery of capacity-building.
Simultaneously, complementary short-term training  modules in the WTO Training Institute could be
immensely useful.  These programmes, whether in-c ountry or in Geneva, should be designed within
the framework of the long-term concept that I have elaborated.
72. Whether seminars and workshops of the type, being conducted now, have any value would
depend on the circumstances.  If the objective is to develop capacity in the broad sense, I'm afraid that
they will be of very little value as we are finding out.  It may surprise many that Bangladesh made no
request to the WTO for seminars and workshops in 2002.  It is not because we did not have the need,
we felt that three standing seminars and workshops in our country would not serve our capacity
building needs.  However, seminars and workshops can be designed, and can be useful if designed
properly, for instance, to develop or understand regional dimensions of trade-related problems.  Todevelop a special skill in an area where some local  expertise is already available, it may indeed be
useful to hold dialogues with experts from abroad.
73. What we emphasis is that such events be planed within the fold of the long and medium-term
capacity-building programmes.  I am articulating th e capacity-building needs of countries, such as
Bangladesh.  As I said earlier, it is not intended as a critic of WTO programmes, nor does it outline aplan for WTO's technical cooperation in capac ity-building.  However, should the WTO wish to
participate meaningfully in helping us with capaci ty-building, the requirements I have outlined should
be incorporated.  Capacity building needs are country-specific and must address the requirements of
the country for which they are intended.  Where appropriate, synergies should be obtained from
working with other multilateral institutions and expert bodies.  We, on our part, are prepared to workwith the WTO in designing such a programme.
Canada:
74. The resources are in place, and the will is there to deliver TRTA which our Ministers agreed
at Doha.  The question which we are all grappling with here today, in capitals and in multilateral
institutions, is how best to deliver.  The WTO plays a critical facilitation role for the TRTAcommitment made at Doha, but within a much larger  context of multilateral and bilateral trade and
development efforts.  In this regard, we wish to compliment the WTO and the OECD for so quickly
bringing together the agencies and donors to create a framework for a database.  This database will
assist us all in knowing what we are collectively providing in TRTA and capacity building.  We can
then maximize scarce resources and avoid duplication of effort.
75. The Secretariat is to be congratulated for its quick action on implementing the pledging
session and the 2002 Annual Technical Assistance Plan, for establishing the audit function, and for itsefforts to build stronger bridges with the heads of major delivery agencies and regional banks.  These
are all critical elements in the overall Plan.  It is now time to reflect and to ensure that the 2003 Plan is
informed by the learning from the experience gained in 2002.  I think the auditors call this principle
"continuous improvement".
76. What would improve the process next year?  The following are our recommendations.  We
would like to make four points: (i) enhanced coordination in-house and with other agencies; (ii)
enhanced consultation with all Members; (iii) enhanced transparency and accountability; and (iv) a
more strategic and targeted approach to TRTA.  I shall briefly address these four points.
77. First, enhanced coordination in-house, and with other agencies.  In the rush to deliver, various
divisions of the Secretariat were tasked with organizing different programmes.  Now is the time toreview, to streamline, to redesign and to focus on the programmes which best serve Members' needs.
Improved coordination between WTO divisions and the Training Institute and with other key TRTAWT/COMTD/43
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delivery agencies will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of all WTO trade-related technical
assistance programmes.  It should also help to avoid duplication and streamline costs.
78. Second, enhanced consultation with all Members.  We all have responsibilities and we all
need to be engaged in delivering our share.  Developed countries must provide funding and expertise
and coordinate their bilateral and multilateral efforts to maximize scarce resources.  Intermediatedeveloping countries can also provide in kind, and other contributions to these coordinated efforts.
Developing countries must determine their needs, mobilize their own resources to maximize the
benefits that TRTA offers, and provide feedback.  The Secretariat should assist countries in
determining their needs and should ensure that th e TRTA delivered is of the highest quality.  The
content must respond to the needs of developing countries to be brought up to speed on the
negotiations in addition to the fundamentals of the rules.
79. Outsourcing is essential if the Secretariat is going to be able to cope with the demand and still
perform its central Secretariat functions.  The Secretariat can act as the nerve centre, ensuring that all
of the Doha deliverables are covered with the highest possible quality, and meeting the specific needs
of countries.  This will only be possible if the Secretariat works in partnership with a widening group
of regional institutions, universities, agencies and partners in delivering TRTA.  Committees and
Working Groups need to engage in the discussions on content in order to deliver on the relevantparagraphs of the Doha Declaration.
80. Third, enhanced transparency and accountability.  The decision-making processes regarding
the choices of programmes to deliver, selection of activities in countries or regions, and the additions
of ad hoc activities must become more transparent.  Diversions from the agreed plans need to be
reported and justified to the Committee on Trade and Development and the Budget, Finance andAdministration Committee on a regular basis.
81. Fourth, a more strategic and targeted approach to TRTA.  Canada's view is that the amount of
time and effort required on the part of the Secretariat in delivering TRTA needs gradually to reduce
over time as this is not its central function.  This will occur when there is a more strategic approach to
TRTA which puts the Secretariat in a coordination rather than a delivery mode.  As many recipientshave said, it isn't the quantity but the quality that counts.
82. Finally, if I may, I would like to advise Members of Canada's recent initiative, announced by
our Prime Minister at the recent G-8 meeting in Kanonaskus, Alberta, to provide $20 million over the
next 3 years for increased trade-related technical assistance for African countries.  Regrettably, this
initiative is in Canadian dollars but still in all represents a significant initiative.
Brazil:
83. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the Director-General for the leadership,
enthusiasm and energy he has provided all of us in dealing with this very important matter.  We were
very encouraged to see that countries responded posit ively to the Pledging Conference earlier in the
year, and we believe that our collective efforts will soon start bearing fruit.  Now, we agree with many
of the points made by donors and recipients that have taken the floor today.  For our part, we would
like to stress the importance of coordination, and among others, coordination with UNCTAD, whichfrom our perspective, would seem to be desirable and useful.  We witnessed in the Working Group on
the Relationship between Trade and Investment how we can obtain synergies and maximize the
product offered by working very closely with an agency such as UNCTAD.
84. Another aspect that we find worth highlighting is to stress not only the fulfilment of
obligations, but also the exercise of rights in the provision of technical assistance and capacitybuilding, as well as the need to keep in mind the medium-term institutional building or institutionalWT/COMTD/43
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capacity building aspect.  Another aspect is to look at other modalities besides workshops and
seminars.  There is a scope for the Secretariat to produce studies that are in response to specific
interests or needs that have been identified by developing countries.  I believe this is taking place also
in the Working Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment.
85. On behalf of Ambassador Gorréa, let me mention that capacity building has been proceeding
quite satisfactorily within the context of the Working Group that he is chairing on trade and
investment, either in terms of national seminars, regional seminars and workshops, or Geneva-based
delegates.  He participated himself in a national seminar in Bangkok which he found to be very useful.
He was encouraged by the good cooperation between WTO and UNCTAD in that context.
86. Brazil, for its own part, is trying to look at innovative ways to participate in this collective
effort.  We are neither a major donor nor a major recipient, but we can play a role by providing study
opportunities or discussion groups or seminars.  We are organizing one in August this year, and wewould like to make that a permanent feature in co ming years for the Portuguese speaking countries in
Africa.  This includes countries that are represented here in Geneva, such as Mozambique and
Angola, as well as others who don't have diplomatic representation in Geneva, such as Guinea-Bissau
and Sano Tome and Principe.  It also includes one acceding country like Cape Verde.  We are grateful
to the Secretariat for having indicated a willingness to provide us some financial assistance and alsohuman resource assistance in organizing this course.  We would like to develop this initiative so that it
can reach out to a larger number of countries in Africa, Asia, and within the Americas to work with
other developing countries so that we can make true the promises making the Doha Agenda a
development oriented agenda.
European Communities:
87. Let me also join others in thanking the Dire ctor-General for convening this meeting and for
the excellent and well-documented presentations.  I would also like to thank the Secretariat for the
efforts they have made and the dedication they have shown to get the WTO Plan for 2002 off the
ground so shortly after Doha.  And I would wish to acknowledge the Secretariat's willingness to
engage in intensive discussions on the original draw-up of the Plan, which was subsequently modifiedto better reflect the DDA agenda.
88. I understand from the presentation that by the end of June, something more than one third of
the number of activities of the Plan were implemented, and that over 75 ad hoc activities had been
undertaken in addition to those planned.  This seems to be somewhat a contradiction.  On the one
hand, the implementation of the Plan is lagging behind, while on the other hand, many activities have
been undertaken that might rank lower on the priority list.  The reasons for this contradiction should
be explored seriously.  We have to be careful not to give too much importance to the number ofactivities, as they are not always proportional to the level of expenditure, nor an indicator of
effectiveness.  It is crucial to get good feedback of the effectiveness of the activities offered, notably
with regard to the level of responsiveness to the needs of those who have taken part in the different
activities.  I think that both the Integrated Fram ework and the database are important tools in this
context.  They can enhance coherence of the future action and can ensure a more effectivecoordination between donors and international agencies .  And I fully agree with the presentation that
in preparing the Plan for 2003, monitoring, evaluating and auditing of what we have done so far are of
crucial importance.
89. With regard to the Technical Assistance Plan for 2003, the Secretariat has invited Members to
provide by the end of July an outline of their needs for the next year.  Response to this seems to berather low.  Important efforts need to be made to  encourage the developing Members to identify and
define their needs for trade-related technical assist ance and capacity-building initiatives.  It is clear
that the low level of response is, to a great extent, due to the simple fact that many countries are notWT/COMTD/43
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yet able to identify and articulate their needs, without support from those who have more experience
with knowledge of the multilateral trading system.  This is an issue of great concern to the
Community.  I would therefore suggest that in preparing the Plan for 2003, the WTO Secretariat
assumes a more proactive and strategic role in assisting those Members that have difficulties in
identifying their technical assistance needs.  In th is context,, the Secretariat can draw on information
from those agencies which have the presence on the ground in different countries.
90. It has been said that the WTO is not a traditional technical assistance agency and that it
disposes only of scarce resources.  That's certainly true.  Therefore, it is important to have a workable
definition on what the WTO can deliver, where it has value added, by generating synergies and
cooperation with other agencies and international organizations where the WTO has no comparative
advantage.
91. On coverage, it is not only important that we have an adequate regional coverage, it is equally
important that all the issues, which were addressed in the Doha Declaration, are covered in the
Technical Assistance Plan for 2003.  We will need to look to the ways and tools by which we deliver
technical assistance and by which we provide capacity building.  More emphasis is needed on
training.  Training should increasingly be provided the regions.  We need to train trainers.  We also
have to look at ways of outsourcing to training institutes, management and university institutes.Lastly, we should also look at the possibilities of ICT on online training and on distance learning.  In
this context, there are quite a lot of success stories outside the WTO.
92. To conclude, Mr Chairman, we are very much encouraged by the commitment and leadership
of the WTO Secretariat.  We can pledge our full support in devising a successful but above all
effective Technical Assistance Plan for 2003.
Chile:
93. First of all, thanks for the meeting and congratulations to the Director-General and his
colleagues.  I would like now to make two remarks, not as representing Chile nor in my capacity as
Chair of the Special Session of the Council on Services, but rather on personal reflection based on myexperience as Chairperson of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services.
94. First, we have different kinds of technical assistance.  There is a part of technical assistance
which must be closely linked and tailor-made to the actual needs that arise during the negotiations.
This must accompany the pace of the negotiations.  This also means that it is very difficult to
anticipate what specific needs a developing country will have next year, because we don't know
exactly what it is that is going to be required, a nd the challenges that will have to be faced in the
course of the negotiations.  This is one reason why many developing country Members have beenslow in indicating their needs for the next year.  It is difficult to anticipate exactly your needs next
year.  There is also a risk, if I have to indicate now what I'm going to need next year in terms of
technical assistance for actual negotiations.  I may end up by indicating that I want a lot more than
what I actually need, and therefore, I may be giving an indication which does not reflect the needs that
I have, thus inflating my needs, and perhaps, having the consequences of misallocation of resources.If what I have said is valid, this would indicate that the needs must be very flexible, at least in part of
the technical assistance planned for, so that it can be designed in such a way that it would keep track,
that it will attend to the actual needs of the negotiations, and that it would be provided for on a very
short-term basis.
95. Second, the WTO is a not a technical assistance body, and the function of the Secretariat is to
service the negotiations.  We should be careful not to use up resources within the Secretariat that are
essential to service the negotiations.  In some situations, we have had problems in counting on theWT/COMTD/43
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support of the Secretariat to actually service the negotiations on a timely basis, because there has been
too much demand on them to provide technical assistance and capacity building.
Switzerland:
96. I will speak in a personal capacity, but my comments will be based on some experience –
limited, unfortunately – that I have done as Chair of the Negotiating Group on Market Access.  Under
the auspices of the Negotiating Group on Market Access, a seminar has been organized from 29-31
May.  It was a 3-day affair with a day focussing on tariffs, the second day on non-tariff and the third
day on databases.  It was a very useful event which was appreciated by all who attended this seminar.
It gave much food for thought.  I believe that it had the desired effects of stimulating delegations to
start thinking about the issues of their concern.  Following this kind of seminar, more seminars or
other types of events, will have to be organized in the future.  A lesson that I drew from this firstexercise is that these will need to be more specific and issue-oriented.  In that sense, it is clear that the
issue will be better identified as the Negotiating Group moves into the substance of its work.
97. I want to underline that technical assistance in the area of market access, as well as in other
areas, is going to be an evolving process, and that it will be difficult to predict with any degree of
accuracy.  It is for that reason that not only some but a lot of flexibility will need to be given to thetechnical assistance programme for 2003, as it may need to accommodate such type of activities
which cannot be for the present clearly identified.
98. What is also being done by the Secretariat is to respond to requests for studies that were made
by some delegations at the first formal meeting of my Group.  However, a lot of literature already
exists on the subject we are dealing with, as well as on subjects which are dealt within other groups.The Secretariat has, in a very fruitful way, produced an extensive bibliography of these studies.  I
would like again to underline that there should be no duplication of work.  I would call on the
delegations to be conscious about the kind of requests that they make to the Secretariat on studies,
especially in light of resource constraints which do exist.
99. I would like to reiterate the point made by previous speakers.  While technical assistance is a
very important part of this institution, the focus on it should not be at the detriment of the core work
of the Secretariat.  Unfortunately, there is a trend in that direction.  In this context, I would like to
make 3 points.  First, I was impressed during the seminar on market access by the fact that a number
of other actors, either regional banks, other worldwide or regional institutions were either working on
similar issues or targetting more or less the same activities as the WTO in the field of technical
assistance and capacity building. A lot of additional coordination and consultations among these
institutions and actors is needed.  They seems to be working in parallel, rather than using thesynergies of each other.  Even with respect to such as technical matter as the database, there is
incompatibility in the system and a lack of discussion in order to provide the best instruments for the
Members.
100. Second, given the constraints which exist in the Secretariat resources, I would like to
highlight the fact that there exists quite a large and excellent pool of retired WTO staff.  Some of themparticipated actively and contributed a lot to the seminar which was organized.  They should be used
as much as possible in the conduct of some of these technical assistance missions.
101. Finally, given the circumstances of resource constraints, it might be preferable to structure the
delivery of technical assistance more efficiently, so as to avoid duplications and unnecessary
scattering of limited resources.  In this context, it may be appropriate to make use, as much aspossible, regional based activities.WT/COMTD/43
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United States:
102. On behalf of my delegation, I would like to express our appreciation to the Director-General
and to the Secretariat, and to the many Members of this Organization who have worked so hard, to
allow us to make such significant progress in this area in the few short months since the Doha
Ministerial.  We're finding this session to be a very useful session, particularly to hear from thebeneficiary countries of what is the most useful content of trade-related technical assistance, and what
are the most effective means of delivering it.
103. The United States strongly supports trade-related technical assistance and trade capacity
building as evidenced by our contributions to the Doha Global Trust Fund, to the regional trade policy
training programmes in Africa, to the Integrated Framework, and our own bilateral efforts.  In that
regard, I'd like to let the Membership know that on our delegation this week, we have a number of
members from USAID and other US agencies involved with this area.  They would be very interestedin holding bilateral consultations with countries to coordinate better on the delivery of our services.
104. I'd like to reinforce a number of points that have been made today by donors, by recipients,
and also by the Secretariat.  First, there is the need to focus our work on the areas contained in the
Doha negotiations.  This is not, however, simply a 1 or 2 or 3 year effort aimed at this particular set of
negotiations, but as a number of speakers have mentioned, TRTA must be designed as an enduringcomponent of the work of the WTO.  In that regard, I'd like to reiterate something that we've been
hearing from Member countries, that is the importan ce of strengthening the trade policy infrastructure
in developing countries.  It is important for us to  maintain flexibility to provide technical assistance
for specific areas of negotiation, but a very important area of our work must be the institution
building, institution strengthening of trade policy institutions in all of the developing countryMembers.
105. I'd like also to point out a fact that countries other than the traditional donors can participate
in providing technical assistance.  More advanced developing countries have many things to offer in
the way of technical assistance and technical support to other developing countries.  We should look
for ways to encourage that, and to enable those programmes to compliment the existing programmes.
106. We were very pleased to see the presentation on the country database, that is being put
together by the WTO Secretariat and the OECD Secretariat.  This is going to be a very useful tool for
benchmarking our progress, and for cataloguing the kind of support that is provided.  We see it as
very useful in combination with the priorities articulated by the countries to see if we are providing
effective support.  The United States will meet the July 31 goal of providing the Secretariat with
information on our programmes and the support that we have been providing this year and have on the
planning table for future support.  We would encourage other countries to meet that deadline.
107. With respect to the regional trade policy training centres in Nairobi and Casablanca, this is a
very innovative idea, worthy of support, as demonstrated by our contribution of $250,000 to these
centres.  We face a number of challenges as we proceed with these programmes.  The first challenge
will be to develop the indigenous training capabilities of these centres.  Others have said that we need
to be training the trainers, not simply brining in trainers from outside.  This would be an importantelement in making this a sustainable programme.  The other parts of the other challenges we face in
developing sustainable institutions are the issues of quality, maintaining the quality, and long-term
financing.  These require careful attention by the Membership.  As we do become more proficient in
establishing effective and sustainable regional training centres, we should explore the possibility of
expanding to other regions, perhaps in cooperation with, and with financial support from otherinstitutions, such as regional development banks.  In that regard, I'd like to draw attention to the needs
of the Caribbean countries and the possibility of partnering with the Inter-American DevelopmentWT/COMTD/43
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Bank.  We've held a number of consultations with Enrique Iglesias, President of the IDB, and I know
that he and his institution are very interested in promoting this kind of activity.
108. Finally, we'd like to thank you once again for convening this session .  We look forward in the
coming months to working with all of the Membership of this Organization, to achieve success in this
crucial dimension of the Doha Development Agenda.
Cuba:
109. My delegation fully appreciates the organization of today's meeting.  This is very useful.  My
country also sees this as a very important development, increasing support for technical cooperation
and development activities which are most useful and of great quality.  We recognize the efforts made
by the various speakers today who explained how th ey are increasing their activities and improving
their activities, so that it will be a resistance at national level in order to solve some of our problems.
110. As regards the future development, we recognize the importance of having greater
complementarity with UNCTAD's development programme, as well as the activities of other
international institutions.  We believe that UNCT AD has a vision of development which must include
technical assistance activities.  In addition, technical assistance will be of great support for
development of resources in our country, for the training of trainers, and for the development of
activities in training institutions.  Through these activities, we can carry out a long-term programmefor the development of professionals and capacity-building.
111. Nevertheless, in order to solve some of the problems, technical assistance must be along the
lines of the Doha Development Agenda.  We also need political commitment to make headway in
such fields as special and differential treatment, as well as transparency, and other aspects which are
discussed here.  We should make headway in negotiations in subjects of importance for our countries.We should emphasize that technical assistance is not enough to solve development problems.  We
need the requisite political commitment and inputs, so that our countries can be helped to achieve
these objectives.
Jamaica:
112. Mr. Chairman, we thank you, the Deputy Direct or-General, and the Directors who have given
us an update on what has been taking place in this important area.  We believe that you and your staff
have approached the enhancing of technical assistance and capacity building with commendable zeal.
Donors have also responded generously, and this should be acknowledged.  If there is a refrain that
we would raise in this area, it is that there is still so much to be done and so little time to do it in.
Thus, it is important to prioritise, not only because of resource constraints, but because we must also
give order to what we do in terms of the purpose and objectives that technical assistance should seekto achieve.
113. Building capacity to negotiate when negotiations are already underway is a difficult task.
The fact is that this takes time.  This is even more  so in the case of building institutional capacity for
implementing obligations and defending rights, and also in the case of building supply-side
capabilities to take advantage of market access and other opportunities.  In short, not only resourcesbut time is needed for genuine capacity building.  We continue to believe that it is necessary to assist
countries like my own by devising approaches that  contribute not only to learning by providing
information, but also learning by doing.  Seminars and workshops are important in a particular
context, but we share the view that we need more emphasis on in-depth training.  We also need
support for domestic agencies and institutions that provide the opportunity for those who are trained
to utilise and develop their skills over time.  It is from such a category of persons that we will find the
negotiators and will get the technical support for negotiations that is now so lacking in many of ourWT/COMTD/43
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countries.  This requires attention to institutional building because it is in such institutions that trained
persons will function and continue to function over time and develop the skills that will help us, not
only in these negotiations, but in negotiations that might come in the future.
114. Learning on the job, given that negotiations are already underway, is an effective way to
contribute to building negotiating capacity in developing countries.  Thus, in addition to seminars,workshops and other training assistance, there is a great need for providing financial assistance for
capital-based technical persons to participate in the negotiations and to attend meetings as far as
possible.  This would also help countries to identi fy those short-term technical assistance needs that
are directly related to the negotiations themselves.  Without the participation of technical persons, it
might be difficult, and this might be one of the problems that we face as we seek to identify our needs.
115. I would join in expressing our support for the regional trade policy training centres and for the
training for trainers.  The Caribbean certainly would be very keenly interested in seeing an expansion
of regional trade policy centres.  Jamaica would welcome to put forward some suggestions if you so
wished.  There are other important areas which we will not touch on, such as distance learning, for
example, which have an important role to play.
Chinese Taipei:
116. Mr Chairman and the entire Secretariat shall be applauded for the remarkable efforts they
have made on this extremely imperative agenda.  The separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu,
Kinmen and Matsu has always strongly supported the WTO's efforts to provide capacity building and
technical assistance to developing and least-developed countries, even before we joined the
Organization as a full Member.  For example, while we were still an observer, we contributed US$
50,000 in support of the meeting of African trade ministers that took place in Libreville in November2000.  The purpose of that meeting was to enhance African trade officials' understanding of the WTO
rules and agreements.  In addition, we also donated CHF 375,000 to support the participation of LDCs
at Doha.  This followed by US$ 100,000 donation at th e Pledging Conference.  In order to pay back to
the international community for the previous, variable, generous technical assistance that was
rendered to Taiwan in the early stage of our economic development, Chinese Taipei, as a newMember of the WTO, and in the best of our capacity, we would be more than willing to identify a
couple of areas where we would like to work jointly with the Secretariat, like through sponsoring and
hosting regional workshops and seminars on this very important issue.
Thailand:
117. On behalf of my delegation, we would also like to join others in thanking you and your team
for the briefing.  We think that this is quite usef ul and very informative session.  Now we know the
current status of this very important issue.  Thai land views that capacity building has two dimensions.
First, capacity building should be for the long-term  human resources development.  Second, it should
be aimed at improving the ability to effectively participate in the new round of negotiations.
118. On the long term human resources, our delegation is very pleased to learn about the new
strategy of the Secretariat, especially on the expansion of the trade policy courses outside Geneva.
This is a very good initiative and we would also like this programme to extend to the Asia region.  Inthis regard, we fully support that we can make use of the facilities of the more advanced countries in
that region in order to help this kind of training.  In this case, we are very pleased to inform that the
training institution in Thailand, established in cooperation between the Government of Thailand and
UNCTAD, is now in full function and is ready to provide service on the training of trade-related
issues.  We encourage the WTO to consider to make use of this facility or to have this institute to be
the regional partner for training.  On the improving of the ability to negotiate, our delegation's view is
that this should be the long term objective.  It shouldn't be just to aim at these particular new roundWT/COMTD/43
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negotiations.  Any programme designed for this ne gotiations should also view for the long term
capacity building, not just only for these particular negotiations.
Philippines:
119. This delegation is very grateful for the very comprehensive briefing provided by the whole
team of the Secretariat.  I would like to highlight a few points that have been raised by otherdelegations.  The first point is the need for greater coordination amongst all donors and international
agencies.  For information of this body, as far as the Philippines is concerned, I have been informed
that the European Communities and Japan have been coordinating very closely with my capital in
trying to put up a technical assistance package that will address the needs of the Philippines.  In this
connection, I also welcome the information provided by the United States that they intend to put in
their own technical assistance activities for 2003 by the end of this month.  These kinds of initiatives
are very important because we, the beneficiary countries, will know what is there for us and what arethe intentions of the donors.  We also agree that part of technical assistance should go into institution
building and capacity strengthening, because we cannot absorb all assistance that we are receiving in
one go.  That is very important and should not be lost in the eagerness to give technical assistance.
120. While I agree that a good number of the technical assistance should have priority for the
forthcoming negotiations, at least as far as the Philippines is concerned and based on the feedback I'mreceiving from my capital, we are still having great problems in implementing the previous
agreements that we have signed on.  In particular, this delegation will seek technical assistance in
terms of the SPS Agreement, Technical Barriers to Trade, and TRIPS, just to name a few.  We should
not forget that there are other areas where we also need technical assistance, not just to prepare us for
the new round of negotiations.  I welcome the information provided by Thailand that they have atraining institute that could serve the needs of countries similarly situated.  This kinds of training
institute would help our own delegation.
121. Lastly, we should bear in mind the suggestion by Switzerland.  Since the Secretariat resources
are limited and they could not go everywhere to give this kind of training that are being requested, the
suggestion to tap the pool of retired WTO staff who have been very efficient in the past should not beforgotten.
Nigeria:
122. I wish to thank the DG for calling this High Level Meeting on Technical Assistance.  I would
like to thank the DG and his team for implemen ting the Doha mandates relating to technical
assistance enthusiastically and for adding impetus to technical assistance delivery in the WTO.  I'd
like to mention especially Dr. Osakwe for his hard work and dedication to the cause of technical
assistance.  I do not want to say anything new excep t to add Nigeria's voice to those who spoke before
me.  My delegation wishes to associate with the statements by Kenya and Morocco.  The only thing I
wish to add is to invite the DG and his team to make good use of the comments that have been made
here today to further enhance and improve technical assistance delivery in the WTO.
Saint Lucia:
123. Thank you for the briefing and for the increased level of technical assistance from which we
benefited.  We have benefited from participation in the trade policy course and other activities
focussing on the environment, etc.  We're very grateful for the increased level.
124. We noted some comments with respect to the issue of ad hoc technical assistance – the need
of flexibility versus a plan which would show, pr oject the year forward.  We would ask all Members
to be mindful of the need for flexibility.  We have benefited from flexibility shown by the Secretariat,WT/COMTD/43
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in terms of immediately put on subsidy programmes wh en we needed to do notifications.  A real issue
is that Saint Lucia is one of the non-residents, the group that we owe a lot to the Director-General for
raising our profile and the extra seminars which he has done to raise the profile.  The problem we face
is a certain distance from the immediacy of what goes on.  You will find fewer requests for technical
assistance being advanced, but it does not mean that we have fewer needs.  It means that we tend tocall on the WTO more in terms of crises and emergency situations.  Without them, we could not even
benefit from the special and differential treatments built in to the Organization to the rules, because
we don't have the capacity to take advantage of it.  In terms of flexibility versus a plan, please build in
a certain level of flexibility.
125. Saint Lucia has already expressed an interest in having the regional trade policy centres
extended to the Caribbean.  We have found that the trade policy course provides a level of training
that surpasses all other programmes that we are able to access.  We would really like to encourage thatsort of extension to our region.
126. I would endorse the comments made by Jamaica and by several others, and give a thanks for
the Geneva Week.  I hope that this sort of programme will be continued, for it fulfils a very real need
for many of us.
Colombia:
127. Mr Director-General, my delegation would like to express our thanks to you for the
tremendous efforts you have made, together with all the Secretariat, to substantially improve and
expand the programmes of technical cooperation and capacity building.  I would like to mention three
points in my brief intervention.
128. First, technical cooperation and capacity building should be considered as a fundamental
aspect of the activities of the WTO.  More particularly, it is a necessary condition for good progress in
the negotiations that all Members may be able to  participate in an active manner and with the
appropriate knowledge and tools at their disposal.  For those Members who may have some fears as
regards the resources of the Secretariat, the issue is where resources are being used.  Where there is
not full knowledge of certain issues, it's necessary to  ensure that there is better information, so that
there can be active participation which obviously has repercussions and an impact on the progress
made by negotiations.  The Director-General has clearly referred to the priorities and increased the
importance placed on technical cooperation and capacity building.  For my delegation, it's also very
important that we strengthen the trading institutions in my country.  This is a fundamental issue to
ensure that our countries can always and increasingly effectively participate in these areas.
129. As for training and capacity building, the training of trainers is very important.  The level of
technical sophistication required in certain areas is frequently very high, and there are also certainareas where we wish to make and disseminate information.  At the level of ministries and elsewhere,
it's necessary to provide training, perhaps not always in detail, but there are other governmental
institutions who also require training.  Therefore, the training of trainers is absolutely essential.
Moreover, the involvement of officials from the capitals is very important.  A number of delegations
might feel isolated because of a lack of, or because of the infrequent possibility for, representativesfrom their capitals to participate.  In this rega rd, the issue of back-to-back activities is important
where simultaneously, or rather consecutively, activities of the different Negotiating Groups are
planned together with activities in the field of technical cooperation.  We feel that to include training
here would be very useful for officials from our capitals.
130. Finally, I would like to draw attention to th e fact that on a number of occasions, some
countries, including my own, have found that it is difficult to access the WTO Members who come to
our countries for different activities.  It is important to clarify this matter.  Of course, all Members ofWT/COMTD/43
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the Technical Cooperation Division cannot be present at all activities and at all meetings, but it would
be important to understand exactly what is the role of the rest of the Secretariat and what their
commitments are within the framework of the tremendous efforts which are being made and in which
we're all involved.  If there is greater clarity, it would be easier to programme and plan activities and
avoid unnecessary difficulties.
Bhutan:
131. Mr. Director-General, representing a beneficiary observer state, I would like to join other
distinguished speakers in expressing my delegation's sincere appreciation to you and to the WTO
Secretariat, for organizing this High Level Brie fing on Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building.
We are pleased to note that, in keeping with the spirit of Doha and the LDCs' Brussels conference, the
WTO has been able to launch a coordinated technical assistance programme for 2002.  Bhutan
welcomes this initiative and acknowledges the generous donors.  We are hopeful that the experiencegained will further guide the Secretariat to develop future technical assistance in an effective manner.
132. Bhutan is currently in the early stages of its accession to the WTO.  My delegation is pleased
to report that our efforts towards accession preparations are progressing well with the technical
assistance received from UNCTAD, which is focussed so far on the Memorandum on Foreign Trade
Regime and facilitating sector studies.  Furthermore, Bhutan has benefited from the WTO's regulartechnical assistance programmes, such as the trade policy courses, workshops, seminars, and missions
to the country.  All these activities have been ve ry useful in our efforts to build up institutional
capacity and to promote national awareness to deal with issues arising from the multilateral trading
system.
133. Bhutan is convinced that in a globalized world, no country can afford to remain outside the
multilateral trading system.  WTO Membership is, therefore, seen as critical in order to integrate and
benefit from global trade.  At the same time, we are also keenly aware that the WTO membership
entails rights, rules, and obligations.  It is therefore very important that we are able fully to understand
and appreciate the implications of the membership and be in a position to deal with the issues.
134. As a small, landlocked, least developed country, Bhutan faces many challenges and restraints
for which external assistance is needed to suppleme nt national efforts and resources.  In the context of
our accession to the WTO, the technical assistance needs are mainly in the areas of building human
resources capacity, setting institutional and legislative frameworks, as well as enforcement
mechanisms.  We find that the WTO TA programmes for 2002 takes on board many of these
concerns.  We also appreciate the steps taken to disseminate and educate the general public on the
WTO issues.  Furthermore, initiatives to link the WT O training institute with national institutes and
universities are innovative and will definitely go a long way in promoting awareness of the issues andcapacity building.
135. As has often been emphasized in the recent past, the opportunities offered by the multilateral
trading system, for instance, market access, can b ecome meaningful, only if we have the capacity to
engage in trade.  Therefore, we believe that there should be close cooperation of WTO TA and
capacity building programmes with those of other multilateral agencies to address supply-sideconstraints in a coordinated approach, to also promote infrastructure development, access to
technologies, e-commerce, etc.  Only then can there be tangible benefits for the developing countries
and, in particular, the LDCs.
Cambodia:
136. Mr. Director-General, I would like to join previous speakers to thank you and the Secretariat
for having this very informative meeting.  I also would like to take this opportunity to thank theWT/COMTD/43
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donors for assisting Cambodia in various technical assistance, one of which, the Integrated
Framework, which that we have demonstrated to y ou that we have effectively used your leadership.
137. Regarding the balance among workshops, seminars, and training of trainers, while we do
subscribe to all types of delivery, short workshops and seminars might not be as effective as long term
training of trainers.  Capacity building in each recipient country, or those who would like to havethese, would be a more effective use of the funds.  The result would also be better than a short term
workshop which should address current issues.  If we would like to have a long term impact of the
utilisation of small resources, we should be able to hold this long term training of trainers.
138. Second, the efficiency of having the training of trainers, all workshops and seminars depends
a lot on the selection of participants.  Although the recipient countries would be able to select those
participants, the Secretariat should coordinate and oversee to ensure that it is really those candidates
that have the capacity to absorb would be selected for that purpose.
139. Finally, workshops and seminars are the more preferable mode of TA delivery for Geneva-
based officials, as these could be topping up on current issues and upgrading their knowledge.
Chairman:
140. Of course we have taken note of what's been said.
141. If I could just comment on one or two points.  Firstly, my successor is fully briefed.  He's
been getting all the papers, and has personally been briefed by senior staff at the front here.  I want to
pay tribute to senior staff and to Paul-Henri, for their commitment.  We've learnt some things today.
We've confirmed other ideas.  I just make this point, though, if I can.  Planning is not done for
planning's sake.  It's done to stretch the resources and make more effective use of them.  And we mustcontinue to do our best there.  But of course problems arise, are not predicted always, but I think …
(?) you went from about 45 per cent of your budget ad hoc to about 10 per cent and that's probably
about right.  The good points made that developing countries that are at a more advanced stage can
assist other developing countries is a good one.  Same with the economies in transition.  I was
inspired in central Asia and other places where friends from economies in transition that are Membersof this Organization reached out and offered assistance to other countries in the region that are not yet
Members.  And, of course, their experience and credibi lity is probably stronger than ours.  So that's a
very good point to make.
142. Today's reinforced again to me, and I'll make this in my report to my successor, that this
database inventory is so important that it's only going to work, it's only going to be as good as
information you, the membership, and our partner institutions, deliver to us.  And we're still waiting
from you, the membership, and partners in the room, to get some of the information.  Now we have adeadline, if that deadline's not reached, that's when some heavy letters have to go out.  I think a very
good point was made about this bank of advisors, this virtual faculty we'd established, where we're
pulling down retired officials and other people who are true believers to staff, the University of
Casablanca and Nairobi, that that bank and pool of  talented people who want to help should, could
also be made available for seminars, for some of the work, to take the load off some of our seniorofficials.  I'm aware of this – that we are asking too much of some of the officials in this building.
That they're main business to service the Committees, to service the negotiations, and if we're pulling
out heads of departments to go to seminars on this, or give lectures on that, therein can lie a problem.
And I know just before Doha, for example, had Adrian Otten, accepted every invitation and
sometimes these invitations are almost threats, no t invitations, no work would have been done in his
very important area.  So I think that's good.  Of course we should fold our work into the regional
banks and make sure that works – that's why we invited them here.  And of course we're following up,
we'll already have in place the process to evaluate and audit what we've done in Casablanca andWT/COMTD/43
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Nairobi – hopefully within a couple of weeks.  A nd we'll do that audit – we should be audited not just
us auditing them!  What we did right and wrong, bringing other partners, and I do believe that this is a
model that can travel.  And my successor will have in front of him a file that does include some
suggestions from the Caribbean, some suggestions from Asia Pacific, of how this model, once it's
evaluated, audited, and we learn from our mistakes, c ould travel.  I think the other issue that has been
unsaid, and I'm grateful that it's not been said, that it's been said very privately to me, that all these
bids for resources ought to be folded into one budget round and that I personally behaved, as some of
you have said in private, badly, where we put through our budget, and as soon as we did that I came
back and asked you for more money for other projects.  There has to be, next time, a better
performance from your Director-General, and I am assured that that will be the case.
143. So thank you for your advice – we're never short of it.  It is noted.  Our team will regroup.
We don't see criticism as personal.  Any product can be approved.  But I give ourselves, considering
the restraints of time, I give ourselves a B+ here, thank you.
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List of background documents
Symbol Document Title
Technical Cooperation Capacity Building, Growth and Integration –
The New WTO Strategy
The Road to Doha and Beyond – A Road Map for Successfully
Concluding the Doha Development Agenda
WTO Trade Policy Courses – A Proposal for Expansion
WT/COMTD/37/Rev.1 Pledging Conference fo r the Doha Development Agenda Global
Trust Fund – Coherence, Technical Assistance and CapacityBuilding – Report by the Secretariat
WT/COMTD/38 Doha Development Agenda:  Trade-Related Capacity-Building and
the Role of Regional Development Banks – Regional Development
Banks Meeting on 3 May 2002
WT/COMTD/W/95/Rev.3 Coordinated WTO Secr etariat Annual Technical Assistance Plan
2002 – Note by the Secretariat
WT/COMTD/W/101 Implementation of the WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2002 – Note
by the Secretariat
WT/COMTD/W/101/Add.1 Implementation of the WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2002 – Note
by the Secretariat – Addendum
WT/COMTD/W/101/Add.2 Implementation of the WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2002 – Note
by the Secretariat – Addendum
WT/COMTD/W/101/Add.3 Implementation of the WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2002 – Note
by the Secretariat – Addendum
WT/COMTD/W/102 Inter-Agency Cooperation:  State of Play – Note by the Secretariat
WT/COMTD/W/89/Rev.1 Future Activities of th e WTO Training Institute – Note by the
Secretariat – Revision
__________