PRESS RELEASE
PRESS/275
26 February 2002
(02-0990)
Heads of international agencies agree to work together to
implement the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda
Heads and representatives of the six core international agencies (ITC, IMF, UNCTAD, UNDP, World
Bank and WTO)1 agreed at a meeting in Washington today to provide concrete support to help
Developing and Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) take part in the current trade negotiations and
draw on the benefits of the open trading system. The communique adopted at the meeting, hosted by
World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn, and chaired by WTO Director-General Mike Moore,
agreed that the implementation of the Integrated  Framework (IF) – a program aimed at delivering
assistance in trade-related areas to LDCs – would contribute to the realisation of the Doha
Development Agenda launched at the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference in November 2001.
Welcoming the new trade round, the meeting identified areas for coordinated and joint inter-agency
action in support of the negotiations. Agency heads focused in particular on the steps required for the
effective implementation of the IF and the extension of its benefits to other LDCs. The WTO seesinter-agency coherence and capacity-building for LDCs as key elements in successfully concluding
the new round.
The meeting also agreed that practical follow-up to on-going competitiveness studies in IF-
beneficiary LDCs would contribute to the realis ation of the Doha Development Agenda. In this
regard, they agreed to enhance agencies’ responses and seek an increase in resources dedicated tothese areas on priority technical assistance and capacity-building projects in the IF. They jointly called
on bilateral donors and multilateral agencies, in coordination with beneficiary countries, to assume
lead donor roles in LDCs taking part in the IF.
“The Doha Development Agenda is a vital part of the fight against poverty, but is too extensive for
any single development agency, and as a consequence we have come together in a partnership thatwill take advantage of the skills and experiences of each of our organizations,” said Mr Wolfensohn.
He informed agency heads that the World Bank was increasing resources dedicated to trade work, and
confirmed that the World Bank would work, in coordination with other agencies, in support of the
Doha Development Agenda.
                                                     
1Mr. Eduardo Aninat, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. J. Denis
Bélisle, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Mr. Carlos Fortin, Deputy Secretary-
General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Mr. Mark Malloch Brown,
Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, President ofthe World Bank, and Mr. Mike Moore, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) .PRESS/275
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“The good practices of coordination and coherence that we were establishing in the context of the IF
provide the basis for inter-agency partnership in responding to the challenges of Doha,” said Mr
Moore.
The six heads and representatives welcomed the progress made in the Integrated Framework, which is
currently operating on a pilot basis in three LDCs – Cambodia, Madagascar and Mauritania. They
reaffirmed the lead role of the World Bank in the process of mainstreaming trade into plans for
national development and strategies for poverty reduction. The IF stresses the necessity of reflecting
trade priority areas of action, through country-led poverty reduction strategy papers and plans for
national development, so that trade can more effectively exercise its function as an engine for
economic growth.
Agency representatives recognised the urgency in enhancing linkages and improving coherence
between the trade and development communities. They underscored the position that improved
coherence was necessary to address the complex trade development concerns of the LDCs and the
non-LDC low income economies.
They also emphasised the central role of technical assistance and capacity-building in assisting
Developing Countries and LDCs to draw on the bene fits of the open, rules-based multilateral trading
system. But they noted that technical assistance and market access were no substitute for market
opening, which was needed to ensure that these coun tries secured a share in the growth of world trade
commensurate with their needs for economic development.
Agency heads agreed to meet again after the WTO’s Mexico Ministerial Conference in 2003 to
review the effective implementation of their commitments.PRESS/275
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FINAL
JOINT COMMUNIQUE BY THE SIX CORE AGENCIES OF THE INTEGRATED
FRAMEWORK – IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP, WORLD BANK AND WTO
The heads and representatives of the six core agencies of the Integrated Framework –
Mr. Eduardo Aninat, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF,
Mr. J. Denis Bélisle, Executive Director of ITC,
Mr. Carlos Fortin, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD,
Mr. Mark Malloch-Brown, Administrator of the UNDP,
Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and,
 Mr. Mike Moore, Director-General of the WTO,
— met at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington D.C. on 26 February 2002, and issued the
communiqué which follows:
1. We, the heads and representatives of the six core agencies of the Integrated Framework,
meeting at the World Bank, Washington D.C., reaffirm our collective commitment to assist the
meaningful integration of developing and least-developed countries into the multilateral trading
system and the global economy. We welcome the launch of new trade negotiations at the WTO Fourth
Ministerial Conference held in Doha in November 2001, which places development, the priority needs
and interests of developing and least-developed countries at the heart of the negotiations and the workprogramme
2. In this context, we welcome the importance accorded to the Integrated Framework in
paragraph 43 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, and we are convinced that its implementation will
contribute to the realisation of the Doha Development Agenda.
2. We recognise the urgency of enhancing linkages and improving coherence between the trade
and development communities and amongst agencies. Improved coherence is necessary in addressingthe trade-related development concerns of developing and least-developed countries. For the poorest
countries - LDCs and non-LDC low-income economies – it requires that they are supported to
negotiate in their own best interests, stimulate supply-side responses to improved market access
opportunities, diversify their production and export base, and enhance their trade-supporting
institutions. We are committed to responding to these needs in accordance with our mandates andexpertise.
3. Trade reform and liberalisation are powerful fa ctors for economic growth, and can contribute
to poverty reduction and sustainable development. We emphasise the central role of technical
assistance for capacity building in developing and least developed countries. But markets and
technical assistance are no substitutes. Markets also need to be open, so as to ensure that developingcountries, and especially the least-developed among them, secure a share in the growth of world trade
commensurate with the needs of their economic development. In this regard, we further recall the
commitment by WTO Ministers in the Doha Ministerial Declaration to the objective of duty-free,
quota-free market access for products originating from LDCs. We also stress that domestic regulatory
reform, and coherent macroeconomic and trade policies are necessary and indispensable for trade
development. Within LDCs themselves, it is essential that trade priority areas of action, including
trade-related technical assistance (TRTA), are reflected within development plans and strategies forpoverty reduction.
                                                     
2WTO document WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1, 20 November 2001.PRESS/275
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Integrated Framework
4. We remain convinced that the IF is an effective mechanism for mainstreaming trade into
national development plans and strategies for poverty reduction, as well as a mechanism for the
delivery of TRTA. We recall our review of the Integrated Framework at our first meeting at the
UNDP, New York, 6 July 2000, where we took the necessary measures to strengthen the IF. We stress
that no single agency or bilateral donor, on its own, can meaningfully or significantly respond to thecomplex trade and development challenges facing LDCs. This is why the concept and the mechanism
of the IF remain a vital instrument for joint responses.
5. Early progress with the Integrated Framework Pilot Scheme is encouraging. We acknowledge
the value of the diagnostic trade integration studies (DTIS), led by the World Bank with the support of
the other core agencies. We note the considerable efforts made by the three pilot countries
3 to develop
an inclusive, participatory process, led by themselves. We recognise that it is now time to provide
effective follow-up to the DTIS through the concrete delivery of TRTA. We commit ourselves to
enhance our own agencies’ responses to the priority technical assistance needs identified in the DTIS,
and urge bilateral donors, regional development banks, and other development partners to join in this
effort. Follow-up action requires an effective and predictable arrangement to deliver on the priority
TRTA recommendations. We urge bilateral donors and multilateral agencies, in consultation with the
national authorities of the pilot countries, to assu me “Lead Donor Roles” in the individual beneficiary
countries, with a view to ensuring that the prior ity technical assistance recommendations in the action
plans/matrices are implemented. We instruct representatives of UNDP and the World Bank to consult
with donors and national authorities at the country level with a view to designating a lead donor, and
to report to the IF Steering Committee.
6. We reaffirm the lead role of the World Bank in supporting the process to mainstream trade
into development plans and strategies for poverty reduction, and underscore the need for the active
participation of the other core agencies, taking advantage of their respective expertise. We continue to
support inclusive participatory efforts by the beneficiary countries to integrate the results of the DTISs
into their Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and into the meetings of the World Bank Consultative
Group and UNDP Round Table. We welcome cross-representation and improved coordinationbetween national IF Steering Committees and the PRSP Committees, which would further enhance
the effectiveness of the IF.
7. We confirm, drawing on the lessons from the first group of pilots, that the IF is being
extended to a second group of recommended LDCs
4 on the basis of the agreed criteria.5 We have
already begun working in four LDCs.6 We support the further extension of the IF, to be preceded by a
thorough review by the IF Steering Committee. We agree to act swiftly to extend the benefits of the IF
to as many LDCs as possible by the time of th e conclusion of the new Doha Trade Round. To achieve
this goal, however, we will need to mobilize resources and means within the mandates of our
agencies. Furthermore, we welcome and acknowledge the significance of bilateral donor contributions
to the IF Trust Fund, which is a critical element in the continued extension of the IF. We emphasise
the need for a significant up-scaling in resources for TRTA.
                                                     
3 Cambodia, Madagascar and Mauritania.
4 Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Le sotho, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Senegal and Yemen.
5 The agreed criteria are contai ned in WTO document WT/IFSC/W/9.
6 Lesotho, Malawi, Senegal and Yemen.PRESS/275
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8. We acknowledge requests from several non-LDC low-income economies to respond to their
trade development needs through the extension of the benefits of the IF. We encourage those agencies
and donors in a position to do so, without diverting resources from the IF nor distracting from the
priority accorded to LDCs, and acting outside the institutional framework of the existing IF, to
consider favourably these requests to provide support for mainstreaming and for trade-related
technical assistance, building on the IF model.
Doha Development Agenda
9. We agree that technical cooperation and capacity building are core elements of the
development dimension of the multilateral trading system. We are committed to working together and
providing complementary contributions in accorda nce with our institutional agency mandates. We
agree that our agencies, taking into account our areas of expertise, shall focus, inter alia , on
addressing the immediate needs of developing countries to participate in the current trade negotiations
and draw on the benefits of the open trading system. Based on consultations amongst our agencies,
coordinated and joint inter-agency action could include such areas as negotiating issues, human
capital capacity building for trade negotiations, and research and analytical studies on negotiating
topics of interest to developing countries. Enhancing institutional capacity for trade support services,
export strategy development, and establishing a sustainable capacity in training for trade are important
areas of our collective undertaking.
10. We welcome and support the initiative of the WTO working with the Development
Assistance Committee of the OECD, and in coordination with other multilateral agencies and bilateral
donors, to establish a TRTA Database, on the basis of country files , agency  and donor country
providers  and agreed, comparable TRTA categories . This database will improve coherence, maximise
available resources and minimize duplication. It will act as a transparency mechanism in the exchangeand sharing of information. In this context also, we welcome the decision to establish a new IF
website to be managed by the WTO, with the support of the core agencies.
11. We agree, however, that responses to the challenges to the Doha Development Agenda must
extend well beyond the provision of TRTA. We are committed in particular to supporting trade
reform and other measures that are important for the orderly development of trade, such as soundmacroeconomic, regulatory and trade policies, providing trade-related policy advice and policy
analysis, support to ease supply-side constraints in developing countries, as well as to provide support
to protect the poor from the possible dislocations associated with liberalization. It is essential that the
trade and development communities work closely together, with regional banks, the private sector and
civil society, in ensuring the overall coherence of policies and assistance, which will contribute andfacilitate the successful implementation of the Doha Development Agenda.
12. We express our appreciation to Mr. James D. Wolfensohn for hosting this second meeting of
the IF Heads of Agency, and agree to meet again after the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference in
Mexico, to review the effective implementation of our commitments.
World Bank, Washington D.C.
26 February 2002
16:05
ENDS