PRESS RELEASE
PRESS/338
16 April 2003
(03-2117)
Joint WTO-UNCTAD press release
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
WTO and UNCTAD step up  strategic partnership
WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi and UNCTAD Secretary-General Rubens Ricupero
today stepped up the strategic partnership between the two organizations with the establishment
of a legal framework for technical assistance cooperation. WTO and UNCTAD assistance activities
aim to ensure that trade serves development goals and to help the integration of developing andleast developed countries into the global economy.
Today at the WTO Mr. Ricupero and Dr. Supachai  signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
institutionalizing and enhancing the current relationship between UNCTAD and WTO.
“WTO and UNCTAD have a long history of close cooperation,” said Dr. Supachai. “UNCTAD has
always been our best ally in assisting developing countries’ efforts to seize opportunities arising
from the multilateral trading system. This new legal framework will identify more clearly our fields
of cooperation and will facilitate our joint activities.”
“This agreement marks the formalization of a strong and long-standing collaboration between our
two organizations”, said Rubens Ricupero, UNCTAD Secretary-General. “We are confident that thatcooperation will only continue to thrive and that it will result in even more effective capacity-
building for developing countries in trade-related areas.”
Increased WTO/UNCTAD cooperation will optimize the organizations’ technical assistance
resources. WTO and UNCTAD will continue to be partners in the Integrated Framework — an
assistance programme specifically designed for least developed countries — and JITAP, the Joint
Integrated Technical Assistance Programme for least developed and other African countries.
A copy of the MOU is attached.This press release is being issued simultaneously by UNCTAD.PRESS/338
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
AND
THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
The World Trade Organization, represented by its Director-General (hereafter the “WTO”) and the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, represented by its Secretary-General
(hereafter the “UNCTAD”), referred to collectively as the “Parties”;
Recalling  the Doha Development Agenda (DDA); the New Strategy for WTO Technical Cooperation
for Capacity Building, Growth and Integration; the WTO Annual Plans for Technical Cooperationand Capacity Building;
Recalling  also the Plan of Action adopted at the Tenth Session of UNCTAD, the action taken by the
Trade and Development Board at its 28
th Executive Session in March 2002 regarding UNCTAD’s
capacity building and technical cooperation suppo rt related to the Doha work programme, and
General Assembly Resolution 57/235 on “International trade and development”;
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
Purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding
1. The purpose of this Memorandum of Understa nding is to deepen and give practical effect
to the strategic partnership between the Parties for the purpose of the implementation of the DDA,cooperating to ensure that trade serves development goals, and for assisting the beneficial
integration of the developing and least develo ped countries into the global economy and the
multilateral trading system (hereaft er the “Strategic Partnership”);
2. The Director-General of the WTO and the Se cretary-General of UNCTAD shall meet, within
six months of the entry into force of this Memorandum of Understanding, and every six monthsthereafter, to review the content of the Strategic Partnership. Any result of such reviews affecting
the operation of this Memorandum of Understanding shall be transcribed in writing in the form of
an amendment to this Memorandum of Understanding, as provided in Article VIII below.
Article II
Fields of Cooperation
1. The Parties agree to cooperate, in the context of their respective mandates, policies and
resources, for the purposes of technical cooperation, capacity-building, training, research and
analysis as regards both specific inter-agency programmes (JITAP and Integrated Framework) and
such other specific areas as may be mandated in the DDA or agreed between the Parties.PRESS/338
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2. The Contact Persons referred to in Article VI below shall meet as necessary but no less
than four times per year to review the fields of cooperation listed in this Article. Any result of such
reviews affecting the operation of this Memorandum of Understanding shall be transcribed in
writing in the form of an amendment to this Memorandum of Understanding, as provided inArticle VIII below.
Article III
Agreed Activities
1. Within one month of the entry into force of this Memorandum of Understanding, and as
necessary thereafter, the Contact Pe rsons referred to in Article VI below shall meet to establish a
list of activities falling within the scope of Article II above (hereafter the “Agreed Activities”) forthe following 12 months.
2. The administrative and financial modalities applicable to each of the Agreed Activities
which are not provided for in this Memorandum of Understanding shall be contained in an
exchange of letters between the Contact Persons referred to in Article VI below to be concluded
before the Agreed Activity concerned takes place.
Article IV
Forms of Cooperation
1. The Parties shall agree in advance on the pr ogramme or content of any Agreed Activity.
The Parties shall co-operate in selecting participants to any Agreed Activity.
2. Agreed Activities shall in principle be organized1 by the Party providing the resources to
finance them. When necessary, either of the following forms of co-operation may also be
envisaged:
(a) The Agreed Activity is organized by one of the Parties and financed by the other;
(b) The Agreed Activity is organized by one of  the Parties and its financing is shared between
the Parties.
Article V
Administrative and Financial Modalities Applicable to each Form of Cooperation
1. The Party having the responsibility to organize an Agreed Activity under this Memorandum
of Understanding, shall apply its own administrative and financial regulations and comply with its
own practices, unless provided otherwise in this Article. It shall apply its own practice in terms oforganization, logistical arrangem ents and other activity-specific matters, unless otherwise agreed
between the Parties.
2. For Agreed Activities organized by a Party an d financed, in full or in part, by the other
party, administrative and financial modalities shall be defined in advance between the Parties in a
separate exchange of letters according to Article III.2 above.
3. In all instances, each party shall cover the expenses related to the participation of its staff
in the Agreed Activities out of its own financial resources. In the case of Article V,  paragraph 2
                                               
1 Throughout this Article, the word "organize" shall be deemed to relate to all the aspects
of the organization of an Agreed Activity. This is without prejudice to the right of either party totake all necessary actions regarding the participation of its own staff in the Agreed Activity.PRESS/338
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above, the related cost shall be excluded from the budget to be agreed in advance between the
Parties.
4. Other administrative and financial modalities not provided for in this Memorandum of
Understanding and which the Parties deem necessary for the conduct of an Agreed Activity may be
incorporated in the Exchange of Letters provided for in Article III.2 above.
Article VI
Contact Persons
The Contact Persons for each of the Parties for the purposes of this Memorandum of Understanding
shall be:
For the WTO:
DirectorInstitute for Training and Technical CooperationWTO
Centre William Rappard
Rue de Lausanne, 1541211 Geneva 21
For the UNCTAD:
ChiefTechnical Cooperation Section
UNCTAD
Palais des Nations1211 Geneva 10
Article VII
Consultations
1. Each party shall accept to enter promptly into consultations at the request of the other
party with respect to any matter arising in relation to this Memorandum of Understanding.
2. Each party shall, at the request of the other party  and in accordance with its
Financial Rules and Regulations, provide any documentary information that the other
may require.
Article VIII
Amendments
This Memorandum of Understanding may be amende d by mutual written agreement of the Parties.
Unless otherwise agreed, amendments may apply only to Agreed Activities which have not yet
been implemented.PRESS/338
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Article IX
Dispute Settlement
In case of dispute as to the interpretation or application of this Memorandum of Understanding or
of any exchange of letters concluded in relation to this Memorandum of Understanding, partiesshall first seek to reach an amicable solution. Any dispute which cannot be solved amicably shall
be brought before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, Netherlands, in conformity with
the arbitration clause annexed to this Memorandum of Understanding.
Article X
Scope of this Memorandum of Understanding
No provision of this agreement shall be construed so as to interfere in any way with the WTO and
UNCTAD respective decision-making processes with  regard to their own respective affairs and
operations. This Memorandum of Understanding does not represent a commitment of funds on the
part of either the WTO or UNCTAD.
Article XI
Entry into Force and Duration
1. This Memorandum of Understanding shall enter into force on the date of its signature by
both Parties.
2. This Memorandum of Understanding shall remain in force for five years and may be
extended through written agreement of the Parties. Either party may terminate this Memorandum
of Understanding by giving six months written notice to the other party.
3. In case of termination of this Memorandum of Understanding, the Parties shall cooperate
during the period of notice to ensure orderly completion of all pending Agreed Activities.
Done at Geneva, on 16 April 2003, in two originals in the English language.
For the World Trade Organization For the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development
Supachai Panitchpakdi Rubens Ricupero
Director-General Secretary-General
END