RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/W/42
14April 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1481)
Original: English Committee onTrade andDevelopment
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME:
REQUEST FOR OBSERVER STATUS
Thefollowing communication dated 23March 1998 addressed totheDirector-General from
theAssistant Administrator oftheUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) contains UNDP 's
request forobserver status intheGeneral Council andintheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment.
Itiscirculated toMembers oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment fortheirconsideration and
action atthenextCommittee 'smeeting on23April 1998, under itsagenda item"Other Business".
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ThisisaformalrequestfromtheUnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme(UNDP)tobegranted
observer status intheWorld Trade Organization 'sGeneral Council andintheCommittee onTrade
andDevelopment. Thestatus ofobserver wasalready granted lastyearintheCommittee onTrade
andEnvironment.
Giventhemomentouschangessweepingtheglobaleconomy,UNDPrecognizesthatliberalization
andglobalization haveprofoundly restructured theworld economy. UNDP 'scommitment topoverty
alleviationandsustainablehumandevelopment(SHD)requiresthattheorganizationbeconstantlyvigilant
intracking andmonitoring current macro-economic andtrade-related developments, especially since
these developments havesignificant implications forpoverty reduction aswellasforSHD.
Already, UNDP inconjunction withWTO participated intheHigh-Level Meeting onIntegrated
Initiatives forLeast-Developed Countries 'Trade Development inOctober 1997. Ingaining observer
status, UNDP would bebetter abletomonitor issues thatarisefromthenexus oftradeanddevelopment
andalsotheorganization would bebetter placed toadvise itsCountry Offices ondevelopments inthis
critical area.
Atpresent, UNDP isinvolved inanumber ofinitiatives whose objective istoassist the
integration ofdeveloping countries intotheinternational trading system. These range fromtechnical
assistance programmes thatprovide funds tocountries toapply formembership withtheWTO to
programmesthatassistcountriesincomplyingwithWTOstandards.Otherrelevantongoinginter-agency
programmes assist developing countries identify newtrading opportunities anddevelop theirservice
andcommodity sectors. Inaddition, assistance isprovided todevelop anincentive framework for
privatesectorandtostrengtheninstitutionssupportingsmallandmediumenterprisesthathelpdeveloping
countries sharpen theirinternational competitiveness. Yetother ongoing initiatives include capacity-
building onnewissues ontheinternational trade agenda, suchastherelationship between trade and
theenvironment andassisting countries access thebenefits ofelectronic commerce through theGlobal
Point Network. Inaddition tothese ongoing programmes, UNDP alsohasanumber oftrade-related
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Page2
programmes either ongoing orunder formulation bytheUNDP Regional Bureau. Forinstance, in
Africa, a$9million regional programme onenhancing human resources, policy-making andenabling
institutions linked totrade hasrecently beenapproved.
Given theextent ofUNDP 'sinvolvement inissues concerning trade anddevelopment, and
given thattheorganization believes thatdevelopments ininternational trade willcontinue toshape the
world economy, UNDP requires thatitbegranted observer status withyourorganization.
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