RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
24 November 1998
(98-4697)
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 29 OCTOBER 1998
Chair:  Ambassador H.H. Bruun (Denmark)
A. ADOPTION OF AGENDA1. The Sub-Committee adopted the agenda contained in WTO/AIR/939, with the addition, under
"other business" of the date of the next meeting of the Sub-Committee.
B. FOLLOW-UP TO THE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON LEAST-DEVELOPED
COUNTRIES
(i) progress in the implementation of the In tegrated Framework.  Presentation by the
Secretariat
2. The Chairman, recalling the Report by the Director-General to the May 1998 Ministerial
Meeting on the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least-Developed
Countries' Trade Development and the progress report on the WTO follow-up to the High-Level
Meeting (document WT/COMTD/W/45) proposed that the Sub-Committee hear an oral report by the
Secretariat on WTO follow-up, which would give de legations further information and also provide an
opportunity to ask questions.
3. He invited Ms Annet Blank of the Technical Cooperation Division to provide the Committee
with an oral up-date in her capacity as focal point in the WTO for the Integrated Framework on
Least-Developed Countries.  Ms Blank's progress report has been circulated as
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/12.
4. The representative of Bangladesh expressed his disappointment that since the High-Level
Meeting, not much progress had been made in his country with the implementation of the Integrated
Framework.  His delegation was unclear about the shape and the location of the mechanism which
would coordinate and drive activities under the Inte grated Framework.  The implementation of the
Integrated Country Programme which had been laun ched jointly by UNCTAD and ITC almost at the
same time as the Integrated Framework in 1997 also remained uncertain.  As a follow-up to the
High-Level Meeting, his delegation had reque sted assistance from WTO, UNCTAD and ITC in
holding the country round-table in Dhaka at any time between November 1998 and March 1999.  His
delegation appreciated that technical assistance activities were being carried out by some of the six
agencies on an autonomous basis in his country.  Nevertheless, his delegation was disappointed that
so far a coherent assistance programme did not seem to have evolved from the High-level Meeting.
5. The representative of Tanzania said that his delegation had not yet formally addressed the
issue of a country-specific trade-sector donor meeting with the WTO Secretariat.  However, his
Government was in the process of coordinating internally in order to approach the donor community.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
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In the near future he would provide a notification from his Government indicating that it would be in
a position to hold its national donor meeting at the end of 1998 or early in 1999.
6. The representative of Egypt asked how many Integrated Responses the six agencies had
prepared to the 40 needs assessments prepared by least-developed countries (LDCs) so far.
7. The representative of the European Comm unities believed that the follow-up to the
High-Level Meeting had been satisfactory in general.  However, for certain issues, there might be
room for speeding up the process or being more efficient.  One such issue was the staffing of the
Administrative Unit.  Although staffing was under way, his delegation had difficulty understanding
why, one year after the decision, there had not yet been full involvement of all the six agencies.
8. The representative of UNCTAD said that the Trade and Development Board, in the previous
week, had reviewed progress in the implementatio n of the Programme of Action for LDCs.  One of
the issues addressed in that context had been the implementation of the Integrated Framework.  BothLDCs and their development partners had emphasized the importance of effective implementation of
the Integrated Framework.  The Trade and Development Board had expressed concern with the slow
pace of implementation and had emphasized the need for the agencies involved to enhance and
improve coordination and coherence so as to accelerate the pace of implementation.
9. The representative of the WTO Secretariat said that it had taken serious note of the expression
of disappointment by the representative of Bangladesh.  The Secretariat was aware of the intention of
Bangladesh to organize a trade-sector donor meeting before March 1999, and had replied to the
request.  She was pleased to hear that Tanzania would, in the near future, officially express its
intention to organize a trade-sector donor consul tation at the end of 1998 or beginning of 1999.  In
reply to the question posed by the delegation of Egypt, she said that the six Agencies had prepared39 Integrated Responses to the 40 needs assessments prepared by the LDCs.  The needs assessment
prepared by Myanmar had just reached the six Agencies and they would draw up their joint Integrated
Response in the weeks to come.  She was pleased to note that the delegation of the European
Communities was in general satisfied with the follow-up action to the High-Level Meeting although
in some areas more progress was wished for.  The Administrative Unit had only been establishedin 1998.  While it was true that all six agencies had not yet formally pledged their contributions to the
running of the Administrative Unit, progress had been made since its inception.  The ITC,
UNCTAD,WTO and the World Bank were contributing to the Administrative Unit, while IMF and
UNDP were still considering how best to contribute.
10. The representative of Bangladesh said that his delegation was not generally disappointed with
the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting.  His delegation was highly satisfied with the
implementation in certain areas, and with the cooperation and the sympathy it had received from theWTO Secretariat.  However, his delegation had specifically asked for assistance from WTO or
UNCTAD/ITC in organizing a trade-sector donor meeting.  The response from the WTO Secretariat
had been disappointing in the sense that it said that the WTO Secretariat was not in a position to assist
Bangladesh in financing a consultant to collate and prepare a document for that meeting which would
synthesise elements of all the related programme papers which had come from various agencies.  TheWTO Secretariat had mentioned in its reply that the letter with the request was being sent to the other
agencies for possible assistance.  Such assistance had unfortunately still not come.
11. The Chairman said that some delegations had expressed constructive impatience, implying
that while delegations were generally pleased with what was being done, they wished to see it happen
even more quickly and more efficiently.  He was certain that everything was being done to get theAdministrative Unit together in the best possible manner.  In the interventions, he had detected
gratitude to Ms Blank for the information given and for the work done.  Against that background he
suggested that the Secretariat circulate its progress report as an official WTO document.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
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(ii) Role of the World Bank, address by a representative of the World Bank
12. The Chairman noted that delegations appreciated that the High-Level Meeting and its follow-
up required a large amount of cooperation between th e six agencies most closely involved in the
process and had reacted positively to the idea of inviting, from time to time, as appropriate,representatives of these agencies to make statements on progress in implementing the Integrated
Framework.  At the last meeting Mr. Denis Bélisle, Executive Director of the International Trade
Centre (ITC), and his colleague Mr. Martin Dagata had been invited to present ITC's role and
activities in the Integrated Framework process.  In addition, Mr. Francesco Geoffroy of the
Administrative Unit had made a presentation of a draft version of the Integrated Framework Web-site
containing information about the follow-up activities under the Integrated Framework.  For this
meeting, he had taken the initiative to invite Ms Glor ia Bartoli, the focal point of the World Bank for
the Integrated Framework.  Ms Bartoli was Ms Bla nk's counterpart at the World Bank and responsible
for the coordinating the World Bank's activities in the follow-up.
13. The statement made by Ms Bartoli is annexed to this report.
14. The representative of Haiti said that he had been trying to understand how trade could serve
as a vehicle for development.  As far as he understood, it could well be the other way around:
development could be the vehicle for trade.  He also said that the support offered by the World Bank,
such as the support related to: telecommunications, electricity, export promotion, training, capacity
building and management policy seemed to be important for development and prepare for trade.  He
wondered whether it was conceivable that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which would
be implicated in a "showcase event" involving the private sector during the trade-sector donor
consultation in Haiti, could also assist the Government in addressing issues from the point of view of
the public sector.
15. The delegation of Bangladesh referred to the Report of the Managing Director of the IMF, the
President of the World Bank and the Director-General of the World Trade Organization on
Coherence.1  It updated the current situation with regard to cooperation on coherence between the
IMF, the World Bank and the WTO.  Coherence and coordination were important subjects which had
been discussed at the High-Level Meeting.  It was stated in the document that the High-Level
Working Group on Coherence, in existence since 1995, gave opportunities for joint activities in
relation to balance-of-payments restrictions, trade-policy reviews, accessions and regional trade
agreements among others.  The three agencies also recognized that human and institutional capacity
building, particularly in the LDCs, was necessary.  He was concerned with the report's mention of
market access.  While he did not object to the report's mentioning market access needs of developingcountries and countries in transition, it was disappointing that LDCs had not been mentioned as a
distinct economic group needing special help.  At the High-Level Meeting, market access for LDCs
had been recognized as the central item in the activ ities to be undertaken for the benefit of the LDCs.
He expressed concern that the Report, by not mentioning the LDCs as a distinct group, could shift the
focus of the international community away from the specific problems of the LDCs.
16. The representative of Switzerland said that the participation of the World Bank in the
Integrated Framework was crucial.  Ms Bartoli had mentioned that the word integrated programme.
His delegation saw a substantial difference between the two as his delegation understood the
Integrated Framework to be an institutional set-up and a mechanism for coordination rather than a
programme of technical assistance.  The Integrated Framework should help coordination ofprogrammes undertaken by different institutions, jointly or separately, within a coordinated structure.
He wished to know how the World Bank saw its contribution to such coordination in practice.
Ms Bartoli had mentioned that there were consultative group meetings on trade-related technical
                                                     
1 General Council document WT/GC/13, dated 19 October 1998.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
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assistance organized by the World Bank.  He asked if Ms Bartoli could explain how those related to
the work of the other institutions such as ITC, UNCTAD and the WTO.
17. The representative of the World Bank said that the issue of how trade can function as a tool
for development could be the subject of a university course, several articles and books.  It should also
be a theme for some of the training organized under the multi-year programme as well as discussionsamong the different parts of national administrations, as it was important that national administrations
had a clear idea about how trade could function as a tool  for development.  It would be useful if, in the
country-specific multi-year programme for trade-related technical assistance foreseen by the
Integrated Framework, there could be a part relating to discussions on trade policy, from which
knowledge about the WTO Agreements could be derived.  Over the last thirty years, it might have
been expected that countries with lower per capita incomes at the beginning of the period would grow
more rapidly than other countries towards a convergence in per capita income.  That development hadunfortunately only taken place for a sub-set of countries, the poorer countries of the OECD and the
newly industrialized countries of south Asia, which had grown more rapidly than the richer countries
of the OECD.  The contrary was true for the worl d's poorest countries and the "wedge" had increased.
Those two sets of countries had different characteristics.  One was the difference in the openness of
their systems.  Other minor elements which were not as homogeneously present were the strength ofthe educational system and the availability of human resources.  However, human resources were of
less statistical significance, while the openness of the trading system was highly significant.  The
poorest OECD countries and the newly industrialized countries of south Asia had opened their trade
regimes significantly by reducing tariffs and non-tariff measures.  Much documentation on that
subject was available, including on the Internet home page of the World Bank.  The news learnedfrom statistical evidence and historical experience was that it was not so much the structure of a
country that made it remain at low levels of growth and per capita incomes, but rather its policies.
Even if it was difficult to change policies, it was possible.
18. She continued by saying that some parts of IFC, like the Foreign Investment Advisory
Service (FIAS), did not deal exclusively with the private sector.  She would bring the suggestion of
the delegation of Haiti to them and they should be able to assist in the process. The representative of
Switzerland was right to underline the different m eaning of framework and programme.  When the
World Bank referred specifically to the Integrated Framework, the word Integrated Framework was
used.  Regarding consultative group meetings or round-tables, she said that paragraph 5(e) of the
Integrated Framework said that where possible, the Roundtable meetings would be included in the
World Bank Consultative Group Meetings and in the UNDP Round Tables.
2  In cases where that was
not possible, some other form of donor consultati on should be arranged.  Other multilateral agencies
could be invited to any kind of donor meeting upon the initiative of the least-developed country (LDC).
19. The representative of Egypt said that, since the previous session of the Sub-Committee, his
delegation had notified to WTO, UNCTAD and ITC Egypt's offer on further market access and trade
opportunities for LDCs.  The offer had been announced during the High-Level Meeting in October
1997.  Details of the offer were transmitted in document WT/COMTD/47 and referred to in paragrapheleven of Secretariat note WT/COMTD/LDC/W/11 which would be discussed under item C of that
day's agenda.  The lists of all products that would enjoy tariff reductions or duty-free access under the
Egyptian offer were also notified;  UNCTAD was currently in the process of translating the lists of
products from Arabic and as soon as they had been translated, they would be transmitted to all
Members.
20. The representative of Haiti said that when countries offer increased market access for
products originating in LDCs, there were often comp laints that the LDCs did not take advantage of
the opportunities offered.  The response of Ms Bartoli was valid for developing countries.  Countries
                                                     
2 WT/LDC/HL/1/Rev.1WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 5
in the process of development could benefit from trade to further their development.  However, for
LDCs, the problem was different.  There was too much emphasis on market access for LDC products
when the LDCs did not have the infrastructure, electricity, telecommunications, human resources,
ports etc. necessary to benefit from market access opportunities offered.  He considered it most
important for his country to build up the capacity to produce.  It was only when a country could selland buy goods and services internationally that it could be involved in international trade.  As long as
a country did not have the minimum to offer, nor the minimum resources to buy, it could not be part
of the multilateral trading system.
21. The representative of the World Bank said that she agreed with the representative of Haiti that
the building up of infrastructure and domestic trade institutions was important.  However, the trade
policy of the country also mattered, according to the last thirty years of experience.
22. The representative of the WTO Secretariat said that the existence of supply side constraints
which made it impossible for LDCs to benefit immediately from increased market access
opportunities was one of the reasons for the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical
Assistance, which is intended to address such supply-side constraints.  The aim of the Integrated
Framework was to help LDCs bene fit from export-generated growth.
23. The Chairman said that paragraph 21 of the General Council document WT/GC/13 on
Coherence, mentioned by the representative of Bangladesh, made direct reference to the Integrated
Framework in that the High-Level Meeting had endorsed the Integrated Framework  for Trade-
Related Technical Assistance for LDCs and placed special emphasis on human and institutional
capacity building, and on increased efficiency in the provision of technical assistance to this end by
the international institutions.  However, the discussion on that paper should take place in anotherforum.
24. The representative of Bangladesh said that he had referred to paragraph 22 of that document
which related to market access and in which there was no specific reference to LDCs.  His delegation
wished to see LDCs treated as a distinctive, special-needs group of countries.
25. The Chairman said that the presentation made by Ms Bartoli and the resulting discussion had
shown the usefulness of inviting representatives of the six agencies most closely involved in the
Integrated Framework.  The Sub-Committee would continue to invite, as appropriate, representatives
of those organizations.  The possibility to invite a representative of UNCTAD to the next meeting of
the Sub-Committee would be explored.
26. The Sub-Committee took note of the statements made.
C. MARKET ACCESS
27. The Chairman recalled that the Secretariat had prepared a detailed study on market access,
which had focused primarily on tariffs, in preparation for last year's High-Level
Meeting (WT/LDC/HL/14 and Add.1).  At its last meeting, the Sub-Committee had therefore
requested the Secretariat to prepare a simplified paper as background for its discussion on marketaccess problems of LDCs.  In response to this request, a paper entitled "Market Access for Exports of
Goods and Services of the Least-Developed Countries:  Barriers and Constraints" had been circulated
as document WT/COMTD/LDC/W/11.  The new paper updated and expanded the old one by
including information on improvements in market access notified since the High-Level Meeting,
including information stemming from answers pres ented by LDCs to the questionnaire used in the
Integrated Framework process, and a discussion of se rvices issues.  The new paper also took a generalWT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 6
approach to market access issues rather than a country specific approach and it considered the
possibilities of access in emerging markets.  At the end of the paper, there were a number of
constructive suggestions concerning possible ways of addressing the difficulties noted in the paper,
particularly on the demand side.  Among those was a reference to the Director-General's suggestion
that WTO Members, in preparing the third Ministerial Conference, should consider including theobjective of eliminating all tariff barriers on products of export interest to the LDCs as a matter of
implementing on a priority basis in future WTO negotiations.  While the list of suggestions could no
doubt be refined he hoped that delegations, in commenting on the paper would also comment on those
points in order to help the Sub-Committee see to what extent they could be useful in the its future
work.  Since the paper had only recently been circulated, some delegations might not had had time to
study it thoroughly, he therefore invited preliminary comments.  The item would be kept on the
agenda for the following meeting of the Sub-Committee.
28. The representative of Tanzania thanked the Members who had submitted notifications of their
market access offers for LDC exports they had announced during the High-Level Meeting.
Paragraph 3 of the Market Access Paper mentioned conditions necessary for LDCs' effective use of
market access opportunities.  The fourth condition related to the importance of LDCs' active
participation in the multilateral trade policy processes.  He regarded this more as a result of the lack ofcapacity of the LDCs.  The paucity of LDC representation in Geneva, both in terms of the number of
missions and the number of officers in existing missions was evidence that LDCs were unable to meet
the costs of effective representation.  It was difficult to distinguish the result from the cause.  He
appreciated the linkage in the paper of market access to supply-side constraints.  The adverse use by
some Members of the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers toTrade had adverse effects on the market access of LDCs.  This should have been emphasized in
paragraph 3.  Other issues which should have been brought out more emphatically as they effected the
trading capacity of LDCs included debt, transfer of technology and low levels of foreign direct
investment, which all affected the capacity of the LDCs to become viable trading partners.
Paragraph 27 mentioned the need for sound and stable macroeconomic and microeconomic policiesby LDCs.  Most LDCs had undertaken as may reforms as they could in those areas.  However, the
external environment had not been particularly conducive to enable the reforms to bear results.  For
fairness and balance, the focus should not only have been on sound and stable macroeconomic and
microeconomic policies by LDCs, but a mention of the adverse effects of the external environment
should also have been made.  For example, the volatility of commodity prices and exchange rates
were external factors which the LDCs could not control, but which impinged on their capacity
independently of their internal reforms.
29. The representative of Turkey said that, on the fourth page of the Secretariat note on Market
Access, it was stated that market access barriers, as indicated by LDCs themselves, were frequently
similar to stated obstacles to trade expansion and that that relationship raised questions as to whether
the principal difficulties for LDCs were ones of access or supply.  In order to answer those questions,
the Sub-Committee should reflect on each item in detail.  However, his delegation believed that thenumber of Members taking new or additional preferential market access measures in favour of LDCs
was an essential issue and that an increase in that number would provide a constructive basis for the
Sub-Committee's ongoing work.  Unfortunately, his delegation understood from the Secretariat note
that only a small number of Members had made such  notifications.  His delegation hoped that the
other Members would take the necessary steps to facilitate the work of the Sub-Committee and toachieve its main goal, which was the successful integration of the LDC economies in international
trade.
30. The representative of the European Communities said that some of the arguments in the
Secretariat note on Market Access were well known whereas others were new.  His delegation saw a
problem of balance between the analytical part of the paper and the conclusions drawn.  In general,the conclusions did not fully reflect the two sides; the supply-side problems on the one hand and theWT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 7
market access issue on the other.  His delegation recognized the linkage between the two, but also felt
that it was useful to keep the distinction.  There were differences in the instruments used for
addressing the issues, raising the question of how to tackle the problems.  There were differences
between the actors as well, raising the question of who is responsible for addressing the issues.  If
they were linked too closely, one would lose sight of the fact that there were differences in finding thenecessary remedies, especially with regard to the actors.  His delegation congratulated the delegations
of Egypt and Turkey, which had notified a number of measures taken by their governments to
increase market opportunities for the LDCs.  His delegation also noted that the governments of
Canada and Switzerland had done the same and his delegation considered those to be indications that
the programme was moving ahead and that there was actual progress.  He stressed that the European
Communities were open to exports from the LDCs as 99 per cent, on a value basis, of LDC exports
could enter the European Communities duty-free.  His delegation hoped that this would be matched,not only by Switzerland, but also by all other major Members in the near future.
31. The delegation of Japan said that the LDCs were those that were least integrated into the
current globalized world economy, as well as still being faced with the threat of marginalization.  That
was the reason for his governments particular concern with the LDCs.  He drew the Sub-Committee's
attention to the Market Access paper prepared for the High-Level Meeting (WT/LDC/HL/14 andAdd.1).  In paragraph four of that paper, the Secretariat made a survey of the 23 main export markets
of the LDCs which accounted for about 95 per cent of total LDC exports in 1995.  According to that
survey, the overall weighted average applied tariff rate facing the LDCs main exports in the 23 main
export markets was 10.6 per cent.  In the developed country markets, that tariff average was 1.8 per
cent, while in the developing countries, it was 14.5 per cent.  The developing countries tariffs on LDCexports were eight times higher than that of those of the developed countries.  Following that analysis,
paragraph 17 on non-tariff measures stated that such measures existed not only in developed markets
but also in developing country markets.  Frequenc y ratio analysis had shown that that LDCs exports
had a 6.2 per cent probability of non-tariff measure restriction in developed markets in contrast to a
16.5 per cent probability in developing countries.
3  Another point worth noting was paragraph 43(c)
which stated that several emerging markets were strengthening domestic anti-dumping and safeguard
mechanisms to take account of any de-stabilizing surge of imports from economies with depreciated
or devalued currencies.  Those points were of interests for a discussion at a later stage.  His delegation
was of the view that, based on the Secretariat analysis, South-South trade was important.  More
specifically, as there was substantial demand for LDC products in developing countries, market access
problems of developing countries should also be look ed at from the point of view of export promotion
of LDC products.  In that regard, capacity buildin g was important for the LDCs ability to generate
exports.  Promotion of investment was vital as well.
32. The representative of Japan called attention to the second Tokyo International Conference on
African Development (Ticad II), held in Tokyo  the previous week, jointly organized by the
United Nations, the Global Coalition for Africa,  and the Government of Japan.  During that
Conference, the Government of Japan had announced th e following:  "…the critical role of the private
sector must be recognized for African development.  In order to foster the growth of the private sector
in Africa, particularly through the promotion of trad e with and investment from Asia, Japan will assist
in establishing an "African Investment Information Service Centre" in an Asian country.  In addition,
we will support the organizing of an "Asia-Africa Business Forum" within the next year in order to
help explore business opportunities for Asian and African enterprises.  We welcome also the ideaexpressed by the private sector in the preparatory process of the Ticad II to designate the year 2000 as
the "Year for Small- and Medium-Sized Business in Africa".  In carrying out these objectives, Japan
wishes to collaborate closely with international organizations and other Asian countries, as well as
with African countries".
                                                     
3WT/LDC/HL/14.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 8
33. The representative of Bangladesh said that he agreed with the representative of Japan that
LDCs were the least integrated into the multilateral  trading system and faced the threat of the fastest
marginalization.  That was the crux discussed in the Sub-Committee and in other forums.
Paragraph 17 of the Secretariat document on market access, which related to the higher barriers faced
by LDCs in the markets of higher income developi ng countries, needed further examination.  It was
time for the international community to give  LDCs se parate treatment.  The matrix in Annex 1 of the
market access document gave a useful description of the position with regard to LDCs exports of
goods and services and the barriers they faced to market access and trade expansion.  The document
could strengthen the international community's understanding of the issue of market access and assist
it in formulating its assistance strategies.  The doc ument should also be a guideline for those in the
developed and developing countries who wished  to give technical assistance to the LDCs.
34. The representative of Canada said that her comments related both to document
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/10 on implementation and WT/COMTD/LDC/W/11 on market access.  Her
delegation encouraged the Secretariat to work from both the perspectives of market access and the
perspective of the supply-side, as had been done in the latter document.   Her delegation agreed with
the principal conclusions of the market access paper: that elimination of market access restrictions,
including tariff and non-tariff measures;  resolution of domestic supply-side and capacityinadequacies that prevent the utilisation of market access opportunities;  and consistent pursuit of
domestic policy reforms by LDCs, all required attention.  Her government had completed the
consultation stage of its proposed program of preferential market access for LDCs.  However, her
delegation recognized that market access was not the only solution, and that especially for LDCs,
capacity building remained crucial.
35. The representative of Switzerland said that his delegation agreed with the European
Communities that the conclusions did not contain a balance of all aspects discussed in the paper.
Other possible conclusions could be discussed at further meetings.
36. The representative of Sudan asked the delegation of Egypt for information on progress in
preparing for the seminar, proposed in 1997, for the LDCs in the process of accession to the WTO.
37. The representative of Egypt said that the approval of the President of the package as a whole
had to be awaited as it had significant financial implications.  The issue had been informally discussed
with the Secretariats of UNCTAD and WTO and thos e discussions would be pursued.  His delegation
hoped that the seminar could be convened at the earliest possible date.  The seminar might contribute
to the ongoing accession negotiations by the LDCs.
38. The representative of Uganda concurred with the comments made by the representative of
Tanzania, and drew the attention of the Sub-Committee to paragraph 7 of the paper on Market Access.
He thanked the Members that had notified market access offers.  A year had gone since the
High-Level Meeting and a number of Members had yet to react to the concerns of the LDCs.  His
delegation appealed to them to do so.  The linkage between market access problems and supply
constraints could not be over emphasized.  The problem was not one of market access, it was one of
supply constraints.  His country had problems with physical infrastructure and human resourcedevelopment; unless those problems were resolved, market access opportunities would not be useful.
Moreover, it was not possible to speak about issues of market access, supply constraints or the
multilateral trading system without relating them to other problems such as the debt overhang of
LDCs.  In paragraph 15, it was argued that tariff escalation was not yet a major problem to LDCs.
However, he believed that tariff escalation was a problem.  A country like Uganda, which basicallydepended on the export of coffee, had no choice but to export non-refined coffee beans in order to
escape the otherwise high tariffs exports would face.    That problem should therefore be addressed in
the future.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 9
39. The representative of Nepal said that the update on the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting
was encouraging for two reasons.  First, it was a recognition by the international community of the
special needs of the LDCs in the emerging liberalized global trading system.  Secondly, it was a
recognition of the need for the system to bring a nd sustain all actors within the framework of the
WTO.  The follow-up work was crucial in that cont ext.  In the process of the follow-up work, his
delegation had consistently raised two issues:  firs t, the need for follow-up meetings at the country
level as an important element in bringing about concrete results for the LDCs, second, to analyze the
specific implications of these new market access offers for specific LDCs as well as on the LDCs
collectively, considering the most important export items of the LDCs.  Finally, his delegation was
also interested in the accession seminar to be organized by Egypt.
40. The representative of UNCTAD said that, in endorsing the Integrated Framework, the
sixteenth  executive session of the Trade and Development Board had recommended the UNCTAD
Secretariat to convene a meeting on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the Generalized
System of Trade Preferences among Developing C ountries (GSTP) and new initiatives.  The aim of
the meeting was to provide officials from UNCTAD Member States with an opportunity to discuss
developments in their national GSP schemes, including a review of special provisions in favour of the
LDCs, and to propose measures to extend advisory services to enhance the utilisation of the GSP andfollow-up on measures announced at the High-Level Meeting.  That expert meeting, held on 16 and
17 July 1998, had considered the follow up to announcements of new LDC preferences made at the
High-Level Meeting; the implications for trade and development of recent trends in GSP schemes and
new initiatives; and ways and means of enhancing the utilisation of preferences, in particular by
LDCs, through technical cooperation.  The outcome of that ad-hoc meeting had been made availableto the Commission on Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities at its third session held from
28 September to 2 October 1998.  The Commission had also considered ways and means of enhancing
the utilisation of trade preferences by developing countries, in particular LDCs, as well as further
ways of expanding such preferences.  The agreed conclusions and recommendations adopted by the
Commission emphasized the continued relevance of th e GSP and other trade preferences as tools for
development, in particular for LDCs.  It called for practical action to be taken to ensure that a greater
number of beneficiaries could utilise GSP advantages more effectively.  Such action could include
extension of product coverage, harmonization and simplification of rules of origin, and enhancing the
stability, predicability and simplicity of GSP schemes.
41. The representative of Brazil said that the note on market access had not only captured the
complexity associated with supply constraints and market access barriers, but also the difficulties
brought about by the current financial crisis, as stated in Part Seven containing an interestingdiscussion on opportunities in emerging markets for LD C exports of goods.  That topic should be the
focus of a discussion at a future session of the Sub-Committee.
42. The representative of Burundi said that she would speak about the suffering of the economy
and population of Burundi following the blockade imposed on Burundi two years ago.  The case of
Burundi was a special case.  The troubles facing her country were not only political but also economicas they had economic and social implications.  A political act should not condemn a population to
poverty for an indefinite time.  If there was an evolution, it should be recognized in order to permit the
population to breathe.  The effect of the blockade  imposed on her country, was that Burundi could not
develop overall, or develop its trade.
43. The representative of Tanzania, replying to the intervention by Burundi, said that without
going into polemics, it was the belief of his delegation that the Sub-Committee on LDCs was not the
relevant place to bring up the matter.  The Burundi issue was a highly complex political
socio-economic problem, which, if taken up by the Sub-Committee would divert its attention from its
real mandate. Countries in the sub-region of southern and eastern African countries, of which
Tanzania was a member, had taken the action as a last resort to try to bring the warring parties inWT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 10
Burundi to the negotiating table and agree on a permanent solution to their problems, after other
attempts had failed to do so.  It was achieving the intended results in the sense that it had helped to
bring the parties to  negotiate.  His delegation hoped that a lasting solution would be achieved as a
result of present negotiations.
44. The Chairman said that although the Sub-Committee had a fairly wide remit, it was not the
right forum to conduct discussions on that particular issue.
45. The delegation of Burundi said that it was important to stress all the aspects of trade.  If
Burundi did not have access to the world markets any longer, it was legitimate to highlight what
stopped it from promoting its economy.  It might not be the right forum, but Burundi did not belong to
the poorest countries of the world because it made no efforts - Burundi was doing its utmost.  It was
not either because the sub-region wanted to resolve the political problems of Burundi that the
economical problems of Burundi could be neglected.  If the Sub-Committee discussed market access,her delegation had the right to pose the question.  Trade was not possible if one could not leave its
country, trade could not exist if no goods could enter the country.
46. The Chairman said that the preliminary discussion on the market access paper showed that the
paper was useful and could serve as a basis for future discussions in the Sub-Committee.  A number
of points had been highlighted, some relating to the demand side and others to the supply side.  Onepoint raised in a number of interventions was the issue of actual offers of increased market access.  It
should be recognized that the satisfaction with which the Sub-Committee greeted such
announcements constituted a good basis for appealing to other delegations that had not yet made such
offers to try to bring themselves to a point where that might be possible.
47. The Sub-Committee took note of the statements made and decided
 to keep the item on the
agenda for its next meeting.
D. DIFFICULTIES FACED BY LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN
IMPLEMENTING WTO AGREEMENTS
48. The Chairman said that at the last meeting of the Sub-Committee, the Secretariat had been
requested to prepare a paper which could help the Sub-Committee to assess the difficulties the LDCs
faced with regard to implementation and the appropriateness of the current response.  Document
WT/COMTD/W/LDC/10 aimed at meeting that reques t.  As main source of information on this
subject the Secretariat had used the needs assessments for trade-related technical assistance that had
been prepared by 39 LDCs under the Integrated Fr amework.  Information had also been collected
from LDC Members' replies to a questionnaire on priorities that should be assigned to WTO technical
assistance which had been sent in May 1996 by the Chairman of the Committee on Trade and
Development.  Notifications, records of Committee meetings and TPR reports, Secretariat experience
gained in the course of technical cooperation activ ities in LDCs, and statements by LDC Ministers at
the Ministerial Conference in May 1998 had been used as additional sources of information.
49. The representative of Norway said that hi s comments related mainly to the paper on
implementation but that he had some comments on the paper on market access as the two issues were
inter-linked.  The paper on implementation gave a good overview of difficulties faced by LDCs in
implementing WTO Agreements.  His delegation appreciated that the document did not list all the
different difficulties encountered by LDCs, but ra ther provided further insights and comments and
drew on specific examples.  In the previously discussed document on market access, the Secretariat
had reported that LDCs' share of global merchandise trade had further declined from approximately
0.8 per cent in 1980 to 0.46 per cent in 1995 and that their share of trade in services had dropped fromWT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 11
0.26 per cent in 1980 to 0.12 per cent in 1996.  The figures clearly indicated that further efforts were
needed in order to better integrate the LDCs in th e world economy.  Special and differential treatment
provisions included in WTO Agreements had thus not yet had the desired effects.  LDCs' market
access was determined by tariff and non-tariff barriers in foreign markets as well as domestic supply
side and policy constraints.  As indicated in the Secretariat's report, these barriers wereinterconnected.  Integration of LDCs into the world economy could not succeed unless both categories
of hindrances were overcome.  That required not only implementation of a multilateral trading
framework conducive to LDCs, but also of domestic policy reforms and development of adequate
infrastructure complemented by targeted, coordinated and sufficient technical assistance.  Some
Members provided liberal market access for LDCs  under their present GSP regimes, others had
recently notified extensions of preferences for imports from LDCs.  His delegation was encouraged by
those signs of improved market access, but noted that further efforts were needed.
50. The difficulties identified in the Secretariat document on implementation covered a wide
range of problems, some directly linked to the implementation of WTO Agreements and others of a
more general nature such as the need for better coordination within LDCs, difficulties experienced in
creating the necessary domestic institutional and administrative framework, required adaptation of
domestic legislation and lack of trained officials.  Assistance was needed in order for LDCs to meetWTO notification requirements, establish modern data processing facilities and implement necessary
policy changes.  Due to the magnitude and complexity of the identified problems, technical assistance
granted through the WTO was not a sufficient response.  Coordinated and well integrated efforts by
the WTO, other international organizations, bila teral donors, NGOs and the private sector were
necessary.  The report demonstrated that the establishment of the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance for LDCs had been a step in the right direction in order to better
coordinate and focus the technical assistance of the six organizations involved, based on actual trade
development needs identified by the LDCs themselves.  His delegation was looking forward to
hearing the LDCs' own assessment of the presen t situation and their recommendations regarding
which further efforts and improvements were needed in future.
51. The representative of the United States sa id his delegation looked forward to further
discussions of both the paper on market access and that on implementation.  He noted that the paper
on implementation described a number of implementation difficulties identified by LDCs, and
technical assistance provided by the Secretariat in response.  It was clear that the Secretariat was
making an effort to be responsive to the needs of th e LDCs.  Difficulties had been identified in several
areas in which new, individual, technical assistance programmes were being developed, particularly
customs valuation and intellectual property protection.  His delegation urged the LDCs to take fulladvantage of that technical assistance.
52. The representative of Japan said that his delegation believed that the integration of the LDCs
into the international trading system was related to whether the LDC actually felt the benefit of
participating in the multilateral trading system.  The Secretariat note was a good basis for a discussion
on that issue as it clarified the issues and provided a key for addressing it.  His delegation noted thatthe LDCs had difficulty implementing the WTO Agreements, institutionally, technically and from the
perspective of human capacities.  His delegation wished to extend technical assistance in certain areas
in which LDCs had particular difficulties, such as related to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights and in the area of customs valuation.  In order for developing countries
to abide by transitional periods, technical assistance had an important role to play.  Customs valuationwas mentioned as an area creating difficulties for LDCs.  His delegation believed that that was an area
in which technical assistance had been effective for improving the implementation of the Agreement.
His Government considered extending technical assistance if there were requests from developing
countries.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 12
53. The representative of Bangladesh said that, like the paper on market access, the paper on
implementation provided an objective picture of the current situation with regard to the difficulties
LDCs faced in implementing WTO Agreements.  The General Council was currently discussing
implementation with a view to contributing inputs to the Agenda of the 1999 Ministerial Conference.
Implementation had been identified by developing countries as a principal item for review in the
run-up to the 1999 Ministerial Conference.  His delegation recommended that the document be placed
before the General Council as an input from th e Sub-Committee on LDCs to the General Council's
work on implementation.  He stressed that, for a programme of assistance to LDCs to be meaningful,
the international community would have to seri ously consider debt ca ncellation and expanded ODA.
Technical assistance, important as it was, would not go far in addressing the question of
under-development.
54. The representative of the European Communities said that his delegation was aware of the
particular difficulties of the LDCs, particularly related to an inadequate institutional framework which
in turn affected the capacity to apply trade-defence instruments, adequately train officials dealing with
WTO matters, or implement or prepare legislation relevant to trade.  It was clear that assistance and
other means would be needed to address those prob lems.  He wished to assure the LDCs that the
European Communities would play its full part in the future discussion and in looking for the rightremedies.  His delegation was reflecting internally on what additional measures could be taken to
support the LDCs.  Part I of the paper enumerated the issues at stake while part II mentioned the
instruments currently used.  An assessment of exactly how those instruments worked and how they
related to the various points identified would be us eful, rather than putting them side-by-side in one
document.  However, such an approach required additional work, and could be discussed within theSub-Committee.
55. The representative of Tanzania said that the document on implementation would be useful in
the ongoing informal inter-sessional discussions of the General Council on implementation problems.
His delegation shared the view of the delegation of Bangladesh on the issue of debt cancellation and
increased ODA as issues that would help LDCs overcome their problems.  At the last informalmeeting of the General Council, his delegation had made a statement on the problems of
implementation faced by LDCs.  Among the problems then mentioned was the issue of the negative
effects of the implementation of the WTO Agreements.  Those negative aspects had not been visible
during the multilateral trade negotiations.  However, after four years of experience his Government
had noted that implementation of the WTO Agreements created certain problems for the LDCs.  The
Sub-Committee should consider that issue and try to come up with adequate solutions to it.  The
Secretariat note showed the difficulties faced by the LDCs themselves in implementing the WTO
Agreements without mentioning the other factor s which caused problems for LDCs, but which LDCs
could not influence.  One of those were, as earlier noted, the mis-implementation of the WTO
Agreements, particularly in the areas of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to
trade.  Some WTO Members, either knowingly or otherwise, had taken action which took advantage
of the LDCs' low capacity to understand the measures that affected them.
56. The representative of Egypt said that the Secretariat note had as its exclusive focus the
difficulties faced at the national level, without considering the difficulties that might arise from the
provisions of the various agreements themselves.   The note therefore left much to be desired.  The
note could also have treated the additional measures that might be required to address the difficulties
faced by LDCs as mentioned by the representative of the European Communities.  The representativeof Japan had indicated that it was aware of the institutional, technical and human resource
development requirements of LDCs.  His delegation was of the view that financial assistance as well
as consideration of the debt issue would be necessary to address some of those difficulties.
UNCTAD's annual report on LDCs addressed some of the difficulties facing LDCs in the area of
trade.  Despite the importance of technical assistance, it was not enough.  The assistance mentionedby the representatives of the United States and Japan in the areas of Customs Valuation and TRIPsWT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 13
was welcome.  However, financing was sometimes lacking to address difficulties in areas where
technical assistance was really required whereas financing was available in areas which were of
importance to developed countries, for example, in the area of intellectual property rights.
57. The representative of Egypt continued by saying that one issue that his delegation had hoped
that the Secretariat note would treat was the issue of the level of burden on the LDCs stemming from
the WTO obligations.  That was an important issue which should be addressed in order to examine
whether there were obligations which were unnecessarily burdensome on LDCs and in that case could
benefit from accommodation in terms of special and differential treatment or additional consideration
in the WTO.  It had been indicated in several committees that some notification requirements, for
example, were rather burdensome on the LDCs and could benefit from some degree of flexibility.  A
second issue, on which he hoped further work would be forthcoming, was whether the response had
been adequate or comparative to the level of needs, and what could be done in terms of additionalmeasures to address the difficulties facing LDCs, both at the national and at the international level.
The Secretariat would hopefully be able to complement the work done to address those additional
points.  His delegation, together with other developing countries, was currently discussing the
convening of a High-Level Meeting to address various issues related to trade and development to
assist developing countries prepare for the forthcoming negotiations and address difficulties facingdeveloping countries in the process of implementation.  One of the most important elements for
consideration at such a High-Level Meeting woul d be the specific requirement mentioned by the
representative of Bangladesh that LDCs should be treated as a separate group that had difficulties of a
particular nature and should be recognized as such.  His delegation hoped that, when the High-Level
Meeting on Trade and Development was convened, it would focus on the particular needs andrequirements of LDCs.
58. The representative of Switzerland said that his delegation's conclusion from the note was that
LDCs problems were substantial and had to be taken seriously.  Providing technical assistance was
probably the best that could be done at the moment.  Technical assistance already provided was also,
at least quantitatively, substantial.  The remaining question was whether the technical assistance thatwas provided was effective.  In that respect, his delegation placed hope in some form of evaluation of
the technical assistance provided.  Such an evaluation would compare what had been done to what
was needed.  His delegation hoped that, at the next meeting of the Committee on Trade and
Development, that Committee would be able to decide on such an internal evaluation of WTO
technical assistance.
59. The Chairman said that there seemed to be general agreement that the paper was useful and
could serve as a basis for future discussions.  The question of implementation had, even on that basis,
not been exhausted and would remain on the agenda of the Sub-Committee for its next meeting to
allow for further consideration of the issue.  In the meantime, he would expl ore informally with the
Secretariat and with delegations how the Sub-Committee best could contribute to the discussions of
the General Council.
E. OTHER BUSINESS
60. The Chairman announced that the next meeting of the Sub-Committee was scheduled for the
afternoon of Wednesday, 25 November 1998.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 14
ANNEX
Statement by Ms Gloria Bartoli
World Bank Participation in the Integrated Framework for the
Least-Developed Countries’ Trade Development
61. The World Bank is proud to be part of the Integrated Initiative for the Least Developed
Countries’ Trade Development.  The Bank’s Executive Directors have endorsed the Integrated
Framework that was approved by the WTO Membership at the High-Level Meeting and has
encouraged Bank staff to actively participate in  the Integrated Framework for the Least Developed
Countries.
62. The experiences of many countries have demonstrated that trade can be a powerful vehicle for
development.  The objective then of the Integrated  Framework is to make trade a similarly effective
vehicle of development for the least developed countries.  At the working level, the Needs
Assessment is the instrument through which a least de veloped country identifies obstacles that inhibit
its ability to take advantage of opportunities offered by the trading system.  The Multi-year Country
Programs of assistance that donors (the six sponsoring multilateral agencies plus regional institutions
and bilateral development partners) are developing in response are intended to help the country to
overcome the shortcomings that the Needs Assessment identifies.
63. Bank staff have contributed from the beginning to the development of the structure of the
Integrated Framework – stressing the need to inte grate it with the country’s overall development
strategy (as elaborated, say, in the Country Assistance Strategy that the Bank has worked out with the
country).  For the High-Level Meeting on Least Developed Countries, the World Bank helped the
WTO to organize the thematic sessions and also participated actively in the organization and the
conduct of the Country Specific Round Tables which served as show-cases.  Bank resident missions,often in co-operation with staff of other participating agencies, have helped a number of least
developed country governments to prepare thei r Needs Assessments. In addition, the Bank has
provided consultants to six countries that needed more extensive assistance.  Our country teams are
now actively involved with implementation and further development in a number of the least
developed countries.
64. In their Needs Assessments, authorities in most countries identified weak domestic
infrastructure and lack of human resources locally as the major obstacles to their taking full advantageof trade as a vehicle for development.  The needs identified ranged from training in information
technology and assistance to improve customs administration, through transport infrastructure, to
issues such as telecommunications, and electrical power.  Another area of identified need was trade
policy analysis and implementation - in particular export promotion, effective participation in
negotiations, the capacity to implement WTO Agreements such as market access, technical barriers totrade, rules of origin, product standards, health and safety regulations, safeguards, and subsidies.
65. The World Bank will be fully involved in the next phases of the Integrated Framework by:
- supporting the least developed countries to prepare multi-year programs of trade-
related technical assistance for the donor consultation meetings;
- developing and implementing assistance programs that meet the identified needs;  and- establishing a monitoring and evaluation system for the Integrated Framework.
66. In this next phase, countries will organize trade-specific donor consultations:  they will be
assisted by the World Bank country teams whenever they so request.  For each participating country,
this consultation should produce a concrete, multi-year program of pledged trade-related assistance.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 15
One of the services the Bank can provide will be for its country teams to help governments to
establish priorities among the items in their Needs As sessment: priorities that are consistent with their
general development strategies on the one hand, and with external events on the other hand (e.g. next
WTO Round, renegotiation of the Lomé convention, other regional/preferential trade agreements).
The Bank's experience and knowledge of  how alternative trade policies contribute to economicdevelopment and poverty alleviation -- already reflected in the Country Assistance Strategy the Bank
has worked out with the country-- will be a major input into this process.
67. In this context, the World Bank’s approach to trade policy as a development tool is fully
complementary with the institution-based approach of the WTO: for example, if, through its lending
and advice, the Bank can facilitate a country's adoption of a liberal trade and investment policy, the
WTO allows the country to commit internationally to these policies.
68. While integration into the world trade system is a crucial element of growth and development,
and establishing an open regime of trade and investment policies is necessary for this integration to be
effective, open trade and investment policy is not enough. Investments in physical infrastructure,
building strong private enterprises, sound macroeconomic management and establishing the
credibility of economic institutions are also necessary. These are also within the traditional
competencies of the World Bank.
69. An example of what the Bank can contribute is our Export Development Project for
Bangladesh.  The project aims to strengthen both the government’s capacity to formulate and to
manage trade policy and the private sector’s capacity to operate in export markets.  Several parts of
the project involve co-operation with other multilateral and bilateral agencies.  This work has also
brought out the "positive” dimension of trade reform --e.g. enterprise development, policymanagement capacity-- to complement what is often perceived as the “negative “side , e.g., eliminate
quantitative restrictions, reduce tariffs etc.
70. In Uganda, a request from the government for support from the Bank has provided the
opportunity to work out an operational process for developing multi-year country programs.  The
Bank's Sector Investment Programs have been us ed as a model.  The Bank's Sector Investment
Programs is a way of involving donors in a less structured procedure than the Consultative Group
Meetings.  The Uganda country team has worked out with the Ministry of Trade and Industry the
following steps:
(a) Present the Needs Assessment together with the Integrated Response to donors at the
14 April 1998 donor meeting in Kampala.
(b) At that time, bilateral and multilateral donors were asked to participate in a small
working group, led by the Ministry of Trade.  This working group reviewed the
Needs Assessment and the Integrated Response as part of the preparation for an
eventual presentation to donors for their support.
(c) Again under the leadership of the Ministry, the Needs Assessment has been
winnowed down in conformity  with likely donor support.
(d) A Multi-year Country Program has been drafted to be presented to donors at the next
Consultative Group meeting in December.
Other participating agencies have been quite complementary of the arrangement the Bank's
Uganda team have helped the government to devise.  The process that is being hammered out
for Uganda has been used also as template for other countries.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/13
Page 16
71. Also in Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Mali, and Mozambique, the World Bank is supporting
country authorities to prepare trade-related donor consultations and multi-year programs.  In Haiti, the
Bank representative is working with the IFC to involve the private sector in the Integrated Framework
process.
72. I just came back from Ethiopia where I participated in meetings with the administration and
the donor community to prepare for a donor consulta tion to take place in December.  There is a very
good team at the Trade Ministry which was updating the needs-assessment, spelling out the trade-
related assistance priorities in a way consistent with general development priorities of the country.
Following these discussions, Ethiopia should be able to hold a fruitful donor consultation in
December.  New ideas about how to support least-developed countries are coming out from the
discussions on the multi-year program.  The multi-year programs will represent a source of ideas and
initiatives also for the Sub-Committee.
73. During the Annual Meetings of the Bank and the Fund, the Bank organized a seminar to
introduce the Integrated Framework to African and other least developed country Governors.  The
presentation of the Integrated Framework focused on how  it fits into the day-to-day work of the Bank.
Since the IMF and World Bank Governors are mainly Finance Ministers, the seminar was a step
toward bringing ministries other than the trade ministry into the discussion of trade policy.  One of theobjectives of the Integrated Framework is to impr ove such coordination between ministries within a
country, so that trade policy is fully integrated into the country’s strategy to promote development and
to overcome poverty – rather than an isolated area of policy aimed more or less at keeping up with
meetings in Geneva. The seminar at the annual meetings, by drawing Finance Ministers into the trade
dialogue has contributed to the achievement these objectives.
74. The Bank supports the Administrative Unit that runs the Integrated Framework's day to day
information base.  The web-site for the Integrated Program is now accessible from the Bank Intranet
and has been integrated into the tools offered to Bank staff.  It complements the joint website of the
World Bank and WTO.
75. While the WTO and the World Bank approach are complementary, as stated above, the
Bank's development agenda is both broader, because it includes the issues that range from education
to physical infrastructure and more ambitious in more specific areas than the obligations of the
developing countries in WTO.  Especially for the least developed countries, the World Bank may
cover all the dimensions that are critical to the use of trade as a tool for development and poverty
reduction.  The Integrated Framework fits well with the way in which the Bank formulates trade
policies to assist client countries in their development strategies.
__________