WT/COMTD/AFT/W/84  
 
16 November 2020  
(20-8193) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Aid for Trade    
 
 
AID-FOR-TRADE STOCKTAKING EVENT  
23-25 MARCH 2021  
INFORMATION NOTE AND SESSION REQUEST FORM  
Information Note  
1.1.  As agreed by Members, the WTO  will be organiz ing an Aid -for-Trade Stocktaking event  on 
23-25 March 2021 . The purpose of the event is to collect, discuss and disseminate information 
concerning Members' Aid -for-Trade needs and responses to the trade -related challenges triggered 
by the COVID -19 pandemic.  
1.2.  This Stocktaking event is being organized in keeping with  the Addendum to the  Aid-for-Trade 
Work Programme for 2020 -2022 circulated on 12 October 2020 in document 
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/81/Rev.1/Add.1.  
1.3.  This information note provides guidance on how the event is intended to  be organized. It also 
contains the following link to an on -line form to request a session during the event : 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021AftStocktakingEN . (In the case of technical difficulty , the 
attached form in the Annex to this document can be submitted by email to : aft.wto@ wto.org ). 
1.4.  The event will be organized online, with sessions held remotely. No more than two sessions 
will be run in parallel at any one time. An effort will  also be made to ensure that sessions organized 
on similar, or the same, topics are not scheduled at the same time.  
1.5.  The WTO Secretariat will organize the opening and closing sessions. The WTO will also 
collaborate with international financial institutions  on regional and thematic sessions. All other 
sessions will be organized based on the responses  to the Session Request Form.  
1.6.  Priority will be given to WTO Members in the scheduling of the event, and precedence  will b e 
given to collaborative submissions ma de by groups of Members. Applicants are responsible for the 
organization of their own event, including choice of video -conferencing software, technical support 
and interpretation.  
1.7.  A number  of issues arose during consultations with Members on the  Stocktaki ng event. These 
included: economic diversification and resilience; e-commerce; integrating gender, MSMEs and 
youth perspectives; trade facilitation; services; and promoting resilience and sustainable recovery. 
These themes may be useful in guiding applican ts as to the type of trade -related challenges triggered 
by the COVID -19 pandemic that should be the thematic focus of the sessions they request.  
1.8.  A webinar to provide further information on the aims, objectives , and organization  of the 
Stocktaking  event will be organized in the coming days; details of which shall be shortly 
communicated to Members .  
1.9.  The deadline for the submission of session request forms  is 31 DECEMBER  2020 . Further 
technical details will also be communicated to organizers after this closing date . 
_______________  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/84  
 
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  AID-FOR-TRADE STOCKTAKING EVENT  
ANNEX  
Session Request Form  
The electronic version of this Session Request Form can be accessed at: 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021AftStocktakingEN . Should you encounter any  technical 
difficulty, the form  can also be returned  in Word or PDF format by emailing  to: aft.wto@wto.org .  
The deadline for submissions is 31 DECEMBER 2020 . Please note that for session organization, 
preference will be given to requests by WTO Members ( with precedence accorded to  collaborative 
submissions m ade by groups of Members  ). 
1. CONTACT INFORMATION OF FOCAL POINT  
(Please provide full contact details, i.e. Full Name, Title, Ministry/Organization, Member 
State/Customs Territory, Email Address and Phone number):  
 
 
 
 
2. SESSION TITLE AND THEME:  
 
 
 
 
 
3. ABSTRACT ( NO MORE THAN 200 WORDS )  
(Please note that this abstract will be published on the WTO website and in the event programme ): 
 
 
 
 
 
4. PROGRAMME, INCLUDING LIST OF SPEAKERS  
(Potential and/or confirmed):  
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT THE ORGANIZER (S)  
(e.g. In case of joint proposal by Members, etc.) : 
 
 
 
 
6. ONLINE VIDEO -CONFERENCING SOFTWARE  
(e.g. Zoom, Webex, etc. Please note that the WTO will be using Zoom for its sessions):  
 
 
 
 
7. ADDITIONAL REMARKS  
(e.g. time zones, scheduling request) : 
 
 
 
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