RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
22 July 1998
(98-2903)
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 6 JULY 1998
Chair:  Ambassador H.H. Bruun (Denmark)
A. Adoption of the Agenda
1. The Sub-Committee adopted the agenda contained in WTO/AIR/873.
B. Work Pursuant to the 1998 Ministerial Declaration
2. The Chairman said that he intended to take up two main issues under this agenda item.  The
programme of work for the Sub-Committee and its basic documentation, and market access.
3. In their Declaration of 20 May 1998, WTO Ministers had agreed to establish a process under
the direction of the General Council to submit recommendations regarding the WTO's workprogramme to the Third Session of the Ministerial Conference.  Two of the areas where
recommendations had been called for related specifical ly to the least-developed countries:  they were
paragraphs 9(b) and 9(c) of the Ministerial Declaration, which read as follows:
"9(b) recommendations concerning other possible future work on the basis of the work
programme initiated at Singapore;"
The Chairman recalled that at Singapore, Ministers had adopted the Comprehensive and Integrated
WTO Plan of Action for the Least-Developed Countries, (WT/MIN(96)/14).
"9(c) recommendations on the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on Least-Developed
Countries;"
The Director-General had submitted his own Report to the Ministerial Conference on the Outcome
and Follow-up to the High-Level Meeting, (WT/MIN(98)/2).  In it he had highlighted five separate
issues on which follow-up action was called for.  They were:
(i) The Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance;
(ii) Increased Market Access for least-developed countries' exports;
(iii) Efforts to assist least-developed countries in the process of accession;
(iv) Ways to accommodate, on a priority basis, requests from least-developed countries
for Trade Policy Reviews and to assist least-developed countries in preparing for their
Reviews;  and
(v) WTO Information Technology for Development Projects in Least-Developed
Countries.
4. The Chairman suggested that the Sub-Committee took those five issues as the basis for its
discussions, it being understood that new issues could be added, as necessary, which delegationsWT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 2
might wish to identify.  He also suggested th at the Sub-Committee use the Plan of Action for
Least-Developed Countries and the Director-Gener al's Report on the outcome of the High-Level
Meeting as its two basic working documents, and that it set as its principal objective to assist the
General Council to develop the recommendations relating to least-developed countries that had been
called for.
5. He went on to suggest that the Sub-Committee focus on the issue of market access for least-
developed countries' exports.  He reminded delegations of the WTO Plan of Action for the Least-
Developed Countries, and of the initiatives proposed there with respect to improving market access
for the least-developed countries' exports (WT/MIN(96)/14).  That was the political basis upon which
the issue of market access had been addressed at la st October's High-Level Meeting, when a number
of WTO Members had announced that they had improved, or would be improving access to their
markets in favour of least-developed countries' exports.  The issue had been treated by the Director-General in paragraph seven of his Report on the outcome of the High-Level Meeting where he had
stated that although he was not discouraged by the results achieved, he continued to feel that much
more could be done in the area.  The Chairman went on to suggest that WTO Members, in preparing
the Third Ministerial Conference, consider including the objective of eliminating all tariff barriers on
products of export interest to the least-developed countries as a matter for implementing on a prioritybasis in future WTO negotiations.
6. The Chairman said that his second comment related to having the necessary factual
information available in the Sub-Committee on the market access restrictions that currently face
products of particular export interest to least-developed countries.  The Secretariat had prepared a
very detailed market access study for last year 's High-Level Meeting (WT/LDC/HL/14 and Add.1).
That study had focused primarily on tariff duties.  He therefore suggested that the Sub-Committee
request the Secretariat to prepare a simplified paper identifying the products and services of main
export interest to the least-developed countries, as well as the major barriers to trade that they face.
7. His third introductory comment related to a legal issue that had arisen in the context of
announcements made at the High-Level Meeting by a number of developing country WTO Membersof market access improvements they would be willing to make in favour of least-developed countries'
exports.  He had understood that some delegations would welcome a clarification of the proper legal
accommodation under WTO rules for autonomous preferential market access they wish to grant to
least-developed countries' exports.  The issue had been raised by the delegation of the Republic of
Korea at the last meeting of the Committee on Trade and Development of 19 June.  The Chairman of
the Committee on Trade and Development had then announced that the Secretariat would be
conducting informal consultations with all interested delegations on the issue.  He invited theSecretariat to bring the Sub-Committee up-to-date on those informal consultations.
8. The Secretariat said that at the High-Level Meeting for Least-Developed Countries, Members
had been invited to announce steps they were taking on an autonomous basis to improve market
access for exports from least-developed countries.  The Secretariat had held two informal
consultations last summer with selected delegations to help prepare that item for the High-LevelMeeting.  In the course of those consultations, two issues of an essentially legal nature had been raised
by delegations.  One was what the appropriate modalities would be to formally register the binding of
tariff preferences in favour of the least-developed countries, should any Member wish to do so.  The
second was what the proper legal basis would be for a developing country Member to accord
preferential tariff treatment to products originating in the least-developed countries.  No conclusionhad been reached on either of those issues.  The Secretariat had then been requested to reflect further
on those issues in the light of announcements by Members at the High-Level Meeting of initiatives
they were taking in that area and of subsequent notifications to the Secretariat of the details of those
initiatives.  At the request of the Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development, the
Secretariat intended to pursue open-ended informal consultations with delegations on the issue.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 3
9. The representative of Bangladesh said that his delegation wished to add paragraph 6 of the
1998 Ministerial Declaration to the references made by the Chairman to the Sub-Committee's work
programme and basic documentation.  There Ministers had expressed concern regarding the
continuous process of marginalization of the least-developed countries, aggravated by chronic foreign
debt.  The Declaration welcomed the adoption of the Integrated Framework for the least-developed
countries and the holding of the High-Level Meeting.  The Declaration also committed WTO
Members to improve market access for least-developed countries' exports on as liberal and broad a
basis as possible.  Market access remained a significant issue which concerned the least-developed
countries and his delegation agreed with the Director-General that much remained to be done in that
area.  He welcomed the Director-General's proposal that all tariffs on least-developed countries'
exports must be removed.  His delegation further urged that the tariffs be bound at zero.  He endorsed
the Chairman's proposal for the Secretariat to prepare a simplified paper identifying the products andservices of main export interest to the least-developed countries, as well as the major barriers to trade
they face.  He said that his delegation was confident that would strengthen its belief, which became
shaky at times, that the least-developed countries matter and that the agencies acknowledge that.
10. The representative of the United States sought clarification as to the difference between the
market access paper the Chairman proposed the Sub-Committee should request the Secretariat to
prepare and the market access paper the Secretariat had prepared for the High-Level Meeting.
11. The representative of Mauritius said that his government was one among many developing
country governments which had committed itself to improve market access for least-developed
countries' exports, notwithstanding the vulnerability of  their own economies.  In that respect he agreed
that paragraph 6 of the 1998 Ministerial Declaration relating to least-developed countries as well asvulnerable economies should be taken into consideration.  The Solicitor General's Office in Mauritius
was in the process of proposing market access measures which might be introduced after August.  He
welcomed the statement by the Secretariat about in formal consultations on the legal cover for market
access commitments in favour of least-developed countries exports and indicated his delegation's
interest to be involved in such consultations.
12. The representative of European Communities sa id that one of the priorities with respect to
market access should be to bring as many countries as possible to announce increased market access
for least-developed countries' exports.  The European Communities had already notified its
commitment.  More countries should announce sim ilar initiatives.  The pr oposed market access study
was an interesting one.  The Secretariat should be encouraged to focus on the importance of emerging
markets as they represented a great opportunity for least-developed countries' exports.  It was
necessary for the Sub-Committee to get as broad as possible of a picture of the market access situationwith regard to as many WTO Members as possible.
13. The Chairman said that paragraph 6 of the 1998 Ministerial Declaration, as referred to by the
representative of Bangladesh, formed a basis for the work of the Sub-Committee on Least-Developed
Countries and the Committee on Trade and Development.  The reason for him choosing to mention
only sub-paragraphs 9(b) and (c) was that those could be said to contain the Sub-Committee'smandated tasks vis-à-vis  the next WTO Ministerial Conference.  The new paper on market access he
had proposed would build on the old one prepared for the High-Level Meeting.  It would up-date the
tariff information contained in the old paper and include non-tariff barriers and services.  The new
paper would take a general approach to market access issues rather than a specific country-by-country
approach.  It would serve as a background paper for a general discussion of the market accessproblems of least-developed countries.  As suggested, emerging markets could also be considered in
the paper.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 4
14. The Sub-Committee took note of the comments made and requested  the Secretariat to prepare
a paper identifying products and services of main export interest to the least-developed countries, as
well as the major barriers to trade they face in these areas.
C. Follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on Least-Developed Countries
15. The Chairman said that in his Report to the Ministerial Meeting, the Director-General had
provided a summary of the progress made on each of the five issues the Chairman had mentioned
earlier.  The Secretariat had also produced a new progress report on the WTO follow-up to the
High-Level Meeting containing developments si nce the end of April 1998 (WT/COMTD/W/45).  He
suggested that the Sub-Committee focus its discussion at the current meeting on the Integrated
Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance as many delegations attached particularimportance to this.  The follow-up had required a high level of cooperation between the six agencies
most closely involved in the process (IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP, the World Bank and the WTO).
The Chairman suggested that delegations might fi nd it useful to invite, from time to time, as
appropriate, representatives of the agencies invo lved to inform the Sub-Committee of the status of
implementation of the Integrated Framework.  That might be particularly useful as the process movedto the stage of the organization of trade sector "roundtables"/"consultative group meetings" for
individual least-developed countries, where the UNDP and the World Bank were expected to play a
particularly important role.
16. He said that he had taken the initiative of inviting ITC's Executive Director, Denis Bélisle, to
inform the Sub-Committee about ITC's role and activities in the Integrated Framework process.  Inaddition to the substantive trade-related technical assistance to least-developed countries which ITC
was providing under the Integrated Framework, ITC had agreed to host the Administrative Unit which
would be responsible for carrying out the administrative tasks that were involved in running the
Integrated Framework and supporting the Inter-Agency Working Group.
17. The Executive-Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Mr. Denis Bélisle, said that
he  would begin by providing information on the work the ITC had done as one of six cooperating
agencies in the Integrated Framework.  After that there would be a presentation of the Administrative
Unit.  ITC was tackling those two tasks in two different ways involving different groups of staff.
First, ITC's substantive work under the Integrated Framework was done by the new ITC Office for
Least-Developed Countries with ITC's regular staff and consultants.  Second, the Administrative Unit
was a separate office.  It was a small unit which hopefully would be staffed not only by ITC but also
by the other agencies.  In order to ensure maximum synergy and efficiency of the two offices, theywere both overseen by the same director, Mr. Dagata.  Mr. Dagata was the director of Trade Support
Services and he was also the acting direct or of Technical Cooperation and Coordination.
18. Mr. Martin Dagata of the ITC said that he would speak about the new ITC Office for
Least-Developed Countries as distinct from the Administrative Unit of the six agencies located
in ITC.  He would then discuss ITC's programme response to needs expressed by least-developedcountries.  First, the ITC had created its Office for Least-Developed Countries a few months ago.  It
was one of three operational offices in ITC's Geographic Division for Technical Cooperation and
Coordination.  It was ITC's focal point for all work related to the least-developed countries.  Its scope
also included all other countries in sub-Saharan Af rica.  As concerned the staffing of the ITC Office
for Least-Developed Countries, eight professionals  posts were planned.  Four professionals had
already been appointed and he expected the office to be fully staffed by the end of the summer.  ITC's
programme response to least-developed countries' needs for trade-related technical assistance was
based on the following four principals.  The point of departure for ITC's work in individual
least-developed countries and for the work with least-developed countries in the aggregate was the
Integrated Responses of the six agencies to the needs-assessments prepared by the least-developedWT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 5
countries in the context of the Integrated Framework exercise.  Second, in order to respond best to
least-developed countries needs, ITC considered close cooperation with other agencies, in particular
UNCTAD and WTO, as a priority.  Third, the six agencies aimed at optimizing their collective
coverage.  Finally, ITC aimed to focus on the urgent needs of least-developed countries to integrate
into the multilateral trading system.
19. Mr. Dagata continued by saying that ITC had put together a programme with UNCTAD and
WTO that exemplified those principles: the Joint Integrated Programme for Africa which included
four least-developed countries (Burkina Faso, Beni n, Tanzania and Uganda).  Activities under this
Programme for individual African least-developed countries were being subsumed under the
Integrated Framework.  The Joint Integrated Programme for Africa was an eclectic programme
designed to help countries manage their particip ation in the multilateral trading system, including
support for implementing WTO Agreements.  On the supply-side, the Joint Integrated Programme forAfrica assisted least-developed countries in formulating specific export strategies and in establishing
or enhancing national trade information networks and other business tools.  The Joint Integrated
Programme for Africa was expandable because it adapted essentially generic approaches to country
circumstances and because it was implemented in clusters of several countries simultaneously.  The
approach was one of economies of scale.
20. ITC had collaborated also with UNCTAD and WTO on a programme for Bangladesh and one
which would soon start for Haiti.  In addition, ITC was ready to cooperate with UNCTAD on
programmes for Ethiopia and Sudan, depending on understandings with those countries.  Based on
programming missions over the past year, ITC was formulating specific export promotion strategies
and overall institutional support activities in seven least-developed countries (Central AfricanRepublic, Chad, Cap Verde, Guinea, Mali, Niger, a nd Togo).  ITC was also preparing an integrated
programme document for Mozambique which it would share with UNCTAD, WTO and others
interested. ITC had programming missions tentatively planned in 1998 for Gambia and Djibouti, and
one under way in Nepal, the results of which ITC would be sharing with th e other agencies of the
Inter-Agency Working Group under the Integrated Framework.  Finally, ITC's inter-regionalprogramme on follow-up to the Uruguay Round Agreements currently focussed on capacity
enhancement of national networks of trainers and experts on the multilateral trading system.  In 1998,
that programme would focus on Nepal, Bangladesh, Haiti, Malawi, Zambia and Lesotho.  It would be
able to cover at least that number of least-developed countries in the following two years as well.
21. Mr. Denis Bélisle turned to the second part of the presentation dealing with the
Administrative Unit part of the Integrated Framework.  The terms of reference for the Administrative
Unit had been accepted by all six agencies.  The job descriptions for four staff, who should be ablerun the Administrative Unit, had been ready for some time.  ITC had already assigned one
professional staff with secretarial support to the Administrative Unit.  That amounted to fifty per cent
of the staffing requirements of the Administrative Un it.  He hoped that the other five agencies would
be able to provide the other two staff needed for the smooth functioning of the Administrative Unit.
ITC, which was the smallest agency among the six had already provided two staff members, officespace, logistic support and day-to-day management support for the Administrative Unit.  An
important part of the current work of the Administrative Unit was the creation of an Integrated
Framework Web-site by the six agencies for the least-developed countries, their development partners
and anybody else who would be interested in the Integrated Framework.  The current version was
only a concept and the final version would most probably be quite different.  The creation of the Web-site resulted from a process of consultations among agencies. The aim was for the Web-Site to
become both a management tool for the six agencies and a communication tool for stakeholders in the
process.  The Web-site should, among other things, contain general information on the Integrated
Framework and specific information on the status of implementation.  In addition, the Administrative
Unit was in the process of designing a brochure with information on the Integrated Framework.  It hadalso worked on updating a needs-assessment and the corresponding Integrated Response.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 6
22. Mr. Dagata said that Integrated Responses to the need-assessments of 39 least-developed
countries had been prepared involving planned inputs from the six agencies.  One of the next steps
was to incorporate the relevant plans of other key multilateral institutions and bilateral development
programmes, which together would ideally provide a full picture of the trade-related technical
assistance plans for each least-developed country.  Regarding the timeliness and the accuracy of theinformation on the Web-site, only information that was made available to the Administrative Unit
could be incorporated.  Expectations of what info rmation the cooperating agencies could provide had
to be realistic.  On the other hand, agencies committed to making the Integrated Framework effective
would be prepared to accept some additional work when the value-added of reporting became clear.
23. Another representative of the ITC made a presentation of the Web-site and said that its main
purpose was to allow easy access to the latest information on  progress made under the Integrated
Framework.  The Web-site would be developed with limited and light graphic to facilitate fastdownloading in least-developed countries and to allow all browsers to view the Web-site.  The
documents on the Web-site would either be public documents or documents resulting from official
discussions among agencies or between agencies and least-developed countries.  The current version
was simply a concept since the final version had to be discussed and agreed among the six agencies.
24. The Chairman said that the Sub-Committee would continue to support the process and closely
follow its next steps. Regarding assistance to least-developed countries to implement the WTO
Agreements he said that the 1998 Ministerial Declaration had made a particular point of stressing the
importance of implementation, as had the Director-Gen eral in his Report on the High-Level Meeting.
A country's capacity to take advantage of the benefits of participation in the multilateral trading
system was closely linked to its capacity to implement WTO Agreements.  It was important that thatissue be incorporated fully into the needs assessments of the least-developed countries and into the
responses provided by the six agencies and/or through trade sector "roundtables"/"consultative group
meetings".  It might be useful for the Sub-Committee to request the Secretariat to prepare a paper
which could help the Sub-Committee undertake an assessment of the difficulties that least-developed
countries faced with regard to implementation and of the appropriateness of the current response.
25. The representative of Bangladesh said that his delegation welcomed the use of modern
information technology to serve the least-developed countries.  There had been certain visual signs of
the implementation of the Integrated Frameworks in a number of countries.  He said he was pleased to
see that the implementation process had began.  The preparation of a number of trade sector
"roundtables" had begun.  However, the ultimate goal of generating new resources had not been
achieved in any significant way.  No substantial resource transfers to the least-developed countries in
the form of increased technical assistance, increased market access or capacity building had takenplace.  It was clear that the ITC would play a key role with regard to the implementation of the
High-Level Meeting decisions.  His delegation welcomed the sense of commitment shown by the
ITC.  His delegation did not doubt that the ITC would succeed in carrying out its mandated task if
adequately assisted.  The other five concerned agencies, and most particularly ITC's parent agencies,
the WTO and UNCTAD, had to come forward with pe rsonnel, financial and moral support. ITC could
not deliver, even with the best of  intentions without such support.
26. The representative of Nepal said that his delegation agreed with the suggested programme of
work and found that the study the Chairman had outlined useful.  The follow-up work to the
High-Level meeting was important.  The idea of a Web-site was an interesting one as it could be a
useful tool.  However, the access of least-developed countries to that Web-site needed to beconsidered in order for it to be used effectively by the countries concerned.  Two questions were
striking in assessing the follow-up process, and delegations relied on the Chairman's leadership to
focus on them.  They had been emphasized by all least-developed country delegations since the
preparatory process for the High-Level Meeting.  The first was the question of capacity building, and
the second was the additionality in terms of both programmes and resources.  The outcome should beWT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 7
something more than simply inte grating into a new framework the programmes that the different
agencies already carried out in the least-developed countries.  The most important element, if the
least-developed countries were to be brought into the multilateral trading system, was to enhance their
supply response to make use of increased market access opportunities.  One of the most interesting
features of the High-Level Meeting, from the least-developed country perspective, was theirownership and their level of participation, both in the preparatory process and at the High-Level
Meeting.  That underlined the need for coordination both in Geneva and in capitals and between them.
The Administrative Unit would be helpful in that  way.  Some intergovernmental mechanism for
least-developed countries to participate might also be set up along with the Administrative Unit.  His
delegation counted on the Chairman's initiative on that issue.  The Web-site had two important
elements.  First, the generic elements for which the ITC could gather all information.  Second, the
information coming from the least-developed countries themselves.  It might be important for theAdministrative Unit to request information from the least-developed countries before the Web-site
became operational.
27. The representative of Madagascar said that the information given by ITC, in conjunction with
the information given by the representatives of UNDP at its Executive Board two weeks earlier in
Geneva, clarified the situation and limited the concern that had emerged shortly after the High-LevelMeeting following the delay in the implementation of  the commitments made at that Meeting.  The
Sub-Committee had before it an important document in WT/COMTD/W/45 which gave a clear idea
of the status of WTO's implementation of its activities in relation to the Integrated Framework;
national and regional seminars, trade policy courses, technical missions and the installation of
reference centers with computer equipment in nineteen countries, market access etc.  There had notbeen much progress with regard to market access since the last meeting of the Sub-Committee in
April 1998.  However, after having heard the presentation  of Mr. Bélisle and his colleagues it was
clear that the process of implementing the Integrated Framework was progressing.  Among the
measures taken, the Director-General had mentione d the creation of a WTO least-developed country
coordinator in the Technical Cooperation and Training Division with primary responsibility forcoordination of the WTO contribution to the Integrated Framework.  His delegation wondered if that
coordinator had been designated and what services the Geneva-based delegations could expect from
that person.  His delegation was concerned about the financing of technical assistance.  To date
technical assistance had been financed by extra-budgetary resources.  That was neither desirable nor
sustainable in the medium term.  Consultations had been held in the Committee on Trade and
Development and in the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration in order to find the most
appropriate way to put the financing of technical assistance on a more solid ground.  His delegationwondered if any proposals had been made as a result of those consultations.  Finally, he welcomed
efforts made by the six organizations and the voluntary contributions made by WTO Members which
had made it possible to finance technical assistance activities.  He also welcomed the announcements
already made by a number of WTO Members of increased market access for least-developed country
exports.
28. The representative of the European Communities said that the ITC presentation showed that
ITC continued to play a leading role in the exercise.  His delegation was pleased that the
Administrative Unit had began its work and the WTO Secretariat should do all it could to strengthen
this Administrative Unit.  In that context, it would be useful if the Secretariat could inform
delegations of how it planned to assist the Administrative Unit.  Second, his delegation wouldappreciate more information about the status of the trade sector "roundtables"/"consultative group
meetings".  He wondered if any such meetings had, or were in the process of being prepared, and
what the plans were for the coming months.
29. The representative of Uganda said that his delegation was pleased to learn that the
implementation of the Integrated Framework was mo ving forward.  The most important objective was
to ensure that the least-developed countries were put in a position not only to implement the WTOWT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 8
Agreements, but also to take advantage of them.  That entailed increasing their capacity to trade and
to produce tradeable goods.  In that respect he agreed with what had been said by the representative of
Bangladesh about the need to consider the larger picture of how to address the supply constraints,
including the question of resources.  There was a need for more trade-sector
"roundtables"/"consultative group meetings" and such meetings should be organized as quickly aspossible in order for the least-developed countries to take advantage of the programmes.  An aspect
worth emphasizing was the underutilization of preferential systems to increase market access, such as
the Generalized System of Preferences.  His delegation hoped that it would be possible for ITC,
UNCTAD and WTO to examine the reasons for this underutilization with a view to addressing any
problem discovered.  There was also a need to look at how to overcome technical barriers to trade.
That issue should, as far as sanitary and phytosanitary rules were concerned, be addressed both at the
country-level and at the level of donors.  There had been an experience in eastern Africa anddiscussions with the partners of the European Communities had been held.  Those were the issues that
had to be considered with respect to increa sing market access for products originating in
least-developed countries.
30. He added that his delegation would welcome information about the synergies of the
ITC/UNCTAD/WTO Integrated Programme for Africa and the Integrated Framework emanating fromthe High-Level Meeting.  He agreed with the representative of Nepal that apart from the creation of
the Web-site, which was useful in itself, the access to it by the least-developed countries had to be
considered.  The Web-site should not only be created for the agencies but for the least-developed
countries as well.  The least-developed countries had to be enabled to effectively make use of that
Web-site.
31. The representative of Japan said that his delegation attached importance to paragraph 6 of the
1998 Ministerial Declaration which described the importance of the High-Level Meeting and its
follow-up.  Three points were of particular importance for the follow-up work of the six agencies.
First, the six agencies should work in close coordination.  Second, the work should be carried out with
a high degree of transparency.  Transparency was important for effective implementation.  Third, thework of the six agencies should be reported as soon as possible to the relevant fora, especially the
Committee on Trade and Development.  In that context, the ITC presentation of the proposed
Web-site for the Integrated Framework was an effective way of coordinating among the six agencies
and of providing information in a transparent way to others.  His delegation would welcome other
agencies to follow suit.
32. The representative of Bangladesh said that the information to be provided on the Web-site
was useful and would benefit delegations.  He wondered if it would be possible to add two new
columns to the Inventory of trade-related te chnical cooperation activities in each of the
least-developed countries carried out by the six agencies.  One containing information on the cost of
each project and one with the status of the implementation of the project.
33. Mr. Bélisle of the ITC said that he had taken good note of all comments made, particularly the
comment made by representative of Nepal with resp ect to the need for capacity building.  Capacity
building was a prime objective of the six agencies cutting across any programmes being developed.  It
was also important to liase with the least-developed countries on the information to be put on the
Web-site.  At this stage of the work, only readily available material that had been seen and approved
by the least-developed countries was used, as for example the Need-Assessments and the Integrated
Responses.  However, there would be more information in the future which would have to be clearedwith the countries concerned before putting it on the Web-site.  Agencies still had a long way to go
but serious work had already been done, and as additional resources were made available delegations
would be able to see even faster progress.WT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 9
34. The Secretariat said that according to the latest information available, the preparation of
"roundtables"/"consultative group meetings" for Chad, Gambia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Mali, Nepal, Togo
and Uganda were at various stages.  The Government of Uganda, with the assistance of the World
Bank, was planning to hold a Consultative Group Meeting in the autumn of 1998.  The government of
Nepal was discussing with the agencies to hold a trade-sector "roundtable"/"consultative groupmeeting" in Kathmandu at a date still to be defined.  UNDP had informed the other agencies that it
had been requested by the governments of Chad, Djibouti and the Gambia to assist them in organizing
trade-sector roundtables to be held in those countr ies.  The government of Ethiopia had informed the
WTO that it was organizing a trade-sector Consultative Group Meeting in Addis Ababa in
cooperation with the World Bank.
35. Mr. Dagata of the ITC referred to the question posed by the representative of Uganda
regarding the synergies of the ITC/UNCTAD/WTO Integrated Programme for Africa and the
Integrated Framework emanating from the High-Level Meeting.  In this context he recalled that the
ITC/UNCTAD/WTO Integrated Programme for Afri ca  was being subsumed under the Integrated
Framework by virtue of its paragraph three.  The question of synergies had been raised in the Steering
Group of the Common Trust Fund for the Integrated Programme for Africa.  The agencies were of the
view that there were some obvious synergies.  The ITC, UNCTAD and WTO who were theimplementing agencies of the Integrated Programme for Africa were also three of the six agencies
involved in the Integrated Framework emanating fr om the High-Level Meeting.  If the Integrated
Programme for Africa were to be expanded to additional countries, it would most probably be to other
least-developed countries in Africa.  In a more technical way, the needs-assessments prepared by the
least-developed countries as a first step in the Integrated Framework exercise were revealing needs towhich the Integrated Programme for Africa in some cases provided the appropriate reply.
36. Mr. Bélisle of the ITC said that the representative of Japan had emphasized three important
points; that the agencies should work closely together and that they should be transparent and quick in
reporting progress or lack of progress.  That was what the agencies currently were doing and there
was no reason for it to change in the future.  The work of the six agencies was taking place in anatmosphere of respect and trust which laid a good foundation for continued cooperation.
Transparency would remain important throughout the programme.  The creation of the Web-site
should be seen as a special effort by the agencies to be transparent.  It was not only a management
tool, but a communication tool as well.  It was th erefore important that the information put on the
Web-site was valid and practical.  Every piece of information put on the Web-site had to serve a
purpose as the Web-site otherwise ran the risk of containing so much information that transparency
was lost in the volume of information.  With resp ect to reporting quickly, any information received by
the Administrative Unit would be put on the Web-site as soon as possible if it was felt that it was of
general interest.  The representative of Bangladesh had asked for a fourth column in the inventory of
trade-related technical assistance to contain information on the cost of different programmes.  No
definite answer could be given to that question and the difficulties of providing such information had
to be kept in mind.  Small technical assistance projects like the one ITC usually dealt with were fairlyeasy to quantify.  However, when ITC dealt with regional projects it was difficult to quantify how
much each individual country was getting.  For example, it was difficult to divide, on a country basis,
a two million dollar regional project for four least-developed countries and two non-least-developed
countries.  It would be even more difficult for the larger agencies to make such assessments for their
large programmes.  Every piece of information to go on the Web-site had to be approved by the sixagencies.  He asked delegations to trust the six agencies to come up with as much practical, and
meaningful information as possible.
37. The Secretariat said that commitments rega rding the creation of a post in the Technical
Cooperation and Training Division, a post dedicated to the least-developed countries and referred to
by the representative of Madagascar, and WTO support to the Administrative Unit were contained inthe report of the Director-General on the High-Lev el Meeting.  With regard to the post within theWT/COMTD/LDC/M/12
Page 10
WTO, it had already been transferred from the Development Division to the Technical Cooperation
and Training Division.  That post was a focal point for matters relating to the implementation of the
Integrated Framework in the WTO.  The WTO support of the Administrative Unit would be worked
out in the near future.  The Director-General's report to Ministers stated that it was necessary to
approach the Committee on Budget, Finance and Admi nistration with a proposal on the matter.  That
would be done in the autumn.  The discussion in the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
on the financing of technical assistance were s till on-going and no conclusion had been reached.
Regarding the question of the benefits the least-de veloped countries could dr aw from the process he
stressed that the ownership and the initiative must lie with the least-developed countries themselves.
The listed "roundtables"/"consultative group meetings" were the results of initiatives coming from the
least-developed countries.  He urged the least-devel oped countries which had an interest in having a
trade-sector "roundtable/"consultative group meeting" to take the initiative to organize one.  Upon
request, assistance could be provided  by the six agencies involved.
38. In conclusion the Chairman noted the Sub-Committee's agreement to request the Secretariat
to prepare a paper which could help the Sub-Committee to assess the difficulties the least-developed
countries face with regard to implementation and the appropriateness of the current response.  Some
useful suggestions had been made by delegations in that regard.
__________