RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/M/14
17March 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-1075)
Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Fourteenth Session
NOTE ONTHE MEETING OF17FEBRUARY 1997
Chairman: H.E. Mr.Nacer Benjelloun-Touimi (Morocco)
1. TheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment helditsfourteenth session on17March 1997.
Theagenda forthemeeting, contained inWTO/AIR/519, wasadopted.
(i) Agenda ItemB:Sub-Committee onLeast-Developed Countries
- High-Level Meeting onLeast-Developed Countries
2. TheChairman recalled thatMinisters inSingapore agreed toorganize aHigh-Level Meeting
withtheUNCTAD andITCin1997, along withaidagencies, multilateral financial institutions and
least-developed countries (LDCs), tofoster anintegrated approach toassist thesecountries toenhance
theirtrading opportunities. Theinitiative fortheMeeting hadcome from theCTD. Hehadbeen
conducting informal consultations withanumber ofdelegations andthethree secretariats involved,
andthesecretariats hadcirculated aninformal Noteonthepreparation ofthemeeting intheCTD as
abasis fordiscussion. Heencouraged delegations tocomment onthesubstance oftheNote, noting
thattheWTO Secretariat would havetoactquickly inorganizing theMeeting andneeded guidance
fromtheCTD. Twoquestions deserved immediate attention: whatshould betheAgenda ofthemeeting,
andwhich international organizations should beinvolved? Regarding procedure, herequested the
agreementoftheCTDinprincipleonthefourstepssuggestedforthepreparatoryprocessunderItemC.3
oftheNote.
3. Therepresentative ofMadagascar saidthattheMeeting should testify tothecomplementary
activities ofdifferent international organizations ingiving integrated assistance toLDCs. Hehoped
itwould beanopportunity tolaunch immediate, integrated andcoherent activities. Heapproved the
current focus oftheNoteontechnical issues, butnoted there wereother measures which could help
prevent thetrade anddevelopment ofLDCs from being marginalized andinthatregard welcomed
theinclusion ofimproved market access forLDCs asanobjective oftheMeeting. Regarding the
Agenda, hisdelegation stressed theneedtoconsider initiatives thatcould beapplied andimplemented
immediately. Hewelcomed theinclusion ofastudy ontheuseofinformation technologies forLDCs,
astheirpotential needed tobebetter understood, andhefeltthatsynergies could bedeveloped inthis
areawithUNCTAD. Asregards other aspects ofcoordination, hereminded theCTD thatUNCTAD
would organize apilotseminar onpartnership withtheprivate sector inorder tomobilize investment
forLDCs, andhehoped thiswould beintegrated intotheMeeting tofurther enhance synergies. He
asked thatthelistofinternational agencies involved intheMeeting notbeclosed untilafterfurther
consultations. Hesupported theparticipation oftheprivate sector, andsuggested inviting industrialists
andexporters from LDCs. Theproposed dateandduration oftheMeeting wasacceptable tohis
delegation. Regarding thepreparatory process, heurged thecloseinvolvement ofLDCs toallow them
todefine theirneeds; theyshould beassisted inthisregard bythethree secretariats.WT/COMTD/M/14
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4. Therepresentative ofBangladesh hoped theHighLevel Meeting would leadtoamore coherent
andintegrated international approach forsupporting trade-related activities oftheLDCs, atalllevels,
andappreciated theleadership oftheChair. There needed tobeaclose cooperation among thethree
secretariats inorder tofindsolutions toproblems. Hewaspleased theWorld Bank, IMF, andother
international andregional financial institutions would beinvited. Thesupport ofkeydeveloped and
developing countries wasneeded fortheMeeting tobesuccessful. TheSecretariat Noteincluded views
already expressed intheCTD, andheurged further CTD input. Thescope forassisting LDCs went
beyond aidandtechnical assistance, andshould involve market access andexport diversification, as
well asinvestment opportunities andtheimmediate launching ofcountry-specific cooperation
programmes. Most problems facing LDCs werestructural, andtheseconstraints needed toberemoved
toallow forprogress. Regarding Africa, hesaidtheburden ofdebtremained adeterrent todevelopment.
There wasalsoneedforinternational cooperation inthecommodity field, although thisandother issues
might amount totoomuch toaddress atoneMeeting. Itwould benecessary tobeselective, butother
issues should notbedisregarded. Henoted thatBangladesh hadhadameasure ofsuccess withdonors
inachieving common goals, andheappealed tothekeyglobal economic actors, bothpublic andprivate,
tosendhighleveldelegations totheMeeting. AllLDCs should beencouraged toparticipate, andthey
would needtobeassisted financially andwithpreparatory expertise. Ministers inSingapore had
envisaged theMeeting could takeplace inthefirsthalfof1997, andtheSecretariat needed tobegin
preparations immediately.
5. Therepresentative ofBolivia saidtheinitiative fortheHigh-Level Meeting reflected thespirit
oftheWTO Agreement tofullyintegrate allMembers intothemultilateral trading system andcontribute
totheexpansion oftrade. Heappreciated theeffort being made bythethreeSecretariats incooperating
tobetter integrate LDCs intoworld trade. Hesaidtheresults oftheMeeting should beintegrated
andapplied toother countries withsmall economies, including land-locked countries.
6. Therepresentative ofNepal saiditwasfitting thattheHigh-Level Meeting would takeplace
attheendoftheChairman 'sterm. Hewasaware ofthelimitations posed byhisdelegation 'scurrent
observer status, butNepal tookitsparticipation intheWTO process withutmost seriousness. The
Singapore meeting hadbeensignificant intworespects. First, ithadhelped withNepal 'sprocess of
accession; theGovernment wasintheprocess ofupdating theMemorandum ontheForeign Trade
Regime inaccordance withWTO provisions, anditwasabout toestablish aWTO division. Secondly,
thecomprehensive andintegrated WTO PlanforAction forLDCs wasasignificant development.
Hisdelegation would beparticipating inpreparations fortheHigh Level Meeting inthecontext of
Nepal 'sprocesses ofeconomic liberalization andtrade diversification, which would allow ittomore
fullyintegrate intoandbenefit fromtheincreasingly globalized economy. Hebelieved theintegrated
approach taken indefining theobjectives oftheMeeting wascorrect. Short, medium andlong-term
objectives should bedefined, relating toenabling LDCs toparticipate more fully intheWTO
institutionally, toimproved market access forproducts ofimportance toLDCs, andtoimproving their
supply capacity through resource transfers andtechnical assistance. Hewelcomed theproposal for
involving aninner circle ofinternational institutions, andsaidtheLDCs themselves should provide
themajor inputs onpriorities. Heappreciated theChairman 'sconsultations inthatregard, andhoped
further mechanisms forsuchinputs would bedefined. Allinterested LDCs should participate inthe
Meeting. Indeciding onitstiming, account should betaken ofother meetings scheduled toaddress
LDC concerns, suchastheSpecial Session oftheUNGeneral Assembly inJuneonland-locked
countries.
7. Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthatinvestment issues should beprominent ontheAgenda
oftheMeeting, especially inlightofthefactthatlessthanonepercentoftotalglobal investment went
toLDCs. Regarding theinvolvement ofinternational organizations, hefelteconomic commissions
andprominentregionalorganizationsinvolvedineconomicissues,particularlytheEconomicCommission
forAfrica andtheOrganization ofAfrican Unity, should beincluded. Hebelieved itwould beimportantWT/COMTD/M/14
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tohaveregular progress reports intheCTD, andfeltaninformal process ofconsultations should take
place inthisregard toaddress thepriorities ofLDCs andtoensure adequate preparation.
8. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidhisdelegation wasverysupportive of
LDC-related issues andfullycommitted totheorganization oftheMeeting. While itshould takeplace
asearly aspossible, proper preparations werenecessary toensure itwould beasuccess. Withregard
totheobjectives oftheMeeting, hesuggested theitemrelating toinformation technologies should
beintegrated intotheitemcovering technical assistance rather thanbeing taken upseparately. He
thanked theChairman forhisleadership oftheCTD, which hadallowed ittomake greatstrides within
theWTO.
9. Therepresentative ofIndia thanked theChairman forhisleadership inarranging theMeeting.
Hisdelegation wascommitted toworking withtheCTD toadvance trading opportunities forLDCs,
anditwaspleased withthefollow-up totheSingapore Conference. Hefeltthescope oftheAgenda
andother preparations fortheMeeting would bebestaddressed through informal consultations. He
supported thesuggestion thatthelistofintergovernmental organizations invited tothemeeting should
notbeclosed tooearly. Regarding specific points inthepreparatory process, theCTD would need
toensure thatitwasfullyresponsive tothespecific needs ofLDCs andheproposed thatitmeetin
open-ended informal sessions aspreparations fortheMeeting advanced soastoprovide guidance to
theSecretariat andtokeeptrack ofprogress.
10. Therepresentative ofZambia thanked theChairman forhisefforts inorganizing theMeeting
andhoped theAgenda would bedeveloped onthebasis offurther consultations involving theLDCs.
TheCTD should notbetoopreoccupied thatcertain issues putontheAgenda would notberesolved
inthecourse oftheMeeting. IftheIMFandtheWorld Bank weretobecome co-organizers, itwould
beanunprecedented opportunity todiscuss LDC policy issues. Hereferred totheneedforglobal
coherence, andfelttheMeeting would beanopportunity totakeaboldstance byaddressing policy
issues interms ofbothtrade andfinance. HefeltthattheCTD focused toomuch ofitsattention on
issues ofmarginalization, market access andtechnical assistance, while thefundamentals oftheproblem
werenotaddressed.Hecommentedthatevenwithadditionalmarketaccessopportunities,thereremained
forLDCs thebasic issue ofcapacity constraints.
11. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland expressed concern about thenumber ofissues proposed for
inclusion ontheAgenda oftheMeeting andurged theCTD tochoose between words andaction. The
Meeting should bedevoted thecoreissue identified intheSingapore Ministerial Declaration, which
was“tofoster anintegrated approach toassisting these countries andenhancing their trading
opportunities". Thefocus should beontrade assistance totheLDCs, although other general items
could beadded. Hesupported theneedfortheCTD tohaveregular progress reports andsaidthat
Switzerland wished toactively participate ininformal consultations. Asregards theinternational
organizations tobeinvolved inthepreparation, herecalled thattheMinisterial Declaration hadclearly
stated thatUNCTAD, ITCandWTO should prepare theMeeting.
12. TherepresentativeofKorearemindedtheCommitteethatfundingwasoneofthemostimportant
elements tobetaken intoaccount when organizing ameeting andasked theSecretariat foranestimate,
itsproposals forfunding, andwhether thecostswould beshared bytheITCandtheUNCTAD. The
Chairman acknowledged theimportance ofthispoint.
13. Therepresentative ofNorway thanked theChairman forhisexcellent work intheCTD. The
Informal Note wasauseful andexpeditious follow-up totheMinisterial Conference. Heexpected
thatthecooperation which hadalready begun would continue andthatcommon documentation from
theorganizations concerned would beprepared. Regarding theAgenda, hesupported thepoint made
bythedelegation ofSwitzerland thatitshould notbetoocomprehensive inorder toadvance dueWT/COMTD/M/14
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preparation andensure asuccessful outcome. Heagreed ontheimportance ofinvolving theprivate
sector, butfeltthatMember governments should firstconsolidate theobjectives. Heasked for
clarification ofthereference intheNoteto"selected investors". Heurged thattheMeeting takeplace
assoonaspossible inorder tomaintain momentum, while ensuring thatitwasproperly prepared.
14. TherepresentativeofUgandaappreciatedtheChairman'seffortsinsteeringtheCTDsuccessfully
toadopt anintegrated programme ofaction fortheLDCs, andhoped thatconcrete activities would
result. Hethanked thethree secretariats formoving expeditiously toprepare fortheMeeting. His
delegation feltthattheAgenda should cover theproblems thatfaced theintegration ofLDCs, and
supported thepoint made bythedelegation ofZambia about theneedforgreater policy coherence.
Heurged theinvolvement ofthefinancial institutions andUNDP inpreparing theMeeting, andstressed
theneedfortheactive participation ofLDCs inidentifying theproblems tobeaddressed. Heagreed
withtheimportance ofinvolving theprivate sector, especially inLDCs, inorder toassess thedifficulties
theyfaced andhowtheycould besupported. Hewelcomed Geneva asthevenue fortheMeeting.
Herecalled alsotheneed toavoid overlap withtheUNmeeting onland-locked countries, urged
expediency sothatmomentum bemaintained, andasked tobekeptregularly informed ofthepreparatory
process.
15. Therepresentative oftheUnited States thanked theChairman forhisleadership intheCTD
andinproposing theHighLevel Meeting. Regarding theInformal Note, heagreed thephases suggested
werewithin theframework oftheAgenda. Tangible results would entail much workandtough decision-
making priortotheMeeting itself, andhemade twogeneral points. First, herecommended nochange
totheorganizations thathadbeen identified asco-organizers; although many other international
organizationsmightmakeusefulinputtotheprocess,thisshouldbechannelledthroughtheco-organizers
forthesakeofefficiency. Secondly, hesupported theinvolvement oftheprivate sector andencouraged
arrangements tobemade fortheirparticipation, through aparallel process, early intheprocess. He
feltthattheMeeting should notbehelduntilconcrete results wereavailable. Rhetoric should beavoided.
16. Therepresentative ofCanada saidtheMeeting should notbeconsidered apledging session.
Theobjective wastolaunch integrated, country-specific, cooperation programmes. Heagreed that
information technology wascritical forLDCs 'trading opportunities, andsupported theviewthatit
should beincorporated intotheissueoftechnical assistance andnottreated separately. Henoted that
aConference, "Global Knowledge 97”,would takeplace from22-25 JuneinCanada toconsider the
contribution ofinformation technology todevelopment, andhesuggested thatareport from that
Conference beusedintheHigh Level Meeting tofocus onthetrade-related aspects ofinformation
technology andhowtheyrelate toLDCs. Thedateof26-27 JunefortheMeeting wasacceptable as
longasproper preparations could becompleted intimetoproduce meaningful results. Hewassomewhat
concerned thatbroadening theco-organization oftheMeeting would make itmore difficult logistically,
buthewasopentoinviting theIMF, World Bank andUNDP toexpress theirinterest inthisregard.
Finally, hesupported others inthanking theChairman forhisleadership intheCTD.
17. Therepresentative ofHungary alsothanked theChairman forhisleadership. Hisdelegation
supportedtheInformalNoteontheMeeting.Hesharedtheviewthatinformationtechnologybeincluded
intheAgenda. Hewasconvinced thattheCommittee hadthenecessary guidelines tofocus onthe
problems oftheLDCs andtheirsolutions through thePlanofAction adopted inSingapore. Hefelt
thecontinuation ofinformal consultations would bethebestmethod ofpreparing fortheMeeting.
18. Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidtheInformal Notewould beuseful infocusing onthe
preparation oftheMeeting, which should beanaction-oriented withclearobjectives inmind. Forthe
outcome tobesustainable fortheLDCs, itwould beessential toinvolve them intheidentification
ofpriorities. TheAgenda seemed comprehensive. Hefeltthedeveloped andmoreadvanced developingWT/COMTD/M/14
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countries could helpfacilitate theLDCs 'trade andinvestment opportunities, andherecalled lengthy
discussions regarding thisprior totheSingapore Ministerial. Hesupported theparticipation ofthe
private sector, andfeltitsroleshould beprecisely defined. Heagreed withthesuggested timing of
thevarious phases ofthepreparatory process, andwiththesuggested duration oftheMeeting.
Hong Kong wascommitted tomaking apositive contribution totheMeeting, andhethanked the
Chairman forhiscommitment tothework oftheCTD.
19. TheChairman saiditwasclear thateverybody expected apractical outcome toresult from
theHigh Level Meeting. ThePlanofAction would formtheframework. Hestressed theimmediate
needfortheSecretariat tocontact theIMF, World BankandUNDP toclarify theirintentions asregards
theirparticipation. Inhisviewtherewasnoneedtoinclude toomany other organizers. Further work
needed tobedoneonthebasis oftheCTD discussion, andhetrusted thattheSecretariat hadtaken
good noteofallthecomments made. Further informal consultations andmeetings withdelegations,
ledbytheChairpersons oftheCTDandtheSub-Committee onLeast developed Countries would allow
Members tokeeptrack ofprogress andprovide input. Thesecret ofsuccess intheWTO wastobe
intunewithitsMembers.
- Election ofOfficers
20. Ambassador E.Herfkens oftheNetherlands waselected Chairperson oftheSub-Committee
ontheLeast Developed Countries byacclamation.
(ii) Agenda ItemC:WTO Technical Cooperation andTraining Activities asThey Relate
toDeveloping Country Members
21. TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee hadbegun adiscussion ofaSecretariat non-paper
on"WTO Technical Cooperation: Implementation Modalities", dated 25November 1996. Arevision,
dated 3February 1997, hadbeencirculated. Henoted alsothatrepresentatives fromtheITCandthe
UNCTAD hadbeeninvited tothemeeting topresent theCTD withtheirviews onactivities.
22. TheSecretariat saidtherevised non-paper incorporated comments made bydelegates atthe
lastCTD meeting andasubmission received from thedelegation ofNewZealand. Itfollowed the
guidelines fortechnical cooperation inPart2oftheOperational Directives andincluded fivesections:
Modes ofDelivery, Long-Term Engagement, Coordination withOther International Organizations,
Management, andMonitoring Follow-Up andEvaluation. Three broad objectives were identified.
First, toprovide broad andsystematic coverage ofWTO issues, while allowing flexibility forthe
Secretariat intheapplication ofitsprogrammes. Asrequested, anAnnex hadbeenadded toprovide
forindicative descriptions ofthemodes ofdelivery usedintheSecretariat 'sactivities. Thesection
onCoordination withInternational Institutions hadbeenrevised tobemore precise. Theroleofthe
Technical Cooperation andTraining Division hadbeenclarified inthesection onManagement, and
included suggestions byMembers regarding itsprocedures forthepresentation oftheirrequests. The
second objective concerned procedures forthePreparation ofProgrammes, andthethird related to
provisions ofVoluntary Contributions byDonors. Thelastsection onMonitoring Follow-Up and
Evaluation hadbeenexpanded toinclude anexternal evaluation oftechnical cooperation activities every
three years.
23. Therepresentative ofUNCTAD Secretariat welcomed collaboration between theWTO, ITC,
andtheUNCTAD ontechnical cooperation issues. UNCTAD IXhadbroken newground onthese
matters,andhadgivenamandatetostrengthenandexpandworkontechnicalcooperationandtointegrate
itintothegeneralworkprogrammeofUNCTAD.ThiswouldenhancecommonobjectivesofUNCTAD
andtheWTO. UNCTAD strived torespond totherequests, concerns andpriorities ofmember StatesWT/COMTD/M/14
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while taking intoaccount the"supply-driven" aspects offinancing andthesecretariat 'scapability to
meetadivision oflabour soastomaximize itscomparative advantage. Hequoted thefollowing passages
from UNCTAD 'smandate:
“Enhancing national capacities, interms ofhuman resources andadministrative infrastructures
toenable WTO Members toadjust effectively tomeettheirobligations andtotakeadvantage
oftheirrights, including byhelping them toenhance theirunderstanding ofWTO rights and
obligations, aswellasimproving thetransparency oftheirtrade reviews"
"Assisting developing countries incollaboration withWIPO andWTO toidentify opportunities
provided bytheTRIPS Agreement, including forattracting investment andnewtechnologies
andcontributing, asappropriate tothework ofrelevant international organizations inthe
implementation oftheUruguay Round Final ActDecision onMeasures inFavour oftheLeast-
Developed Countries, byassisting theLDCs, ...WTO Members totakemaximum advantage
ofthespecial anddifferential measures provided forintheUruguay Round Agreements."
24. Assistance wasdirected towards helping countries strengthen theirservices sector, develop
their competition policies, legislation andinstitution building, andintegrate their overall trade,
environmentanddevelopmentgoals.TheWTOandUNCTADwerealreadyworkingtogethertointegrate
countries intothetrading system inanefficient way. Hecited thesuccess oftheJoint Programme
forAfrica. Thusfar,assessment missions hadbeensenttoeightAfrican countries, including fourLDCs,
which focused onhuman resources development andinstitutional capacity building withregard tothe
Uruguay Round Agreements. Thenextstagewould focus onsupportive measures required tostrengthen
theexport capacity ofbeneficiary countries.
25. UNCTAD 'sTechnical Cooperation Programme covered allareasoftheworkofitsSecretariat,
includingtradeingoodsandservices,investment,technologyandenterprisedevelopment,tradeefficiency
andservices, infrastructure andtransport, finance anddebtmanagement. Annual delivery amounted
toabout US$20-25 million ayear, outoftotalbudgets ofabout US$50 million ayear. Atanygiven
time, about 300projects wereunder implementation, withabout one-third directed atLDCs and40per
centforAfrica. Operations responded torequests fromindividual beneficiary countries, developing
orintransition, andatregional andinter-regional levels. Activities included policy advice onselect
issues within UNCTAD 'scompetence, suchasanalytical work, public sector decision-making, and
information fromdatabases. Headded thattraining andhuman-resource development hadbeenmajor
elements ofUNCTAD 'sactivities; these werecrucial tothedevelopment ofcapacity building. This
ranged from adhocactivities, seminars andworkshops, tomore structured activities suchasthe
development andstrengthening oflocaltraining capacities through UNCTAD 'swork with"train for
trade", which included atraining programme formaritime transport. Emphasis hadbeenonamore
structured anddeliberate long-term process ofdeveloping training capacity. Asforfunding, UNDP
continued tobethesingle most important source ofsupport forUNCTAD 'stechnical cooperation
activities despite asignificant decrease initsshare forthetotalProgramme. Inaddition, avariety
oftrustfunds hadbeenestablished forthepurpose ofimplementing theseprojects. These werefinanced
fromawiderange ofbilateral donors, ofwhich theEuropean Commission 'sDG8, which handles the
European Development Fund, andDG1, responsible fordeveloping countries andthose intransition,
were mentioned along withsupport from foundations andtrustfunds heldbyinternational financial
institutions, including theWorld Bank. Developing countries alsocontributed totheProgramme as
awhole, orforactivities intheirowncountries through resources available orfromproceeds ofloans,
particularly fromtheWorld Bank andtheInternational Development Association. Cooperation took
place withnumerous agencies including theWorld Bank ontrade andfinancial issues, theIMFwith
itsCustoms Reform Programme andASECUDA, which wasitssingle largest programme, withUNDP
andUNIDO, among other UNorganizations, andavariety ofregional andsub-regional organizationsWT/COMTD/M/14
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through jointactivities orsharing information. Contributors alsoincluded theprivate sector andnon-
governmental organizations.
26. Headded thatUNCTAD wasguided bytheUNGeneral Assembly overall, particularly by
thesystem-wide decisions theAssembly tookonoperational activities fordevelopment which have
beenthebasisforcollaboration withgovernments through thenational execution modality. Thiswas
anincreasing feature ofthewaytechnical cooperation wascarried outbyUNorganizations. Projects
were monitored regularly bybothbeneficiaries andtheSecretariat andwere subject toindependent
evaluationandreviewbymemberStates,theTradeandDevelopmentBoardanditssubsidiarymachinery.
Procedures ranged from theuseofaproject document format totheuseofUNDP resident
representatives, whoacted onUNCTAD 'sbehalf onissues pertaining totechnical cooperation. As
aUNorganization, UNCTAD wasbound bythefinancial rules andregulations governing the
administration oftrustfunds andUNDP financed projects. Adoption ofastrategy fortechnical
cooperation work aspartofarolling three-year planwasscheduled fordiscussion attheExecutive
Session oftheTrade andDevelopment Board inMarch. UNCTAD IXclearly indicated thepriority
assigned toLDCs, which should receive increased attention ofabout onethirdinthefuture. Tothat
end,theSecretariathadestablishedatrustfund,whichincludedcontributionsfromdevelopingcountries,
especially directed towards LDCs toencourage them tolaunch comprehensive programmes oftrade
andinvestment. TheIntegrated Programme forAfrica would bepartofthisarrangement.
27. Therepresentative oftheITCsaidtechnical cooperation wasanessential partofITC'sactivities.
Heciteditsmandatetosupportdevelopingandtransitioneconomies,andespeciallytheirbusinesssectors,
torealize theirfullpotential fordeveloping exports andimproving import operations, withLDCs a
priority initswork. ITC'sfirstobjective wasthedevelopment ofnational capacities forimproving
tradeperformance ofbusinesses inthecontext ofbuilding national business service institutions tohelp
themexpand andcarry outtheiractivity. Ithadcomparative advantages insixcoreservices: product
andmarket development, trade support services, trade information, trade-related human resources
development, international purchasing andsupply management andneeds assessment andprogramme
design inthetrade field. Although itsmain focus hadbeen theinternational competitiveness of
businesses, tradepromotion strategy remained crucial astheITCwasconcerned withthenexus between
thepublic andprivate sectors. Henoted thatallofitstechnical cooperation activities wereatthenational
level, andcited twoexamples. Atoneextreme, ithadtailor-made, multi-year, andmulti-faceted
projects, combining information training, tradetraining andproduct upgrading components. Inatypical
case,anITCProject Coordinator inthecountry would bethefocalpoint forimplementation; thereby,
thecountry wasatthecentre ofgravity forimplementation. Attheother extreme, projects would
beheadquarters-based, inter-regional orglobal, suchastheUruguay Round Follow-Up Programme,
financed bytheGlobal Trust Fund. Here, thebusiness implications oftheUruguay Round Agreements,
andtrainer training events wereoffered topartner countries. Presentations wereadapted anddirected
toward national circumstances through theevents organized fromGeneva withnational contacts. Sixty-
eight suchevents wereheldlastyear, andbenefitted from input bytheWTO Secretariat andothers,
including FAO andISO.
28. TheWTO, UNCTAD andITChadexperienced success withtheIntegrated Programme for
Africa, leading tofullimplementation ofseveral programmes in1997. Inallcases, theproject started
withanideabased oncountry-specific orcollective needs assessment. Ifitrequired amajor undertaking
ornewapproaches, itwould befirstreviewed inaninter-divisional forum within theITCthatbrought
together functional, product andmarketing, andgeographic expertise andclarified therespective roles
ofitsstaffintheproject development process. Donors would thenbecontacted andthedevelopment
oftheproject taken toitsfinalstages. Inacountry-specific context, adonor might finance pre-project
design work, although itwasnotunusual forprojects, whether national, sub-regional, orinter-regional,
tobedesigned toalarge extent before financing wassecured. Theproject initsfinalform would
besubject toaninter-divisional review where substantive issues would besorted out.AtthisstageWT/COMTD/M/14
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thefocuswouldbeonimplementationarrangements,includingsourcesofexpertise,internalandexternal,
tocomplete thetaskaccording totheindicated schedule. Project monitoring responsibilities and
evaluation arrangements were specified intheproject document, usually based onaUNDP format.
Atanygiven time, theITCwasimplementing over100projects, most ofwhich were national or
sub-regional projects.
29. Therepresentative oftheUnited States appreciated learning more about thespecific aspects
ofcoordination andnoted thepotential foroverlap, which hesaidwasofcommon concern intheCTD.
Henoted thatpotential overlap between theWTO andtheUNCTAD might ariseintraining functions
where representatives ofdeveloping countries become acquainted withthedisciplines andinstruments
oftheWTO. Heasked forclarification asonthispoint.
30. Therepresentative ofMorocco asked three questions: about assessment oftheIntegrated
Programme forAfrica, which hefelthadstarted well,noting thatUNCTAD members hadrecommended
suchareview takeplace; about thebreakdown ofexpenditures between different regions, whether
itwasdone according tocriteria andwhat thecriteria were; andabout thestructure oftechnical
assistance?
31. Therepresentative ofEgypt welcomed increased coordination between thethreeorganizations
ontechnical cooperation, andasked forfurther details onassessment oftheIntegrated Programme
forAfrica. Hefeltitmight bedifficult todealwithitsevaluation asitincluded more thanone
organization.
32. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saiditwasclearthatinregards totrade, the
activities oftheWTO, theUNCTAD andITCwere complementary. WTO Members hadstressed
theneedtoensure greater coordination andcooperation among thethree organizations indelivering
technical assistance. Heacknowledged thatprogress hasbeenmade, noted commitment tothisatthe
highest levels andwelcomed thecontinuation ofacloser relationship. Heagreed withtheneedto
minimize overlap. OntheIntegrated Programme forAfrica, healsoasked about monitoring and
evaluation andrequested theWTO Secretariat tocirculate alistofprojects envisaged thisyear.
33. Therepresentative ofSingapore, speaking onbehalf ofASEAN, noted thecommon desire
forcoordination oftechnical cooperation butcautioned against excessive homogenization.
Complementarity wasimportant, butvariety should bemaintained sothatMembers could address their
particular needs inthepreferred way. Hesuggested thatMembers might benefit from having the
organizations compete toprovide thebesttechnical cooperation services.
34. Therepresentative ofIndia asked UNCTAD toprovide details oftheincreasing participation
ofdeveloping countries initsprogrammes, including financing. Heasked forclarification intheWTO
Secretariat non-paper ofthenature oftheproposal andwhatwasmeant bythereference inparagraph 5C
to"external evaluation"? Healsoreferred tothelong-term engagement noted inparagraph 2C,and
asked whether itwaslimited onlytotrainers andexpertise developed under WTO technical cooperation
activities orwhether therewerepossibilities foranational government tonominate experts toparticipate
inprogrammes undertaken jointly initsterritory? Heasked forclarification oftheterm"information
technology-based training material" referred toinparagraph 6,andsaiditmight beclearer tousethe
phrase"electronic-basedtrainingmaterial"toavoidconfusionforrecipientsoftheAssistanceProgramme.
Hisdelegation strongly endorsed thestatement bySingapore toallow forflexibility intheassessment
ofprogrammes thatmight beduplicated oroverlapped, andfeltthatinthecontext ofthedemand-driven
nature ofsuchprogrammes more flexibility should beallowed.
35. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saiditmight beintheinterests ofparticipating countries
toallow foralittleoverlapping andcitedthepoint made bysome delegations thatjointprogrammesWT/COMTD/M/14
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would leadtojointevaluation. Heasked about thepreparation anddesign oftheproject, andasked
toallow forcoordination andupdates atvarious stages. Hewelcomed theSecretariat 'snon-paper and
would trytoprovide additional written comments, particularly onthesection regarding themanagement
oftheTrust Fund. Headded thatcoordination, noted inSection 3,should alsotakeplace within the
Secretariat itself. Heasked about thestatus ofquestions posed recently bythedelegation ofMorocco
intheBudget Committee (WT/BFA/W/12).
36. Therepresentative ofPeruasked theSecretariat about thestatus ofthenewbodies established
aftertheSingapore Declaration topromote investment andcompetition. Hisdelegation wasinterested
inparticipating insuchareas oftechnical cooperation andasked ifUNCTAD would beinvolved as
itwasexperienced insuchissues.
37. Therepresentative ofKenya saidhiscountry received technical assistance under theTechnical
Programme forAfrica, andnoted withsatisfaction theresults sofar.TheProgramme involved the
Government inidentifying sectors andinstitutions which required thistypeassistance. Headded that
itwasmeant initially forafewcountries andhadbeenextended, andurged countries tocontinue funding
sothatitmight include other African countries which hefeltwould benefit fromit.Hereiterated his
country 'sapproval ofthework ofthethree institutions anditsextension toother LDCs.
38. Therepresentative ofNorway welcomed therevised version oftheSecretariat 'snon-paper
andnoted thatimplementation modalities wereconsidered important byallMembers. Itprovided a
good basis tostrengthen relevant technical cooperation activities andmake theapproved guidelines
more operational. Citing paragraph 3A,heasked whether theCTDwould liketoinclude UNDP among
organizationsexplicitlymentionedashesawvalueinsuchaconsultation.Citingparagraph4C,regarding
anindicative three-year plancomparable totherolling planalready established under UNCTAD, he
requested coordination between thetwoorganizations onthisquestion. Hewasconcerned withsub-
paragraph 4Dregarding thedefinition oftheneeds forcontributions, interms ofhuman resources and
financial means. Hesaiditsuggested anannual programme based onspecific requests fromrecipient
countries, andasked theSecretariat toclarify theamount ofcontributions needed inorder toattain
abalance between theneeds requested andthecontributions available. Heasked whether itwaspossible
tomake available human resources fromdonor countries aswell? Citing paragraph 4F,ontheProvision
ofVoluntaryContributions,herecalledthesuggestionforatime-limitfortheannouncementofvoluntary
contributions andwondered ifitwaspossible toconsider another deadline; hisdelegation would favour
anearlier deadline.
39. Therepresentative ofNewZealand saidhisdelegation supported theviews expressed byother
delegations regarding theneedforcomplementarity between theactivities ofthethree organizations,
andagreed withSingapore thatcompetition would behealthy. HesaidtheSecretariat 'snon-paper
wasquitecomprehensive andprovided practical guidance. Hewasparticularly pleased withparagraph
5Cthatincorporated hisdelegation 'ssuggestions regarding anexternal evaluation. Heexplained that
theprocesswouldinvolvehiringanindependentconsultantfromaninternationalorganizationorprivately
thatwould undertake anoverall management auditoftheprogrammes, notonlytoprovide forefficiency
butalsotoconduct aqualitative evaluation oftheirimpact. Thisshould evaluate boththeeffectiveness
ofWTO technical cooperation andensure thatfeedback mechanisms wereworking solessons learned
would beregistered intotheprogramme 'spreparation anddelivery. Hesupported theconduct ofan
annual internal review inaddition toathree-year review, reasoning thatitwould bring WTO procedures
inlinewithinternational practice andmaximize improvements intheprogramme 'soperation bydrawing
onlessons from pastexperience. Asregards training, hefeltthatfourweeks seemed tobeenough
timeformost courses ofasubstantive nature andreasonable timeforWTO officials tobeabsent;
heaccepted therange of2-6weeks citedinthenon-paper, although hefeltthenature ofthetraining
would beaconsideration. Citing theexample ofthetwo-week tradepolicy course proposed forPacificWT/COMTD/M/14
Page10
Island countries, hefelttheperiod adequate foritspurposes. Hecongratulated theNetherlands for
itsgenerous contribution totheFund, andencouraged others todolikewise.
40. Therepresentative ofTurkey asked forelaboration ofthecriteria forassistance tothecountries
andregions concerned, andstressed thatcomplementarity andcompetition could gowelltogether, for
bothbilateral andregional technical assistance; while bilateral technical assistance could bevery
beneficial, more timeandmoney could besaved when complemented byregional schemes. Hecited
Turkey 'sownparticipation intheBlack SeaEconomic Cooperation andtheEconomic Cooperation
Organization, which werecomprised ofnewandprospective WTO Members. Turkey wasassisting
these states tobecome more familiar withtheworkings oftheWTO andwasincontact withITCand
theWTO tosupport these regional schemes.
41. Therepresentative ofBangladesh appreciated thatthepresentations accorded duepriorities
totheneeds ofLDCs, which wasofkeyinterest tohiscountry, andinparticular therequirements
ofAfrica. Hiscountry hadreceived considerable technical assistance inthepastandhadbeenable
toeffectively useitinenhancing itscapabilities. Heendorsed thecaveat raised bySingapore, among
others, against taking anexcessive viewoncoordination which would eliminate thedistinctive features
ofthethree respective institutions.
42. Therepresentative ofArgentina appreciated thework being done ontechnical cooperation.
While supporting thepoint made bySingapore, hecautioned against overt competition between the
three organizations andadded thattheyshould render services according toneeds, TheSecretariat 's
non-paper raised theissue offlexibility, which hefeltshould bemaintained asregards themodalities
ofrendering technical cooperation. Heshared theviewoftheUNCTAD representative inthatnew
areas ofinterests totheWTO, suchascompetition policies, should beintegrated intoacooperative
programme which would draw uponwork already donebytheUNCTAD. Hecitedtrade facilitation
asanareainwhich UNCTAD hadexpertise, andrequested further information onother areas inwhich
therespective organizations planned tocooperate.
43. TherepresentativeofKoreagenerallyagreedwiththeInformalNote.Hehadintendedaquestion
regarding thecommissioning process foranexternal evaluation, buthadsince heard thereply from
therepresentative ofNewZealand. Regarding Point 4CintheManagement section, heasked about
therationale forhaving athree-year plan, considering thatMinisterial Meetings wereheldevery two
years; perhaps itwould better tocoincide withthem. With respect toPoint 2oftheAnnex, hefelt
thatfive-day seminars andworkshops were toolengthy andadvised against making suchanexact
reference inthisdocument.
44. Therepresentative ofUganda appreciated thepresentations made. Heemphasized theneed
toreachtheprivatesectorindevelopingcountries,andfeltthatthesetypesofprogrammeswouldsucceed
onlywhen theprivate sector wasabletotakeadvantage oftheinternational trading environment. He
welcomed theefforts ofITCtothiseffect, andasked forclarification about thebusiness guide being
formulated fortheprivate sector, particularly onhowthefeedback onitsimpact hadbeenarrived at
aswellasitsimplications. Heshared theviews ofSingapore thatcoordination should avoid overlap
while maintaining eachorganisations areas ofspecialization. Henoted thattheUNCTAD andWTO
programmes weremorefocused onpublic institutions, whereas ITCcould complement theminreaching
theprivate sector. Coordination should notbeusedtocurtail important activities, butrather toenhance
programmes thatwereeffective. Heasked therepresentative oftheUNCTAD toexplain hisstatement
about the"educative process" ofLDCs. Henoted agreement withthedirection oftheSecretariat 's
non-paper.
45. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidhisdelegation wanted todiscuss thenon-
paper inmore detail onafuture occasion. Hefeltitwould result inuseful input forthediscussionWT/COMTD/M/14
Page11
ontheHigh Level Meeting, especially thelastsection ontheidentification ofneeds. Hestressed the
needtocontinue discussion ofways toovercome deficiencies.
46. Therepresentative ofSenegal recalled thatthecallforcoordination between thethreeinstitutions
wasrecent. Sheagreed withtheLong-Term Engagement noted inparagraph 2oftheSecretariat 's
non-paper, particularly thatthetraining oftrainers allowed forbetter dissemination ofinformation
atalower cost; sheadded thathercountry wasamong those interested inthisitem. Inregards to
external evaluation, shehoped thatthebeneficiary countries would beinvolved intheselection oftheir
examiners. Citing paragraph 1ontheModes ofDelivery, shehoped thatwithin theseminars more
importance would begiven tothespecific benefits oftheparticipation ofLDCs inthemultilateral trading
system.
47. Therepresentative ofVenezuela recalled thatatthelastCommittee meeting inNovember, his
delegation asked aseries ofquestion thatremained unaddressed relating tothepossible impact ofthe
canalization ofcooperation activities towards LDCs through theTrust Fund.
48. TheChairman affirmed hiscommitment toensure thattechnical cooperation between theWTO
andother institutions would becarried outinauseful andbeneficial manner. Heinvited Members
togivetheirviews onhowcooperation should beachieved. Heassured Switzerland thatthequestion
raised byMorocco attheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration would beaddressed also
intheCTD.
49. Therepresentative ofUNCTAD replied tocomments ontheissue ofcomplementarity and
duplication. Thepoint made bySingapore andothers toallow forhealthy competition waswelltaken.
Itwasadifficult issuetoplace inaneatframework, duetothedynamics involved between apotential
beneficiary requesting help,anorganization thatwasabletorespond andadonor. Clearly, duplication
inawasteful sense should beavoided. Heagreed withArgentina ontheneedtoavoid overlap while
allowing forjointapproaches tothesameissue. Hecitedtheinitiative oftheGovernment ofSwitzerland,
which convened aworkshop attheendof1995 inAscona, todiscuss thisissue withinternational
organizations concerned withtrade-related technical cooperation. Themeeting didnotsucceed in
clarifying theroleofeachinstitution, butitdidpromote aneffort toestablish amechanism for
information exchange andtoavoid duplication. Inaddition, theITChadtaken theinitiative, together
withUNCTAD andtheWTO, toproduce asuccinct andclearstatement regarding themainelements
thatdifferentiated thetechnical cooperation work ofeachorganization. Inthatlight, theIntegrated
Programme forAfrica andothers should provide opportunities forfurther learning andleadto
maximization ofcomplementarity andminimization ofoverlap. Headded thatthisprocess should also
involve theWorld Bank, theIMFandUNDP. Thecomparative advantage oftheWTO Secretariat
withregard totheoutcome oftheUruguay Round, particularly inexplaining contractual obligations,
wasobvious. UNCTAD would helpcountries takeadvantage oftrade andother opportunities that
emerged from these negotiations. Forinstance, UNCTAD 'sCommission onInvestment hadcalled
fortheconvening ofanextrameeting todiscuss thepossible impact ofmultilateral investment regimes
withaview towards regional, sub-regional andbilateral arrangements; thiswould contribute toan
areagenerally handled bytheWTO. Inawider sense, trade-related technical cooperation wasincluded
inthemandate, andcovered investment-related, technology-related, finance-related matters asthey
pertained tothesupply response. Inaddition toincreasing exports andtrade efficiency, capacity
development would include infrastructure andhuman resources; these wereareas inwhich UNCTAD
would playarole. Thenegotiation process wasanother areawhere UNCTAD could assist countries
through programmes supporting commercial diplomacy. Officials from LDCs could thenbetter
understand theissues thatwould arisefromabuilt-in agenda andotherforms ofnegotiations. Accession
procedureswouldremainthedomainoftheWTO.UNCTADcouldcomplementthisprocessbyassisting
Members withthesubstantive issues thatmight arise, while ITChadenormous expertise inthefield
ofexport promotion andindealing withspecific sectors andwithenterprises.WT/COMTD/M/14
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50. AttheAscona meeting, thefocus wasonthenational level asthecoordination oftechnical
cooperation programmes andother forms ofdevelopment cooperation wasevidently theresponsibility
ofthehostcountry. Hecitedthecaseofacountry intheprocess ofaccession toWTO thathadinvited
thethreeorganizations andothers, suchasUNDP andtheWorld Bank, toconduct anexercise regarding
thecoordination oftrade-related technical cooperation; thishadproven tobeapromising initiative.
Hestressed theimportance ofemphasizing thedemand-driven nature oftechnical assistance, asthe
beneficiary country wasinthemain position todetermine itsneeds inlightofitsowncapacities and
resources.UNCTADhadagoodworkingrelationshipwiththeWTOandITC,anditfoundtheexchange
ofinformation particularly helpful. Hepersonally hadnotencountered aclearcaseofduplication or
lackofprior consultation, butevensothefullpotential forcooperation among theorganizations had
yettoberealized. From UNCTAD 'sstandpoint, thepreparatory process fortheproposed High-Level
Meeting onLDCs would beuseful incarrying forward efforts toenhance anddeepen existing
cooperation. Regarding theevaluation oftheIntegrated Programme forAfrica, henoted thatarequest
forsuchareview hadbeenmade intheTrade andDevelopment Board lastOctober, whereby thethree
organizations agreed toproceed when theresults were sufficient tojustify suchanexercise. Itwas
UNCTAD 'sviewthatsuchastage hadnotyetbeenreached. Inresponse tothequestion ofcriteria
from Morocco, hesaidUNCTAD 'sProgramme hadnoapriori criteria butitsprojects were based
onthenature ofrequests andavailability offunding. From there, thesecretariat evaluated requests
todetermine questions ofcompetence andcapacity. Some popular programmes suchastheCustoms
ReformProgrammeandtheDebtManagementProgrammehadresultedinheavydemandbeyondcurrent
capacity. Thenextstage ofconsideration would leadtothedesign ofprojects based ongenerally
accepted guidelines toensure theywould beresponsive totheneeds ofbeneficiary countries andthe
secretariat 'scapacity.
51. Regarding financial participation bydeveloping countries, suchactivity tooktwoforms. First,
there havebeencontributions togeneral activities ofinterest tothese countries, including work on
theGeneral System ofPreferences, totheTrust Fund onInvestment andTransnational Corporations,
andonCompetitionPoliciesandRestrictiveBusinessPractices,etc.TheTrustFundestablishedrecently
inUNCTAD hadbenefited fromcontributions fromdeveloping countries, including India. Secondly,
proceeds usedbydeveloping countries from World Bank loans, orthose from theInter-American
Development Bank, Asian Development BankandtheAfrican Development Bank, hadledtofinancing
oftechnical cooperation. Programmes financed inthismanner include theASECUDA, theCustoms
Reform Programme, andtheDebtManagement Programme. Regarding therolling three-year plan,
hesaidthatUNCTAD hadfound theperiod toolengthy asthebeneficiaries understandably found it
difficult toindicate whattheirparticular requirements would bethatfarahead. Likewise, donors were
notalways inaposition toindicate thesupply side. Consequently, thefocus hasbeenonaone-year
exercise, while allowing forsome indications ofwhatthemainareas ofwork would beinthesecond
andthirdyears. Heagreed withthepoint made byTurkey about thecollaboration between bilateral
initiatives andregional initiatives, anareainwhich thesecretariat hadmuch experience andwasin
facthaving discussions atthemoment withtheEuropean Cooperation Organization. Onthequestion
raised byPeru, Argentina, andUganda, about work bytheUNCTAD inconnection withcompetition
policies, hesawthisasamatter ofinformation exchange andnoted thesecretariat wasindiscussion
withpotential donors tomobilize resources forseminars andworkshops. Heunderstood itwasincontact
withtheWTO onthismatter, which hadledtocooperation and,hopefully, itsparticipation inthese
meetings. Regarding trade efficiency, itwashisunderstanding thattheCTD would beundertaking
exploratory work inthisarea. Ithadalready requested UNCTAD toprovide theGeneral Council with
information regarding UNCTAD 'sactivities towards trade facilitation under itsTrade Efficiency
Programme.
52. Regarding themanagement oftechnical cooperation, thisinvolved closefusion between regular
work financed fromtheprogramme budget andtheoperational activities thatwerefinanced fromextra-
budgetaryresources,whichdrewuponanalyticalworkandcontributedtointergovernmentaldeliberations.WT/COMTD/M/14
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Themanagement implication wasthattheresponsibility fortheindividual programmes andprojects
wasplaced ineachofthefourdivisions oftheUNCTAD, together withgeneral, over-arching activities
related toLDCs, which wereunder theOffice oftheSpecial Coordinator. Logistical andadministrative
support wasprovided bytheAdministrative Service ofitsSecretariat. Asregards theallocation of
administrative costs, hesaidthateachproject undertaken earned support costs of13percentofthe
delivery oftheamount actually carried out.Those resources wereallocated tosupport functions, either
totheAdministrative Service centrally ortoward thedivisions.
53. TheChairman stressed thatacareful evaluation ofthemanagerial structure oftheUNCTAD
andtheWTO might beinorder toassure thatfocus wasmaintained towards theactivity. Hefeltthat
80to90percent ofthebudget should bespent ontheobjective, andnotaninordinate amount tosupport
bureaucracy.
54. Therepresentative ofITCagreed withUNCTAD inthatitwastooearly foracomprehensive
evaluation oftheIntegrated Programme forAfrica. Heexplained thatcurrently, theneeds analysis
reports prepared bycountries received feedback fromthethree organizations, andwerethenreturned
tothegovernments forconsideration before thefinalization oftheproject proposals andfunding. Thus
far,onlyonecountry hadreached thatstage butothers were close, which should result inabroad
implementation phase overthecoming months. Asregards thethree-year rolling medium-term plan,
hesaidtheITChadlaunched itsownplanandthiswasavaluable planning tool. Thefirstyearlaid
outacomprehensive annual operational planwhile thenexttwoevaluated output. Henoted thatseminars
hadrequested more product-specific approaches, suchasaddressing thebusiness implications ofthe
Uruguay Round Agreements. ITCwould focus onsuchareas more thisyear. Inaddition, ithad
conducted aninternal management review lastsummer which ledtohelpful recommendations now
being pursued, andanevaluation would takeplace laterintheyear.
55. Therepresentative oftheWTO Secretariat noted thedifferent views ofMembers regarding
cooperation, andsaidtheWTO wasmoving inthisdirection. Herecalled three major developments
within thelasteighteen months. First, periodic meetings hadbeeninitiated among theheads ofthe
three organisations andprovided aformal structure toadvance coordination. Second, theIntegrated
Programme forAfrica. Third, thesecretariats hadworked oncertain preparations forUNCTAD IX.
Regarding Morocco 'squestion oninternal management, most WTO divisions were involved with
technical cooperation duetotheirexpertise incertain areas. TheTechnical Cooperation andTraining
Divisionneverthelesswastheprimaryprovideroftechnicalassistance,anditliaisedwithotherdivisions.
TheManagement Committee along withtheDeputies andtheDirector-General allocated resources
byformula, emphasis, ormajor decisions ofapolicy nature. With regard toPeru’srequest, hesaid
theworking parties oninvestment andcompetition policy hadnotyetbeenestablished. However,
theSecretariat would provide technical assistance fromtheresponsible divisions wherever appropriate.
Discussion hadtaken place onthepossible extension oftheIntegrated Programme forAfrica tomore
LDCs. Since itwasamajor endeavour, thethreeorganizations wanted toproceed inathorough manner.
Noactivities were implemented without theconsent ofthethree secretariats. Heacknowledged the
concerns ofVenezuela, andsaidthattheintegrity ofservices toallother developing andtransition
economies would betaken seriously.
56. RegardingthequestionbyIndiaaboutexternalevaluation,hereferredtoNewZealand’sproposal
andsaidtheSecretariatwouldbeincludedintheprocess.Asforlong-termengagementandtheprovision
fortrainers,henotedthatintheguidelinesfortechnicalcooperation,developingcountrieswouldprovide
trainers when theyhadthehuman resources necessary, assupported bytheTraining forTrainers
Programme. Inregards tothetraining material, theSecretariat remained open toanysuggestions.
InthecaseoftheIntegrated Programme forAfrica, ataskforce hadbeenestablished toreview theWT/COMTD/M/14
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training material being used. Inreply toSwitzerland ’sconcerns about coordination, hesaidthatthe
Technical Cooperation andTraining Division wasthefocalpoint forcoordination among other bodies.
57. TheChairman welcomed theenriching discussion andstressed thattechnical cooperation was
demand-driven; itwastherefore necessary forallMembers tounderstand itandtheservices provided.
Herecalled hissuggestion atthelastCTD meeting thatamanual beprepared bythesecretariats of
thethree institutions thatwould explain thetechnical cooperation offered byeachinstitution andhow
toreceiveit.HeremindedtheMembersaboutthequestionnairesentoutregardingtechnicalcooperation,
andcitedasecond letter urging them torespond. Herequested theSecretariat toprepare amanual.
58. TheChairman recalled thatatthelastmeeting delegations hadagreed toreturn totheannual
review atthismeeting. TheSecretariat hadcirculated additional details inWT/COMTD/W/23.
59. TheSecretariat saidthedocument attempted toaddress theneeds expressed bycountries and
presented thedifferent types ofactivities ithadorganized. Thetwomainobjectives fortheassessment
oftechnical cooperation werederived fromtheguidelines. First, wastoassist inthefullintegration
ofbeneficiaries intothemultilateral trading system andcontribute totheirtradeexpansion. Secondly,
wastostrengthen andenhance institutional andhuman capacities inthepublic sector; afterconsultation
withgovernments, capacity building activities might include theprivate sector. These objectives were
based onWTO activities including themeetings oftheCTD, information gathered through seminars
andworkshops, andfact-finding missions. Missions fortheIntegrated Programme forAfrica helped
todetermine focalpoints, although therewassome difficulty because theinformation wasnotsufficient
todraw comprehensive conclusions. Section 3ofthedocument included replies andcomments based
onthequestionnaire. Also included were summaries ofinformation gathered from theIntegrated
Programme forAfrica andthrough fact-finding mission thatwecarried outinAsiaandtheAsia-Pacific
islands. There werecomments onthedifficulties encountered inimplementing obligations oftheTRIPS
Agreement. Thedocument noted areaswhere cooperation hadbeencarried outwithother international
organizations andindefining andapplying those programmes. Since theinformation wasincomplete,
general conclusions ontechnical assistance would bedifficult todraw atthistime.
60. Therepresentative ofIndiathanked theSecretariat forthedocument andasked forclarification
onthree points: first, inregards tofeedback ondataontrade inservices; second, hesuggested
coordination withITCtoassess theimpact oftheTechnical Cooperation Programme onSMEs; third,
heasked ifthere wasprovision inthebudget tooff-set thecharge forbasic documents being usedfor
thecourse onDispute Settlement Training fordeveloping countries.
61. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland welcomed thedocument, andfeltthecompilation under
Section 3anditsidentification ofneeds wasinnovative andvaluable. Hewould liketoallow room
forsome self-criticism orassessment ofareas ofimprovement andrequested itbenoted.
62. TherepresentativeofEgyptthankedtheSecretariatforthedocument,andrequestedanindication
ofsuccess stories; hefeltthesecould bemore easily replicated withlittlecost,suchastheTrade Policy
andtheDispute Settlement courses. Healsofeltitwould beuseful tohaveatechnical noteonhow
torequest technical cooperation, asitwasdemand driven.
63. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed torevert tothese twomatters
atthenextmeeting oftheCTD.WT/COMTD/M/14
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(iii) Agenda ItemD:Recommendation bytheWorking Group onNotification Obligations
andProcedures asEndorsed bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods
64. TheChairman saidthattheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, inaletter dated
28November1996,hadforwardedtherecommendationcontainedinparagraph79ofdocumentG/L/112
totheCTD forfurther consideration. Itrecommended thatactive consideration begiven tothe
development ofaspecial programme ofassistance todeveloping country Members, andparticularly
totheLDCs, toprovide more intensive technical assistance withthepossible participation ofother
organizations, tofocus onthedevelopment ofsystems andstructures required torespond tonotification
obligations.
(iv) Agenda ItemE:Observer Status forIntergovernmental Organizations
65. TheChairman recalled thattheGeneral Council, atitsmeeting on7February 1997, hadgranted
observer status tothose intergovernmental organizations, including theIMFandtheWorld Bank, which
hadadhocobserver status. Ithadinvited other WTO bodies toproceed inasimilar way. Accordingly,
heproposed thatthose intergovernmental organizations which hadbeengranted adhocobserver status
intheCTD begranted observer status. Document WT/COMTD/W/22 listed these organizations.
Hefurther proposed thatinformal consultations beheldonotherintergovernmental organizations which
hadrequested observer status. Itwassoagreed.
(v) Agenda ItemF:Election ofOfficers fortheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment
66. TheChairman recalled thattheChairman oftheGeneral Council hadheldconsultations on
theappointment ofofficers totakecharge ofthevarious standing bodies oftheWTO inaccordance
withtheestablished guidelines fortheappointment ofofficers. Atitsmeeting on7February 1997,
theGeneral Council hadapproved thenomination ofAmbassador Baichoo ofMauritius astheChairman
oftheCTD. TheCommittee confirmed theappointment ofAmbassador Baichoo byacclamation.
67. ThenewChairman saidhewould beguided bytheprinciple oftransparency andheencouraged
theparticipation ofalldelegations, regardless ofsize,inthedecision-making process. Hecongratulated
theAmbassador Herfkens onherselection asChairperson oftheSubcommittee onLDCs andlooked
forward tocollaborating closely withher.Heexpressed hisappreciation toAmbassador Benjelloun-
Touimi forhisguidance oftheCTD andhispersonal dedication inpromoting development issues in
theWTO.