RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/W/26/Rev.2/Suppl.1
12November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4963)
Original: English Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Eighteenth Session
17November 1997
MANUAL ONTECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING
Attached isasupplement totheManual onTechnical Cooperation and Training,
WT/COMTD/W/26/Rev.2, updating information contained inBox3ofthatdocument relating toSpecific
Activities forLeast-Developed Countries. Ittakes intoaccount theoutcome oftheHigh-Level Meeting
forLeast-Developed Countries, which tookplace 27-28 October 1997.
./.WT/COMTD/W/26/Rev.2/Suppl.1
Page2
Box3
Specific Activities forLeast-Developed Countries
Singapore Ministerial Conference:
Inorder tofacilitate thefullparticipation ofleast-developed countries inthefirstMinisterial Conference,
held inSingapore inDecember 1996, anumber oftechnical cooperation activities were organized
including:
- abriefing session ontheWTO Multilateral Trading System forEurope-based ambassadors of
least-developed countries atWTO headquarters inSeptember 1996;
- aMeeting oftheMinisters andsenior officials from 29least-developed countries inNovember,
alsoattheWTO headquarters inGeneva. These events were made possible through special
voluntary contributions bydeveloped country Members.
High-Level Meeting
Onrecommendation oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment (CTD) through theGeneral Council,
WTO Ministers atSingapore agreed to"organize ameeting with UNCTAD andtheITCassoon as
possible in1997, with theparticipation ofaidagencies, multilateral financial institutions andleast-
developed countries tofoster anintegrated approach toassisting these countries inenhancing theirtrading
opportunities".
This High-Level Meeting onIntegrated Initiatives forLeast-Developed Countries 'Trade Development
took place inGeneva 27-28 October 1997 and included theactive participation ofother international
organizations (UNCTAD, ITC, theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), theWorld Bank andUNDP).
Invitations were extended toall48least-developed countries, whether WTO Members ornot.Inaddition
toproviding anopportunity toimprove market access, themeeting focused ontechnical assistance to
support Least-Developed Countries intheir trade andtrade-related activities. Roundtable presentations
were held for12countries (Bangladesh, Chad, Djibouti, Haiti, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal,
Tanzania, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia).
These roundtables were pilot cases andrepresented thestart ofaprocess where theIntegrated
Framework forTrade-Related Technical Assistance willbeapplied onacountry specific basis toother
least-developed countries thatexpress aninterest inparticipating inthisexercise. This framework was
endorsed bytheHigh Level Meeting andbuilds upon theexperience ofrelated programmes currently
being undertaken bythesixinstitutions involved.
Integrated WTO/UNCTAD/ITC Technical Assistance Programme
Prior totheHigh-Level Meeting anIntegrated WTO/UNCTAD/ITC Technical Assistance Programme for
Selected Least-Developed andOther African Countries wasadopted inMay 1996. Itresponds tothe
urgent need ofleast-developed andother African countries tobeassisted intheexpansion and
diversification oftheir trade andintheprocess oftheir integration intothemultilateral trading system,
andtodemands bythemembership forimproved coordination andcooperation among thethree
organizations, inorder toboth maximize theeffectiveness oftheoverall results andtoimprove the
utilization ofavailable resources. Thisprogramme currently covers eight developing countries, ofwhich
four areleast-developed. Thecountries selected are: Bénin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana,
Kenya,Tanzania, Tunisia andUganda. Theprogramme willbedirectly subsumed bytheIntegrated
Framework approach adopted attheHigh-Level Meeting forLeast-Developed Countries.