WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
25 October 2012  
 
(12-5828) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Aid for Trade  
 
 
PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2012-2013  
AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME 
 
Background Note prepared by the Secretariat1 
 
Addendum 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This background note has been prepared to  update Members on the progress that has been 
made in implementation of the 2012-2013 Aid-for-T rade (AfT) Work Programme.  The note follows 
the structure of the Work Programme f ound in document WT/COMTD/AFT/W/30.  
2. The background note is not a comprehensive anal ysis of ongoing AfT actions.  It covers only 
the activities of international organizations whic h are in support of the implementation of the 
2012-2013 AfT Work Programme.2  Members are encouraged to complement this note by reporting 
on their activities at the Committee on Trade and Development's (CTD) 26th Session on Aid for Trade 
to be held on 7 November 2012.   
II. RESOURCE MOBILIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES 
3. The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund 
(IMF) took place in Tokyo, Japan on 9-15 October 2012.  The event centered around the meetings of 
the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee me eting and the IMF's International Monetary 
and Finance Committee.  Among the sessions held over the six-day meeting were:  a workshop on 
"Small and Medium Enterprise Finance:  Expe riences from Japan and Emerging Markets"; and 
seminars on "Developing Capacity: A Partnership fo r Sustainable Growth; "Women in the Private 
Sector: Good for Development and Business"; "ASE AN Dynamism:  Agricultural Transformation and 
Food Security2040"; "The Energy Challenge of Africa: Energy Infrastructure Development in Africa – Toward TICAD V in 2013"; and "Post-2015 Global De velopment Framework: Is there a Role for a 
Next Generation of Millennium Development Goals". 
4. World Bank President, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, shared his vision of the World Bank growing from 
a "knowledge Bank" to becoming a "solutions Bank"  that can work with partners and help to 
eliminate extreme poverty.  He outlined plans to change the Bank's develo pment strategy and the 
steps it will be taking to accelerate recent progress a nd work towards achieving this goal.  Noting that 
a "solutions Bank" will be much more focused on de livery, he identified four initial actions to speed 
the process: (i) establish a clear and measurable bottom line; (ii) strengthen implementation and 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. 
2 As such, the note omits many of the AfT activities of international organizations and excludes the 
activities of bilateral donors.   WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
Page 2  
 
  results;  (iii) provide clients with integrated solutions for maximum impact; and (iv) continue 
investing in data and analytic tools.
3 
5. The joint World Bank-IMF Development Comm ittee noted that the global economy remains 
vulnerable and that challenges persist in many de veloped economies, while growth is slowing in 
major emerging economies that have been important  sources of global economic dynamism in recent 
years.  The Committee reiterated its commitment to  take decisive action to promote growth and 
development, to continued support for an open global economy and to meeting its pledges of 
development assistance.  It also reaffirmed its co mmitment to achieving the Millennium Development 
Goals (MDGs) and encouraged the WBG to contribute actively to the post-2015 development framework. The Committee's communiqué can be found at 
http://www.imf.org/external/np/cm/2012/101312a.htm .  The Spring 2013 Meetings of the WBG and 
the IMF will take place in Washington, DC on 19 and 20 April 2013.   
6. The African Development Bank (AfDB) will hol d its 48th Annual meeting in Marrakech, 
Morocco on 27-31 May 2013.  Information about  the meeting will be made available at 
http://www.afdb.org.  
7. The 2012 African Economic Outlook (AEO) repor t was launched by the AfDB in Lilongwe, 
Malawi on 4 October 2012 at a workshop organi zed by the AfDB in collaboration with the 
United Nations Economic Commission for Afri ca (UNECA), the UN Development Programme 
(UNDP), and the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.  Among issues highlighted in the AEO 
was Africa's susceptibility to external shocks and the need for export diversification as well as the 
need for African countries to diversify their trading partners within and outside the continent.  The 
report also noted that pursuing deeper regional integration will improve the low levels of both 
intra-African and internal trade and help tackle infrastructure and energy gaps, and that stronger 
South-South cooperation should lead to ma rket and investment diversification.4  
8. The 8th African Development Forum (ADF VIII) w ill be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 
23-25 October 2012 with the theme "Governing a nd Harnessing Natural Resources for Africa's 
Development".  The Forum will bring together e xperts and management of the AfDB Group, Heads 
of State and Government, policymakers, developmen t partners, other UN agencies, intergovernmental 
and non-governmental organizations, academia, prac titioners, civil society organizations and the 
private sector, to discuss and initiate concrete strate gies for Africa's development. AfDB partners will 
also discuss its 2013-2022 Long-Term Strategy which envisages Africa's transf ormation into a stable, 
integrated and prospering continent.  
9. The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) organized 
an Aid-for-Trade Working Group Meeting in Abuj a, Nigeria on 9-11 October 2012.  Representatives 
of 11 ECOWAS member states attended, together with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), and repr esentatives of the donor community.  The meeting 
examined how to proceed in the elaboration of  an ECOWAS AfT strategy.  Discussions focused 
around a background paper which examined various op tions.  The meeting agreed to a roadmap which 
aims to have the ECOWAS AfT strategy agreed in  March 2013.  It was also agreed that the AfT 
strategy needs to be consistent with existing policy and strategy documents adopted by ECOWAS, 
                                                      
3 The full text of the st atement can be found at: 
"http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/10/12/remark s-world-bank-group-president-jim-yong-kim-annual-
meeting-plenary-session. "  
4 AfDB , et al. (2012), "Executive Summary", in African Economic Outlook 2012: Promoting Youth 
Employment , OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/aeo-2012-2-en.  
  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
 Page 3 
 
 
  ensure better coordination between regional and na tional levels, and assist in resource mobilization 
and monitoring. 
10. The Asian Development Bank (AsDB) will hold its 46th Annual Meeting in Delhi, India on 
2-5 May 2013.  With the theme "Development through Empowerment", discussions will focus on a range of topics related to economic and social progr ess for Asia and the Pacifi c.  The Asia Business 
Summit will, for the first time, be held in the margins of the Annual Meeting.  The Summit will 
provide an opportunity for Asian businessmen a nd policymakers to discuss and exchange views on 
matters related to economics, finance and public po licy both at the regional and global level.  Further 
information on the AsDB's activities and the Annual Meeting can be found at  http://www.adb.org and 
http://www.adbdelhi2013.gov.in , respectively.  
11. The Annual Meeting of the Board of Governor s and Business Forum of the European Bank 
for Reconstruction and Developmen t will take place in Istanbul, Tu rkey on 10 and 11 May 2013.  
Information about the meeting will be made available at http://www.ebrd.com/am.   
12. The 38th Annual meeting of the Islamic Devel opment Bank will be held in Dushanbe, 
Tajikistan on 18-22 May 2013.  Information a bout the meeting will be made available at 
http://www.isdb.org .  
13. The Inter-American Development Bank's (Ia DB) Regional Policy Dialogue Transport 
Network held its second meeting on 17 and 18 October 2012 with a focus on air transport.  
Established as a platform to promote a horizontal  exchange of informa tion, knowledge, experience 
and lessons learned and for collabor ation to address common challeng es faced by countries in Latin 
America and the Caribbean (LAC) in terms of transport infrastructure, the Network serves to provide 
policy advice on planning, design, implementation and operation of transport projects and to seek 
mechanisms to strengthen the institutional capacity  of regional actors.  More details about the 
Network can be found at http://events.iadb.org/calendar/ eventDetail.aspx?lang=En&id=3554.   
14. The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the IaDB Group, supports economic 
growth and poverty reduction in LAC by encourag ing increased private investment and advancing 
private sector development. The MIF and the Nordic Development Fund co-finance a US$7 million 
regional programme – EcoMicro – which provides technical assistance to LAC micro-finance institutions (MFIs) to help them develop green financial products and re duce vulnerability to the 
effects of climate change. The first four MFIs to receive technical assistance – Bolivia, Mexico, 
Nicaragua, and Peru – were announced at a recently -held meeting of Foromic, the region's leading 
event for supporting and financing microenterprises, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 
small farmers.  More information about the EcoMicro programme can be found at 
http://www.ndf.fi/fileadmin/resources/doc uments/EcoMicro_Instructions.pdf.   
15. A National Workshop on "Aid for Trade: Stre ngthening Public-Private Co-operation" was 
held in Lima, Peru on 24 September 2012.  Organized  jointly by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign 
Trade and Tourism and the IaDB, the Workshop  had as its two main themes public-private 
partnership (PPP) and preparations for the 4th Global Review of Aid for Trade (4GR).  Presentations 
included by the WTO on the global picture of Aid fo r Trade, the private sector focus of the 4GR and 
aim of the 2013 AfT monitoring and evaluation (M &E) exercise, by the IaDB on aid flows to the 
LAC region, and by Peru's largest private sector organization, Peru-Comex, on the key conclusions of 
an AfT assessment it had been commissioned to do by the International Centre for Trade and 
Sustainable Development (ICTSD). 
16. The IaDB will hold its 54th Annual Meeting in Panama City , Panama, on 14-18 March 2013.  
Information about the meeting will be made available at http://www.iadb.org.   WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
Page 4  
 
  17. An African Regional Workshop on Export Dive rsification, Trade Facilitation and Aid for 
Trade, was organized by UNECA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 5-7 September 2012.  With a view to boosting intra-African trade as its objective, th e Workshop brought together African trade experts 
as well as representatives from Regional Economic  Communities (RECs) and Transport Corridor 
Management Authorities to discuss the issue of expor t diversification and constraints to trade in 
Africa, and the importance of trade facilitation measur es for intra-African trade.  Presentations were 
made by the Organisation for Economic Co-ope ration and Development (OECD) and the WTO on 
Aid for Trade, including in particular on AfT flows and the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) exercise for the 4GR.  The two organizations also  facilitated break-out sessions on Aid for Trade and 
global value chains.  A final session, devoted to discussions on tools and data for modelling trade 
policy, included a presentation of an analysis by  UNECA on measuring the effects of the Continental 
Free Trade Area (CFTA) for Africa by 2017.  More information on the Workshop can be found at http://new.uneca.org/TabId/3018/ Default.aspx?ArticleId=1932 .  
18. The Second African Trade Forum (ATF-II), orga nized by UNECA in collaboration with the 
AfDB and the African Union (AU) Commissi on, took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 
24-26 September 2012.  Organized under the theme "Boosting Intra-African Trade and Establishing 
the Continental Free Trade Area", the Forum provide d a platform for policy dialogue between various 
constituencies – including policymakers and high-leve l government officials, representatives from the 
private sector and civil society, development partne rs, RECs, and corridor management institutions – 
to discuss and agree on common approaches and strategies for implementation of the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-African Trade and the establishment of the CFTA.  Specific objectives of the Forum 
included to review key challenges in implementin g the Action Plan and establishing the CFTA, to 
deliberate and agree on an implementation strategy, and to discuss and agree on specific inputs to the 
AU Joint Conference of African Ministers of Agricu lture and Ministers of Trade to be held from 
29 October-2 November 2012.  The Forum concl uded with several key recommendations aimed at 
addressing some of the major obstacles to boosting in tra-African trade in the areas of investment 
finance, enhancing productive capacity and im proving industrial performance, enhancing trade 
facilitation, infrastructure for trade, and the establis hment of the CFTA.  Further information can be 
found at http://new.uneca.org/atf2012/home_atf.aspx .  
19. The United Nations Conference on Trade a nd Development (UNCTAD) held its 59th Trade 
and Development (T&D) Board meeting on 17-28  September 2012.  Key items on the agenda 
included a high-level discussion on "Growth with jobs  for poverty reduction:  What can Africa learn 
from other regions", UNCTAD's contribution to th e implementation of the Istanbul Programme of 
Action for Least-Developed Countries (LDCs), and a discussion on "Economic development in Africa: Structural transformation and sustainable development in Africa".  In his keynote speech, WTO Director-General described the rise of global va lue chains and stressed that the growing trade in 
tasks, and the rising import share in exports, mean t that traditional approaches to trade promotion 
needed to be updated.  He also highlighted how Aid for Trade could assist countries in connecting to 
value chains and world markets.  UNCTAD announ ced the establishment of a Forum on Trade and 
the Green Economy the aim of which will be to pr ovide a platform for governments to discuss the 
trade consequences of their environmental policie s.  The Forum will meet twice a year, starting 
December 2012, and a panel of experts will suggest  solutions.  Further information on the T&D Board 
meeting can be found on UNCTAD's website at http://www.unctad.org .   
20. The AU Joint Conference of African Ministers of  Agriculture and Ministers of Trade will be 
held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 29 October-2 November 2012.  With the theme "Boosting Intra-African Trade: A Key to Agricultural Transformation and Ensuring Food and Nutrition 
Security", the Conference will review progress on implementation of agriculture and trade 
development initiatives and revisit efforts from the two sectors that impact on intra-African trade, 
agricultural transformation and achievement of food security in the African continent.  The 
Conference will also review and agree on a short- and medium-term action-oriented strategy towards  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
 Page 5 
 
 
  realizing the AU vision of promoting intra-African  trade and its impact on attaining agricultural 
transformation as well as a food and nutrition secured Africa.  More information about the Conference 
can be found at http://www.africa-union.org.   
21. A Conference entitled "Tapping into Intern ational Value Chains: Opportunities and 
Challenges for Latin America" will be held in San José, Costa Rica on 31 October-1 November 2012.  
Hosted by the Government of Costa Rica, in coopera tion with the IaDB and OECD, this third event of 
the LAC-OECD Investment Initia tive will promote a dialogue on international value chains and 
explore what governments can do to maximize th e economic and development benefits these can 
generate.  The aim of the conference is to iden tify practical policy options in the formulation of 
governments' investment promotion strategies with  a specific focus on international value chains. 
Further information on the Conference can be found on the OECD website at 
http://www.oecd.org/d af/investment/lac.   
III. MAINSTREAMING  
22. Since the CTD-AfT meeting held in July 2012, Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs) that have taken 
place include for Singapore, Korea, Norway, Bangladesh, and Israel. 
23. The TPR of Singapore took place on 24 and 26 July 2012.  At the meeting, Singapore's active 
support for the Aid-for-Trade Initiative was commended . In the documents prepared for the Review, 
reference is made to Singapore's commitments to e ngaging with its multilateral, regional and bilateral 
trading partners to achieve its trade policy goals of expanding the economic space for Singapore-based companies, seeking a fair and pred ictable international trading environment, and 
minimizing impediments to the flow of imports.  Al so referenced is the Secure Trade Partnership 
Programme, a voluntary scheme Singapore has run since 2007 under which companies commit to 
adopting enhanced security measures in their trading operations r esulting in time-saving benefits at 
the border.  Singapore continues to pursue trad e liberalization through bilateral and regional 
agreements with a network to date of 18 agreements  covering 24 trading partners, mostly within the 
Asia-Pacific region.  
24. Together with its ASEAN partners, Singapore is  also continuing work towards achieving an 
ASEAN Community by 2015 through steps such as the 2010 ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and 
the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement wh ich should enter into force in 2012.  While not 
referred to in the TPR documents, but of relevan ce to Aid for Trade, is the Singapore Cooperation 
Programme (SCP).  Established in 1992, the SC P serves as the primary platform through which 
Singapore offers technical assistance to other coun tries to share its developmental experience and 
knowledge.  
25. The TPR of Korea was held on 19 and 21 Sept ember 2012.  While the documents prepared 
for the Review do not include a section on Aid for Trade, per se, reference is made to the steps that 
Korea has taken to facilitate trade and promot e green technology and to Korea's World's Best 
Customs 2012 Plan.  Implementation directives of the Plan include cooperating with the private sector 
for governance-based customs administrating and re-a ligning customs procedures, practices, rule and 
regulations with intern ational standards.  
26. Korea has recently launched a New Development Partnership with the Private Sector which 
aims to strengthen Korea's contribution to sustai nable development around the world.  Led by the 
Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Partnership aims to provide a platform for Korean WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
Page 6  
 
  stakeholders to discuss ways in which they can better utilize PPPs in support of the Korean 
Government's official development assistance.
5 
27. The TPR of Norway took place on 9 and 11 Oct ober 2012.  At the meeting, appreciation was 
expressed for Norway's longstanding commitment to  a strong multilateral trading system, its Action 
Plan for trade-related development assistance, and generous donations to Aid for Trade.  In his 
opening statement, Norway's Deputy Director-Gen eral of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
Mr. Dagfinn Sørli, noted that the priorities of Norway's Action Plan6, which had been in place since 
2007, were support for good governance, women and tr ade, and regional trade, with a focus on LDCs 
and other low-income countries (LICs).  He inform ed that an independent evaluation of the Action 
Plan had been carried out, the main points of wh ich had been presented at the CTD-AfT meeting in 
July 2012.7  
28. He said that Norway was currently in the pr ocess of formulating the next generation of the 
Action Plan which it hoped to begin implementing in  2013.  In the broader context of development 
cooperation Norway focuses on stimulating growth and investment in LDCs and LICs through a 
variety of programmes, including the provision of investment capital, risk alleviation and grants. 
29. The TPR of Bangladesh took place on 15 and 17 October 2012.  The AfT section of the 
documents prepared for the Review notes that the AfT needs of Bangladesh are mainly threefold: 
broad infrastructure, including deficient energy su pply and poor road transport, requiring massive 
investment; sector-specific interventions to enhance their competitiveness; and human and 
institutional strengthening, including WTO-capacity bui lding to gain expertise to deal with WTO 
rules and disciplines.  The three pre-dominant deve lopment partners present in Bangladesh include the 
World Bank, the AsDB and Japan which, together , account for 65 per cent of external assistance.  
Bangladesh attaches special importance to PPP project s and has made instituti onal arrangements to 
facilitate implementation of such projects. 
30. Export diversification and improved competitiven ess of the private sector are essential for 
Bangladesh to further integrate into global trade.  Export diversification is the focus of both the 
"Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010-2021: Making Vision 2021 a Reality" as well as its Sixth 
Five-Year Plan which gives priority to several emerging export sectors such as, inter alia , 
agro-products and agro-processing products, light engineering products, footwear and leather 
products, pharmaceutical products, and software an d ICT products.  Bangladesh joined the EIF in 
2009 and its Diagnostic Trade Integr ation Study is expected to be completed by December 2012.  
31. The TPR of Israel will take place on 30 Octobe r and 1 November 2012.  Documents prepared 
for the Review do not cite Aid for Trade directly .  While not referenced in the TPR documents, 
Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV8) focuses on human capacity 
building and training with the aim of sharing with other developing countries the know-how and 
innovative technologies which have provided the basis for Israel's own rapid development.  Since its 
establishment in 1957, MASHAV h as trained almost 270,000 course pa rticipants from approximately 
132 countries and has developed demonstration project s worldwide.  Operatin g in the framework of 
the MDGs, MASHAV's priority focus is on poverty alleviation, provision of food security, women 
empowerment, and upgrading of basi c health and education services. 
32. Forthcoming TPR meetings likely to be held  before the next CTD-AfT session include 
Iceland (13 and 15 November 2012), the East Afri can Community – for Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, 
                                                      
5 http://www.unglobalcompact.org/news/253-08-13-2012 .  
6 http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/UD/Ve dlegg/Utvikling/aidfortrade_e.pdf .  
7 See WT/COMTD/AFT/M/25. 
8 http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/missionhome.asp?MissionID=16210& .   WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Burundi and Rwanda (21 and 23 November 2012), Nicaragua (4 and 6 December 2012), and the 
United States (18 and 20 December 2012). 
33. The Secretariat and UNDP have launched a p ilot programme to support to EIF countries' 
efforts to mainstream trade in national development policies.  Mainstreaming trade can be defined as 
the process of integrating trade into national an d sectoral development planning, policy-making, 
implementation and review in a coherent and stra tegic manner.  This implies taking trade-related 
issues into account in planning and executing broader development objectives.  It further entails using 
trade proactively to attain specific national devel opment goals, including p overty reduction.  Based on 
an in-depth assessment and review of a number of 14 case studies of countries at different stages of 
development, UNDP has developed an approach based on mainstreaming trade on three levels – 
policy, institutional, and internati onal cooperation.  This analytical approach provides a platform for 
robust policy and institutional reform and for the im plementation of actions that can be monitored 
over time. 
34. The pilot programme involved originally th ree countries:  Burkina Faso, Vanuatu and 
Zambia.  In June 2012, Cambodia was to be include d in this pilot phase.  Support was provided to 
Vanuatu in 2011 and to Cambodia and Burkina Faso in  2012; Zambia will follow later in 2012.  The 
exercise in Vanuatu led to the adoption of a ma instreaming roadmap and an action matrix with 
recommendations at each level of mainstreaming.   The roadmap includes provisions for regular 
review.  The work in Cambodia led to the deve lopment of a generation of mainstreaming trade 
strategies that build on the success of the country  in integrating trade in national development 
strategies and in establishing a trade sector wide appr oach (SWAp).  It is expected that the main 
recommendations for responding to the emerging issu es for mainstreaming trade will be followed up 
through the Cambodia Trade Integration Strategy  update, the revised Trade SWAp and the next 
National Strategic Development Plan  (NSDP) be launched in 2013.  
35. The trade mainstreaming module in Burkina Faso led to the adoption of a roadmap with a set 
of recommendations under each level of mainstream ing which builds upon significant progress made 
by the country in recent years.  The roadmap seek s in particular to strengthen the capacity of the 
Ministry for Industry, Trade and Handicrafts to lead the implementation of the sectoral policy on 
industry, trade and handicraft adopted in 2011 and its plan of action.  The Ministry's leadership is essential in facilitating the newly-established sectoral framework of consultations on trade (cadres 
sectoriels de consultation) in the context of th e implementation of Burkina Faso's strategy for 
accelerated growth and sustainable developmen t (SCADD 2011-2015).  It also foresees the 
establishment of a network of trade focal points in critical departments as a means to build expertise 
in the administration able to more effectively ma instreaming trade sustained.  The network will be 
nurtured by partnerships with national universiti es and knowledge centres already active in the field 
of trade, development and poverty reduction.  An advi sory mission is to be fielded in Zambia by the 
end of October 2012 in order to complete the assi gnment.  Based on the experience gained, UNDP, in 
coordination with the EIF Secretariat and partner ag encies, is ready to provide a tailored module to 
LDCs that are facing the challenge of mainstreami ng trade.  Further information on the EIF's activities 
can be found at www.enhancedif.org . 
IV. PRIVATE SECTOR 
36. The 2012 edition of the International Trade Ce ntre's (ITC) World Export Development Forum 
(WEDF) was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 15-17 October 2012 with the theme "Linking Growth 
Markets: New Dynamics in Global Trade".  Th e event provided a forum dedicated to supporting 
export-led development, and brought  together policymakers, trade support institutions and businesses, 
offering an issue-focused platform for them to gain practical understanding in export competiveness, 
within a framework of Aid for Trade and trade-rela ted technical assistance.  At the event's opening 
session, the Indonesian President, Susilo Bamb ang Yudhoyono, highlighted  the importance of WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
Page 8  
 
  South-South economic cooperation to  weather the impact of slower growth in advanced economies 
and noted that it had become clear that the driver s of global economic growth were to be increasingly 
found in the growth markets of the South.  He said that the realignment should be part of a much broader, longer-term and structural change in the global economy.  
37. Plenary sessions included, inter alia , on: "The Growth Markets' Potential: What their 
Emergence means for the Future"; "Paving the way for Trade: Hard and Soft Infrastructure Necessary 
for Enhancing Interregional and Intra-regional Trade"; "Improving Commodity Supply chains for 
Greater Regional and Global Food Security"; "Growing Value – Meeting the Demands of New consumer Markets while Strengthening Local Va lue Addition"; and "Financing Trade between 
Emerging Markets".  A number of parallel sessions were also held, including on infrastructure 
investment and trade facilitation, on commodities, and on local value addition.  
38. At WEDF, ITC presented a report on "Africa's Trade Potential: Export Opportunities in 
Growth Markets'" which examines how sub-Sahara n Africa can achieve greater sustainability in 
export revenues by increasing its exports to growth mark ets in Asia and Africa, and at the same time 
integrating deeper into value-chains, increasing the share of semi-processed and processed goods.  It 
announced the findings of a major analysis of sub-Sa haran Africa's trade potential, which shows that 
the region could boost its annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by US$15 billion if time spent in 
customs clearance is cut by 50 per cent.  Anothe r US$20 billion could be added to the economies of 
sub-Saharan Africa each year by  improving transport infrastructure, thereby getting goods to port in 
half the time it currently takes.  If both sets of ch anges were implemented, the combined effect would 
be even larger.  The paper identifies strategic op tions and policies for sub-Saharan African countries 
to maximise their trade-related growth up to 2025.  It argues that this can be achieved by tapping into 
growth markets in Asia and Africa through invest ments in trade-related infrastructure and trade 
facilitation in Africa itself.  Further information about the meeting and the report can be found at 
http://www.intracen.org . 
39. In July 2012, the IaDB circulated a communi cation in which it describes its trade-related 
private sector activities.  Support includes, for exam ple, through the development of an analytical 
study on the experience of various LAC countries that identifies and examines key challenges and problems faced in implementing and administering FTAs; the organization of trade facilitation workshops; public-private programmes to finance and develop internationalization plans for SMEs; 
the holding of trade and investment business summ its which aim to expand and strengthen the 
commercial and investment ties within the region; assi stance to help LAC countries create tailor made 
export promotion and investment attraction strate gies; and the design of national strategies for 
promoting service exports in various LAC countries.
9   
V. MONITORING AND EVALUATION  OF IMPLEMENTATION AND 
DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS 
40. The OECD provided an overview of the 2010 AfT flows at the CTD-AfT session held on 
14 May 2012 and noted that total donor commitment s for Aid for Trade had reached US$45.3 billion 
– an 80 per cent increase in real  terms over the 2002-2005 baseline.  As in previous years, the 
information provided was based on data supplied to the OECD Creditor Reporting System (CRS).10  
A document – "Aid for Trade in 2010: Continue d Growth, Modest Outlook" – has since been 
circulated to Members in WT/COMTD/AFT/W/ 36 which provides a detailed presentation and 
analysis of the 2010 AfT figures. 
                                                      
9 WT/COMTD/AFT/W/35. 
10 For an explanation of how Aid for Trade is  measured, please refer to the OECD website: 
http://www.oecd.org/document/21/0,3343,en_2649_34665_43230357_1_1_1_1,00.html.   WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
 Page 9 
 
 
  41. The OECD will hold a Policy Dialogue on Aid for Trade in Paris, France on 
16 and 17 January 2013.  The Policy Dialogue will fo cus on value chain research, regional approaches 
and results of county-based research on managing for development results (MfDR) in Bangladesh, 
Colombia, Ghana, Rwanda and the Solomon Islands. Br inging together a wide range of stakeholders – 
including policymakers, academics, and private sector and civil society representatives – from 
developing and developed countries, including the providers of South-South cooperation, the Policy 
Dialogue will discuss key challenges in the implem entation of the Aid-for-Trade Initiative. Sessions 
will include on "How to Manage Aid for Trade an d Development Results", "How to Identify and 
Prioritize Trade-Related Binding Constraints", "How to Reduce the Thickness of Borders", "How to 
Promote Regional Aid for Trade", "How to Adapt to Changing Production Patters", "How to Engage 
with the Private Sector", and "Where Next with Ai d for Trade".  More details about the meeting will 
be provided by the OECD at the 7 November CTD-AfT meeting. Information on OECD's activities can be found at http://www.oecd.org   
42. Preparations are under way for the 4th Global Review of Aid for Trade which will be held 
from 8-10 July 2013.  The title and main theme of the Review are "Connecting to Value Chains" and 
focus will be on how Aid for Trade can assist in connecting firms to regional, global and South-South 
value chains. Underpinning the Global Review is  the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) exercise.  
Discussion at the 4GR will be informed by monitori ng of AfT flows, the responses to self-assessment 
questionnaires, country factsheets (which will be dynamic and based on tracking disbursements and 
other indicators over time), and reports by Member s, multilateral development banks, agencies, etc. 
(i.e. research to deepen the 2011 case story an alysis as well as other relevant messages).  
Self-assessment questionnaires have been dissemina ted electronically to partner countries, donors, 
South-South partners. Further work is on-going on questionnaires which will be circulated to the 
private sector.  The deadline for submission of co mpleted questionnaires is 31 December 2012.   
43. A further regionally focused monitoring exer cise led by the AU Commission and UNECA, in 
collaboration with the AfDB, OECD and the WTO, is  being launched at the AU Ministerial meeting 
on 1-2 November 2012.  The exercise is being ca rried out in support of the AU Action Plan on 
Boosting Intra-African Trade.  
44. A Joint meeting of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the Working 
Party of the Trade Committee on Aid for Trade was held in Paris, France on 
10 and 11 September 2012.  The meeting consider ed a number of AfT-related issues including, 
inter alia , plans for the joint OECD-WTO M&E exercise for the 4GR, a profile of 2010 AfT flows, an 
OECD desk review of India's AfT activities, in pa rticular its trade-relate d South-South cooperation, 
and updates on recent AfT evaluations by the Oversea s Development Institute and Japan.  A half-day 
session devoted to Agriculture and Aid for Trade wa s also held. Further information on the meeting 
can be found at "http://www.oecd.org/dac/aidfortrade/jointmee tingofthedacandworkingpartyofthetradecommitteesept2
012.htm. "  
45. A Workshop on "Aid for Trade and Intellect ual Property" will be held at the WTO 
headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 5 November 201 2.  The aim of the Workshop is to highlight 
the interconnectedness between inte llectual property (IP), trade and development.  The Workshop will 
be divided into two sessions with discussions focuss ing on the concepts and approaches to Aid for 
Trade, IP and development, and on practical experiences and best practises shared by international 
organizations and the private sector.  A background note prepared by the WTO Secretariat will be 
circulated in advance of the Workshop.  Further information can be found at http://www.wto.org .  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/32/Add.3 
Page 10  
 
  46. An event entitled "The Future of  Aid for Trade", jointly organized by the ICTSD and Finland, 
in collaboration with the Overseas Development Ins titute, the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics 
and Environment, and the World Bank, will be held  at the WTO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland 
on 22 and 23 November 2012.  More information about the event will be made available on the 
ICTSD website at http://www.ictsd.org.   
_________