REST RICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/AFT/M/40  
 
11 September 2017  
(17-4789) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Fortieth Session on Aid for Trade    
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 31 MAY 2017  
Chairperson: H.E. Mr Taonga Mushayavanhu (Zimbabwe)  
Contents  
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
B. IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E 2016 -2017 AID -FOR-TRADE WORK 
PROGRAMME  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
I. Resource Mobilization and Implementation Activities  ................................ ......................  1 
II. Mainstreaming  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  2 
III. Regional Dimension  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 3 
IV. Private Sector  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  4 
V. Monitoring and Evaluation of Implementation and Development Ef fectiveness  ...................  4 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 5 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA 
1. The Agenda, as circulated in WTO/AIR/ COMTD/AFT/ 8, was adopted  with an amend ment to 
item B to reflect  the removal of the sub -item on the "Report on the joint meeting of the OECD 
Development Assistance Committee and the Working Party of the Trade Committee on Aid for 
Trade held on 9 M ay 2017".   
B. IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E 201 6-2017 AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
2. The Secretariat  gave an update on its preparations for the Aid for Trade Global Review 2017 
(AfTGR17).  It provided  information on the structure of the agenda , the cross -cutting themes and 
issues, participation by Ministers and Head s of Organizations, and the reports to be launched at 
the event, including the joint OECD -WTO Aid for Trade at a Glance publication and reports by 
regional development banks and the  UNECA.  
3. The representative of Cambodia , on behalf of the LDC Group , congrat ulated the Chair on his 
election  as the new Chair of the Committee on Trade and Development. The Group further 
welcomed the report and update by the Secretariat on its preparations towards the AfTGR17. 
Cambodia informed Members that its Minister would be a ttending the AfTGR17.  
I. Resource Mobilization and Implementation Activities  
4. The World Bank Group R epresentative  updated M embers on the Spring meeting s of the 
International Monetary Fund  (IMF)  and World Bank Group (WBG)  held on 21 -23 April 2017. The 
WBG had launched an Umbrella F acility  for Trade  which ha d received US$48 million in pledges 
from donors , including  Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom , and Norway. The Umbrella 
Facility  focuse d on providing assistance on the core areas of the Bank's work on tra de and 
competitiveness, diversification, facilitation of trade, transport logistics, trade finance, support for WT/COMTD/AFT/M/40  
 
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  market access and engagement in international negotiations , managing shocks and promoting 
inclusion . He further flagged two recent reports for M embers to note. These were: "Reaping Digital 
Dividends: Leveraging the Internet for Development in Europe and Central Asia " and "Better 
Neighbors: Toward a Renewal of Economic Integration in Latin America ". He informed M embers of 
a joint event that would be co-hosted with the WTO on 14 July 2017 . Its objective was to address 
the challenges and opportunities arising fr om ongoing efforts to implement the WTO’s Trade 
Facilitation Ag reement (TFA) and the role that targeted Aid for Trade  can play in addressing 
various resource and capacity constraints.   
5. The representative of Cambodia , on behalf of the LDC Group , highlighte d that Aid for Trade 
is an important initiative for developin g and least developed countries ' trade capacity building, 
skills development and  enhancing productive capacity . He noted the negative trend in both 
bilateral and multilateral donor commitmen ts wi tnessed in the recent past . He further 
acknowledge d the efforts of the Secretariat to ensur e the optimal utilization of available resources.  
With regard to implementation , he stated that there was no doubt that effective implementation of 
Aid-for-Trade (AfT) resources would bring about lasting impact on beneficiary countries. He added 
that r ecent reviews undertaken by various organi zations reveal ed deficiencies in the growth 
attained by most developing and least developed countries which had failed to trans late to real 
impacts on poverty, employment creation and overall development. He said that the Group was of 
the view that real impact c ould only be attained if AfT initiatives had adequate  resources , and were 
sequenced and implemented according to national  and/or regional priority needs.  
II. Mainstreaming  
6. The Chair noted that since the last CTD meeting, Belize, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique , 
Sierra  Leone, Switzerland and Liechtenstein  had completed  trade policy reviews  (TPRs) . He offered 
these  Members the opportuni ty to share with the Committee any AfT elements related  to their 
TPR. Japan, Mexico, and Switzerland made statements under this item.  
7. The representative of Japan  noted that Japan  had undertaken its TPR on 8 and 
10 March  2017. He highlighted Japan's  strong  support for  Aid for Trade and reiterated Japan's  
commitment to actively  implement  trade-related capacity building activities for developing 
countries. He noted  that Japan had provid ed approximately US$11.8 billion in 2015.  He highlighted  
the "Nhat Tan Bri dge" in Viet  Nam, constructed in 2015 , as an example  of Japan ’s AfT support . 
This support to developing countries include d the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African 
Development (TICAD VI) held  in August  2016 in Nairobi . Japan had made economic di versification 
and industrialization  a priority in its development assistance to Africa . Consistent with the results 
of the conference, the representative of Japan recalled that his Government had announced  that it 
would invest approximately US$30 billion. This support would be  directed towards d eveloping 
quality infrastructure. At TICAD V I, Japan also announced the launch of the "Japan -Africa 
Public -Private Economic Forum " geared towards  promoting  a business friendly environment in 
Africa.  In addition, he highlighted that his Government place d high priority on assisting the 
implementation of the TFA in developing countries. Japan was providing support for international 
harmonization and simplification efforts on customs procedures in cooperation with relevan t 
international organizations such as the World Customs Organization (WCO).  
8. The representative of Switzerland  provided  an overview on its AfT activities  as part of its  
6th TPR that was held on 16 and 18 May 2017.  As part of its inputs  for the TPR,  the Swi ss 
Government had summarized its engagement towards  the integration of developing countr ies into 
the global economy, and  stated that  this has been part of Switzerland's foreign economic strategy 
since 2007 . He recalled that i n December 2015, Switzerland had renewed its commitment to the 
Enhanced Integrated Framework  (EIF). Switzerland contribute d to the World Bank's Trade 
Facilitation Support Programme, and work ed with United Nations Industrial Development 
Organization  (UNIDO)  to support SMEs' ability to co mply with international standards. Switzerland 
also remain ed a donor of the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL) and partner of the 
International Labour Organization (ILO) in promoting compliance with core labour standards, 
particularly in the textiles sector , and support ed SMEs through the Sustaining Competitive and 
Responsible Enterprises Programme (SCORE). In partner countries, Switzerland support ed the 
International Trade Centre 's (ITC)  work on in-country building of export know -how (e.g. on quality 
requir ements, product labelling and border procedures) and also assist ed trade support 
organizations  in facilitating SME exports to Switzerland and other European markets. Switzerland 
had also  supported  investment climate programmes in 20 countries, in cooperati on with the WT/COMTD/AFT/M/40  
 
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  International Finance Corporation.  He noted that the Swiss G overnment was mindful of the strong 
need to make trade work for developing countries, in particular LDCs, and believe d that trade ha d 
to play an important role in addressing the Sustai nable Development Goals  (SDGs) as reflected in 
the 2030 Agenda  for Sustainable Development . 
9. The representative of Mexico  provided an overview of its AfT activities as part of its 6th TPR 
on 5 and 7 April  2017. He noted that d uring the period under review ( 2012-2016), various Mexican 
custo ms officials had received training o n customs affairs  from the United States, France, Portugal, 
Spain,  Japan , the W CO, and the Inter -American Development Bank  (IADB) . Mexico's  customs 
authorities  had also offered technical assistance to officials from Bolivia and Guatemala. The 
representative of Mexico further highlighted that Mexico was contributing  to financing 
infrastructure in other countries through the Mesoamerican Fund, also known as "Fund Yucatan". 
He added that i n the past five years, this Fund  had focused on physical infrastructure  projects , 
including the construction, repair, and modernization of bridges and ports in Belize, Costa  Rica, 
Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. In 2016,  Mexican customs had received financial 
assistance for non-intrusive cargo inspection to improve the safety at borders. The European  Union 
also organized a seminar  in Mexico on border measures on  intellectual property, which also  
featured the participation of attendees from Beliz e, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 
Nicaragua, and Panama. He further stated that t he Mexican Cooperation Agency f or Development , 
better known as AMEXCID , and the Service o f Tax Administration , should continue to work closely 
with the US Agenc y for I nternational Development  on triangular projects on trade facilitation.  
10. The representative  of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)  updated M embers on its 
activities and the plans for  improvements introduced under  the EIF Phase Two that will run until 
2022.  Four regional capacity -building workshops had been held in the P acific, Asia, Anglophone 
African LDCs and Yemen, Francophone and Lusophone LDCs and Haiti. These workshops  had been 
designed to acquaint countries with the  changes introduced in Phas e Two and enhance their 
capacity to implement the programme. Concerning  the EIF Trust Fund, he stated that although 
there was a shortfall in pledges of some US$90 million against the amount budgeted for Phase Two 
(total of US$274-US$320 million) , work was ongoing to find solutions. This  work included  plans to 
hold a replenishment conference in 2018,  and to leverage ad ditional resources from new 
non-traditional donors.  
11. The representative of Cambodia,  on behalf of the LDC Group , welcomed the updates on 
recent  TPRs and the activities of the EIF. He emphasi zed the importance of AfT mainstreaming  at 
the national, regional, and multilateral levels , particularly  for effective resource utilization and 
coherent polic y planning and implementation. The representative o f Benin  welcomed the update 
provided by the EIF and urged partners to continue their support to the EIF.  
III. Regional Dimension  
12. The Secretariat  reported on three regional workshop s on Aid for Trade organi zed in 
collaboration with  partners i n Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The Secretariat stated that the 
objective of these workshops was to provide regional views  of the 2017 monitoring exercise for the 
Global Review. The Africa regional event, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic 
Commission for Africa (UNECA)  and the African Alliance for Electronic Commerce  took place  in 
Dakar , Senegal,  on 25 March  2017. The aim of the event was to present the key messages in the 
draft report on "Promoting Connectivity in Africa – the role of Aid for Trade in boosti ng 
intra-African Trade". The Asia and Pacific regional event was held from 27 -30 March  2017 in 
Incheon, South Korea in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank  (AsDB) , Korean Customs 
Service , and Kyung Hee University. This  event focused on "Promoting Connectivity through Trade 
Facilitation and Aid for Trade". Finally, t he Caribbean regional event took place o n 25 May  2017 in 
Miami,  and was organized jointly with the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) 
and the I ADB, back -to-back with the CCLEC's  annual meeting . The Secretariat informed Members 
that regional reports on Aid for Trade will be launched during the respective regional plenary 
sessions at the Global Review.  
13. The representative of Cameroon,  on behalf  of the ACP group , welcomed t he report by the 
Secretariat on its regional activities  and noted  that Aid for Trade remain ed very important for 
structural transformation and industrialization  in ACP countries.  The representative of Cambodia,  
on behalf of LDCs , noted the importance of  regional integration in providing  closer trading links 
between countries and  in strengthening  their capacity to participate in world trade. In that regard , WT/COMTD/AFT/M/40  
 
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  the LDC Group welcomed  the report by the Secretariat on its regional activi ties and called  upon 
the Secre tariat to provide regular updates on these activities to keep Members informed.  
14. The representative of the United States  provide d an update on  her Government's regional 
activities. She informed Members of  the work of the Standards Alliance, a public -private  
partnership between USAID and the American National Standards Institute. The Standards Alliance 
provide d capacity -building assistance to developing countries, specifically related to 
implementation of the Technical  Barriers to Trade (TBT)  Agreement. In 20 16, th e Standards 
Alliance had been  expanded to include five new countries in Sub -Saharan Africa: Cote d’Ivoire, 
Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal and Zambia. Information on support to  the Asia -Pacific Economic 
Cooperation Forum (APEC)  was also shared . In May 2017, working with Australia and China, the 
United States had organized a workshop on export certificates  in Viet Nam . The workshop 
examined when export certificates were necessary as well as the least burdensome ways to 
administer them. She said that a t the  Third Senior Officials Meeting in August 2017, the 
United  States would  be organizing a workshop  on "Enhancing Regulator Expertise on the WTO 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade ". The United States was also working with Viet  Nam, the 
APEC 2017 host eco nomy , as well as other partners , to organize the 10th Conference on Good 
Regulatory Practices  and a workshop on electronic labeling for ICT products. Finally, she noted that 
the United States  intend ed to fund the participation of officials from non -APEC AS EAN member 
states so that they could  benefit from this suite of events. Taken together, these efforts would  help 
economies implement the TBT Agreement, strengthen their domestic regulatory systems, and 
address emerging issues related to trade.  
IV. Private Sect or 
15. The representative of the International Trade Centre (ITC)  reported on the ITC's ongoing 
technical assistanc e in the area of trade facilitation, women's empowerment, and e -commerce. 
Vocational training to young people and women to create small and micro -enterprises in the 
fashion and design sectors in Burkina Faso and Mali was one of the projects profiled . The 
representative of the ITC also updated M embers on the Women Vendor Export Forum held in 
Turkey and its preparation for the International Forum on Women and Trade, co -hosted by the EU 
Commission. He referred to  ITC's youth empowerment project in The Gambia funded by the EU 
Emergency Trust Fund, and its support towards developing Afghanistan's export strategy.  Finally, 
the ITC informed Members  that it s Annual Joint Advisor y Group would take place  on 10 July  2017 
at the WTO.  
16. The representative of Cambodia,  on behalf of the LDC Group, welcomed the report by ITC on 
its activities and initiatives aimed at promoti ng public -private partnerships. Sri Lanka  welcomed 
the ITC 's statement  and its commendable work in supporting  SMEs participati on in international 
trade. In particular, Sri Lanka took note of an ITC project undertaken in association with the 
Sri Lankan private sector and its positive role in enhancin g SME presence in Europe. Benin  asked 
for further information concerning participation  at the International Forum on Trade. The 
representative of Burkina Faso  welcomed the ITC 's projects in the fashion and design sectors in 
Burkina Faso, and its support to  women and young people.  
V. Monitoring and Evaluation of Implementation and Development  Effectiveness  
17. The Secretariat  reported on the Workshop on Results of the Monitoring and Evaluation 
Exercise and the preview of the draft Aid for Trade at a Glance publica tion held on 30 May 2017. 
The draft Aid for Trade at a Glance publication, titled "Promoting Trade, Inclusiveness and 
Connectivi ty for Sustainable Development" was a joint OECD -WTO 2017 publication authored by  a 
total of eight organizations : OECD and WTO ( as the joint publishing partners), the Business for 
eTrade Development, the EIF, ITC, International Telecommunications Union  (ITU) , the United 
Nations Conference on Trade and Development  (UNCTAD)  and the W BG. The publication would  be 
launched at the Aid fo r Trade Glob al Review on 11 -13 July 2017. The full report, presentations , 
and podcast s of the workshop would be available on the WTO website . 
18. The representative  of Benin  welcomed the report by the Secretariat on the joint O ECD/WTO 
Workshop, and u nderscored two points relating to the workshop. First , relating to the presentation 
by the OECD on AfT flows, he advised that the Global Review should take into considera tion 
regional views , given the concentration of  Aid for Trade and associated needs . Secondly, relating WT/COMTD/AFT/M/40  
 
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  to AfT priorities,  he noted that the workshop revealed that donor priorities did not match the 
priorities of developing countries. He suggested that  this should be addressed at the Global 
Review. I n relation to connectivity , he further recalled  the importance of enhancing connectivity 
within countries, particularly in linking rural areas to markets.  
19. The representative of Cameroon  noted the increase in AfT flows, and reiterated the 
comments made by Benin on aid flows  needing to  match  needs. He also emphasiz ed the 
importance of addressing domestic conditions that ha d an impact on attracting investments and 
engaging in international trade. He further noted the  importance of experience sharing in relation 
to digital trade , and posed the possibility of the Secretariat organizing a workshop on this theme .  
20. The representative of Cambodia,  on behalf of the LDCs , noted that monitoring and 
evaluation was a critical cornerstone under the Aid -for-Trade Initiative, and emphasi zed the 
importance of partners coordinating , at both the country and regional levels , to ensure that this 
pillar continue d to provide guidance in AfT planning .   
21. The Secretariat  responded that the co mments underscored the value of transparency, and 
presentations  at the workshop  availed the opportunity for comparison of  practice s across regions. 
In relation to the comment on rural transformation, the Secretariat informed Members of two side 
events planned to take place during the Aid for Trade Global Review ; one organi zed by the EIF on 
"Connecting Trade and Agriculture Development in the LDCs" and another organized by Rwanda, 
Japan, UNIDO, WBG and ITU on "Africa's Industrial Transformation: The Role of Digital 
Connectivity and the Need for Innovative Financing" .  
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
22. No item was raised under "Other Business".  
23. The meeting was adjourned . 
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