WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
7 November 2012  
 
(12-6119) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Aid for Trade Original:   English 
 
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE ORGANISATION FOR 
ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT 
  
 The following communication
1, dated 5 November 2012, received from the Organisation for 
Economic Co-operation and Developmen t (OECD), is being circulated to  delegations for information. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
OECD POLICY DIALOGUE ON AID FOR TRADE 
16-17 JANUARY 2013  
 
 The OECD Development Co-operation and Trade and Agriculture Directorates, in 
collaboration with Sweden and th e Overseas Development Institute , and with the support of the 
European Commission, will host a Policy Dialogue  on Aid for Trade on 16-17 January 2013 at the 
OECD Conference Centre.   The Policy Dialogue will bring together a wide  range of stakeholders from developing and 
developed countries, including providers of South- South cooperation, to discuss what needs to be 
done to continue delivering Aid-for-Trade results in a changing international environment for trade 
and development.   Information relating to the dialogue will be  posted and updated regularly on the OECD 
website at: http://www.oecd.org/dac/aidfortrade/aidfortradepolicydialogue2013.htm . 
 
 Members are requested to register their partic ipation by filling out the Registration Form and 
sending it directly to:  aft.dialogue@oecd.org  or Fax: +33 (0) 1 44 30 61 47 by Monday, 
7 January 2013.  Please note that ALL participants  must have registered prior to the meeting. 
  For more information, contact: aft.dialogue@oecd.org . 
 
                                                      
1 The agenda and registration form in this document are reproduced in English only. WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
Page 2  
 
   
OECD POLICY DIALOGUE ON AID FOR TRADE 
 
16-17 JANUARY 2013 
 
OECD CONFERENCE CENTRE, PARIS 
 
Organised by the OECD  
Development Co-operation and Trade and Agriculture Directorates,  
in collaboration with Sweden and th e Overseas Development Institute  
with the support of the European Commission 
 
 
  
DRAFT AGENDA 
 
Contact:  aft.dialogue@oecd.org 
 
   
 
    
 
     
 
    
 
    
 
   http://www.oecd.org/dac/aidfortrade/ aidfortradepolicydialogue2013.htm   WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
 Page 3 
 
 
  BACKGROUND 
 
The Aid for Trade Initiative has galvanised broa d based engagement from the international donor 
community to help developing countries, and in  particular the least developed, overcome the 
structural and capacity limitations that undermine th eir ability to maximise the benefits from trade 
opportunities. Successive Global Reviews have provided  clear evidence that the Initiative has resulted 
in integrating and prioritisi ng trade in development strate gies, in increasing commitments 
(USD 45 billion in 2010) to tackle the bottlenecks that undermine the ability of local producers to 
access regional and global markets and that these programmes have bettered the livelihood of many men and women in developing countries. 
 
Since the launch of the Initiative in 2005, there have  been rapid changes in trade patterns due to the 
transformation of the strategic framework, from c ountries to firms and global value chains;  the 
economic framework, from industries to tasks a nd business functions;  the economic endowments 
from stocks to flows;  and the trade barriers from pub lic to private - changes that accelerated after the 
2008-09 economic crises.  The 2012 Global Partners hip for Effective Development Co-operation 
provides a new framework for strengthening efforts to help developing countries in leveraging and 
improving the results of diverse forms of developm ent finance and ensuring that all these have a 
catalytic effect on trade and development.  
 
OBJECTIVES  
 The OECD Policy Dialogue will bring togeth er a wide range of stakeholders ( i.e. policy makers, 
practitioners, academics, the private sector and ci vil society) from developing and developed 
countries, including providers of South-South cooperation to discuss what needs to be done to continue delivering aid for trade results in this changing international environment for trade and 
development.  
 The Policy Dialogue will contribute to ensure that aid for trade remains relevant for its purpose by: 
 delivering and managing aid for trade and development results; 
 easing the binding constraints to trade expansion; 
 promoting regional aid-for-trade programmes;  
 reducing the thickness of borders;  
 linking to value chains; and  
 engaging the private sector. 
 
FORMAT 
 
Sessions will be introduced by a keynote speaker or start with a discussion by a panel comprised of 
representatives from partner countries, donor agencies, the private sector and providers of 
South-South cooperation.  After the panel discussion the floor will be opened for a moderated debate 
to give participants an opportunity to discuss genera l and/or specific challenges, so that everyone can 
engage in peer learning th rough knowledge-sharing.  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
Page 4  
 
   
WEDNESDAY 16 JANUARY 2013 
 
08:30 – 09:30 Registration  
09:30 – 10:30  
Welcome and Opening Remarks :  Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, 
OECD   
 Keynote address :  Karel de Gucht, EU Trade Commissioner 
 Keynote address:   Pascal Lamy, Director General, WTO 
10:30 – 13:00 SESSION 1 
 
HOW TO MANAGE AID FOR TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT RESULTS 
 
The 3rd Global Review of Aid for Trade and the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness both 
stressed the need to better manage aid to achi eve trade and development results. This demand to 
demonstrate the results of aid programmes has in creased due to the seve re budgetary pressure most 
OECD/DAC donors are facing. The OECD/WTO analysis of the aid-for-trade case stories highlights 
the positive results of these projects and programmes, but  also highlights the conceptual difficulties in 
attributing trade and developmen t outcomes and impacts to specific aid-for-trade interventions.  
The OECD, in close co-operation with a number of partner countries has devel oped tools to open ‘the 
black box’ between aid-for-trade interventions a nd trade and development outcomes and impacts. The 
results chains allow for better measurement of  progress towards trade and development targets 
through a menu of performance indicators. 
The objective of the session is to contribute to the broad introduction of meaningful and comparable 
aid for trade results frameworks based on country syst ems, which allow for the tracking of progress at 
country-level and, at the same time, satisfy donor accountability.  
Issues for discussion  What kind of country-based results  frameworks can track progress and 
provide mutual accountability in aid for trade? 
 How can progress towards trade and development objectives best be 
measured?  
Moderator Erik Solheim, Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (tbc) 
10:30 – 11:45 Panel discussion among government representatives from Bangladesh, 
Colombia, Ghana, Rwanda, Vietnam 
 Hon. Clay Forau Soalaoi, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External 
Trade, Solomon Islands 
11:45 – 13:00 Plenary discussion 
LUNCH  
  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
 Page 5 
 
 
   
15:00 – 16:30 SESSION 2 
 
HOW TO IDENTIFY AND PRIORITISE TRADE-RELATED BINDING CONSTRAINTS 
 
Supply-side constraints curtail the capacity of low- income countries to use trade as an engine for 
economic growth, development and poverty reduction.  However, political and financial resources to 
address these obstacles are sca rce. Thus, identifying and quantifyi ng the most binding supply-side 
constraints is critical to prioritise policy reforms  and guide aid for trade towards investments that 
generate the highest returns. Fu rthermore, these reforms should be  accompanied by complementary 
policies that will underpin both their sustainability and their positive impact on economic growth and 
development.   
OECD has undertaken a number of studies to identify  the binding constraints to trade expansion for 
low-income countries and in particular for land locked countries, small and vulnerable economies, 
and commodity exporters. These studies have also a ssessed the impact of easing these constraints on 
trade performance and specifically on agricultural trade, which is critical for poverty reduction and 
food security of poor people in developing countries. 
The objective of this session is to identify wh at policy reforms, together with aid-for-trade 
interventions, can do most to relax the binding co nstraints that prevent developing countries from 
improving their trade performance, especially in agr icultural trade which rema ins the largest source 
of exports and of foreign exchange ea rnings in many developing countries. 
 
Issues for discussion  How can the binding constraints to trade expansion, particularly in 
agricultural goods be best identified? 
 How should this inform the prioritisa tion of policy reform in developing 
countries? 
 What are the essential complementary policies needed to underpin the 
policy reform and how can aid for trade help? 
Moderator  Chair of the OECD Trade Committee 
 
15:00 – 15:30 Panel discussion among representatives from LDCs, MICs, OECD Members, 
ODI, Private Sector  
 Dr. Armida S. Alisjahbana, Minister of State for National 
Development Planning, Indonesia (tbc) 
15:30 – 16:30 Plenary discussion 
 WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
Page 6  
 
   
16:30 – 18:00 SESSION 3 
 
HOW TO PROMOTE REGIONAL AID FOR TRADE  
 
For a large number of low-income countries, openne ss to trade is increasingly being pursued through 
regional integration and co-operation efforts. The fa st tracking of the Continental Free Trade Area to 
boost intra-African trade is an example of these ef forts. This argues for complementing national 
aid-for-trade priorities with multi-country and regio nal approaches, a strategy that promises more 
wealth creation as highlighted by the WTO Task Force on Aid for Trade. Such approaches to 
overcome the drawbacks of small and fragmented market s of low-income countries’ markets are also 
high on the agendas of the European Union and the United States. 
While the rationale for regional aid-for-trade progr ammes is undisputed, many  practical challenges 
remain. National programmes will not normally consider activities with strong international 
externalities and aid-for-trade programmes that are best implemented regionally may not take place 
because the benefits cannot be fully  appropriated nationally. Consequen tly, most of the focus of the 
Aid for Trade Initiative has been at the national  level. Instruments to support multi-country and 
regional programmes are much less well developed. It is clear that the national approach to aid for 
trade cannot simply be transferred to the regional level, where a host of specific issues apply.  
The objective of the session is to learn from experi ence and identify best practices in strengthening 
the multi-country and regional components of national aid-for-trade strategies.  
Issues for discussion  How can better coherence between na tional and regional trade-related 
objectives be achieved? 
 How can the profile of regional trad e-related binding constraints in 
national development strategies be raised? 
 What needs to be done to ensure th at regional aid-for-trade strategies are 
effectively develope d and implemented? 
Moderator Michael G. Plummer, Johns Hopkins University  
Keynote speaker Alan Kyerematen, Africa Trade Policy Centre,  
UN Economic Commission for Africa (tbc) 
16:30 – 17:00  Panellists (in alphabetical order) 
 Antoni Estevadeordal, Manager of  Integration and Trade, Inter-
American Development Bank 
 Patricia Francis, Executive Director, International Trade Centre  
 Stephen P. Groff, Vice-President  Operations, Asian Development 
Bank 
 Hani Salem Sonbol, Deputy CEO, International Islamic Trade 
Finance Corporation, Islamic Development Bank (tbc) 
17:00 – 18:00 Plenary Discussion 
RECEPTION  
  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
 Page 7 
 
 
   
THURSDAY 17 JANUARY 2013 
 
10:00 – 11:30 SESSION 4 
 
HOW TO REDUCE THE THICKNESS OF BORDERS 
 
During the last three decades, the integration of world markets has proceeded at a whirlwind pace. 
Sharply falling transportation costs and even mo re rapid declines in communication costs have 
created this new wave of globalisation. But this im plies that getting to, through and past the border 
efficiently has taken on an added importance for economic growth and development. Unnecessary or 
unpredictable border procedures and trade regulatio ns impose additional costs and time delays that 
stifle firm productivity and competitiveness even in otherwise well functioning markets with strong 
domestic supply-side capacities.  
Reducing the thickness of borders in this broad sense has  attracted the largest share of aid-for-trade 
commitments. To maximise the impact of these progra mmes, they need to be designed and aligned 
with domestic reform programmes and investments to address bottlenecks in both hard and soft 
infrastructure. For instance, modern ports cannot  realize their potential for lowering trade costs 
without efficient customs offices and competent o fficials. And an otherwise open foreign investment 
regime will not attract private capital without red ucing the thickness of borders. In both cases the 
broader policy environment is crucial for the effectiveness of investments. 
The objective of the session is to exchange views on how low-income countries can best combine aid-
for-trade programmes with public investments to redu ce the costs in time, money, waste etc. that are 
incurred in getting to, through and past the border . 
Issues for discussion  What matters most in reducing the thickness of borders?  
 How should aid-for-trade programmes align with domestic investment 
to address these obstacles and lower trade costs? 
Moderator Simon Maxwell, Overseas Development Institute  
10:00 – 10:30 Panel discussion among representatives from LDCs, South-South providers, 
OECD Members, Private sector 
 Otaviano Canuto, Vice President, PREM Network, the World Bank 
 Joakim Reiter, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Sweden to 
the WTO 
10:30 – 11:30  Plenary Discussion 
 WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
Page 8  
 
   
11:30 – 13:00 SESSION 5 
 
HOW TO ADAPT TO CHANGING PRODUCTION PATTERNS  
 
Since the launch of the Aid for Trade Initiative in  2005, trade patterns have continued to change due 
to the further fragmentation of global production and the emergence of value chains in business 
strategies. On the one hand, the offshoring an d outsourcing of production from developed country 
firms can provide a stepping stone for developing c ountry firms to integrate into the global economy 
and can contribute to a significant increase in productive capacities. These opportunities arise 
especially for those developing countries that actively pursue policies to enable their privates sector 
to link to regional and global value chains.  
On the other hand, countries that are poor and distant and that compound their isolation through 
policy barriers to integration may well be left further behind. In these countries donors are 
increasingly focusing their private sector developm ent programmes on helping to create the enabling 
environment for local businesses to connect to value chains and u pgrade their capacities to increase 
their value added. With its focus on identifyi ng opportunities to access and upgrade, the value chain 
approach to private sector development provides a comprehensive fram ework for policy and 
programme formulation.  
At the same time, trade-related South-South cooperation and triangular co-operation have also 
increased in importance and are contributing signific antly to delivering the objectives of the Aid-for-
Trade Initiative. With aid budgets from OECD c ountries under pressure, these forms of trade related 
co-operation will likely assume increasing importance. 
The objective of the session is to identify ways to en sure that aid-for-trade programmes to help low-
income countries adapt to changing production patterns, and to discuss the growing importance of 
South-South and triangular co-operation in this respect.  
Issues for discussion  What needs to be done to help the private sector in low-income countries 
connect to value chains? 
 How can aid for trade help? 
 How should different development partners work best together? 
Moderator (tbc) 
Keynote speaker Anabel Gonzáles, Minister of Foreign Trade, Costa Rica (tbc) 
11:30 – 12:00 Panel discussion among representatives from LDCs, OECD Members, South-
South providers, Private sector 
12:00 – 13:00 Plenary Discussion 
LUNCH 
  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
 Page 9 
 
 
   
15:00 – 16:30 SESSION 6 
 
HOW TO ENGAGE THE PRIVATE SECTOR 
 
The 2012 OECD/WTO publication Aid for Trade in Action provides numerous examples of effective 
partnerships between OECD based corporations and developing country producers – these forms of 
collaborative ventures are growing in number and  impact. They are charting an innovative way 
forward for further business invo lvement in trade-related capacity  building. The suggestions to 
rename ‘Aid for Trade’ as ‘Investment for Trade’ can be seen as an effort to increase the 
opportunities for greater private sector in volvement in building trade capacities. 
The Global Partnership on Effective Development Co -operation re-emphasises the central role of the 
private sector in advancing innovation, creating wealth; income and jobs, mobilising domestic 
resources and in turn contributing to poverty re duction. Building on the enhanced co-operation 
between the public and private sectors for deli vering development results, the 2013 Global Review of 
Aid for Trade will expand the coverage of its monitoring exercise and actively solicit the private 
sector in developed and developing countries for thei r views on what matters most in developing the 
private sector and building their trade capacities.  
The objective of the session is to explore how aid fo r trade can best leverage the activities from 
international business to support the promotion of a vibrant private sector in low–income countries 
and help them link to expanding regional and global markets.  
Issues for discussion  How can the international business co mmunity advance the trade capacity 
building agenda? 
 How can aid for trade best levera ge these trade capacity building 
activities from the international business community? 
Moderator Thomas de Man, Chair, BIAC Task Force on Development, Heineken (tbc) 
Keynote speaker Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for Inte rnational Development Co-operation, 
Sweden (tbc) 
15:00 – 15:30 Panel discussion among representatives from LDCs, MICs, DAC Members, 
South-South providers, Private sector 
15:30 – 16:30 Plenary discussion 
 WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
Page 10  
 
   
16:30 – 18:00 SESSION 7 
 
CLOSING SESSION:  WHERE NEXT WITH AID FOR TRADE? 
 
After the 2005 Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Conf erence, trade negotiators gauged the success of the 
Aid for Trade Initiative largely by how much ODA wa s committed. By this measure, the initiative has 
indeed been quite successful, with aid for trade rising from USD 25 billion in 2005 to USD 45 billion 
today.  
Broad indicators of success, like the share of low- income countries in world trade, have also shown 
positive trends since 2005 and suggest that aid for trade is delivering results. However, against a 
backdrop of budget tightening in donor countries and long-standing debate about the effectiveness of 
aid, the trade and development community needs to ensure that aid for trade continues to deliver 
value for money in making trade an engine  for economic growth and poverty reduction. 
The objective of the final session is to point toward the ways to ensure that the Aid for Trade Initiative 
remains relevant for its purpose in a trade and d evelopment environment that has changed since the 
inception of the Initiative in 2005.  
Issue for discussion  In light of the changing trade and development landscape discussed 
during the policy dialogue, how can th e Aid for Trade Initiative maintain 
its success? 
Moderators Deputy Secretary-General, OECD (tbc) 
Valentine Rugwabiza, Deputy Director-General, WTO 
16:30 – 17:00 Panel discussion among the session moderators 
17:00 – 17:45 Plenary discussion 
17:45 – 18:00 Concluding remarks 
  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
 Page 11 
 
 
   
  
 
PPOOLLIICCYY  DDIIAALLOOGGUUEE  OONN  
AAIIDD  FFOORR  TTRRAADDEE 
 
Organised  by the OECD in collaboration  with the Government  of Sweden and the Overseas 
Development  Institute and with the support of the European  Commission  
 
Paris, France 
16‐17 January 2013 
 
REGISTRATION  FORM 
 
Please register through the OECD EMS System or fill out this form and send it to: 
 aft.dialogue@oecd.org  or Fax: +33 (0) 1 44 30 61 47 by Monday 7 January 2013  
 
Title (Mr, Ms, Dr, Prof etc): 
        First name:         Surname/Family  name:       
 
Title/Position:        
 Department:       
 
Country/Organisation/Institution:         
 
Address:        
 Postal code:      
 
City:        
 Country :      
 
Tel:           
 
Fax:        
 E‐mail:       
 
Assistant’s  E‐mail:         
 
Date of arrival in Paris:         
 Date of departure:          
 Hotel:       
 
 
 
Please tick the box if you will attend the Reception  on the evening of 16th January 2013    
 WT/COMTD/AFT/W/40 
Page 12  
 
   
  
 
 
 
Visa requirements :  
 
Arranging  and purchasing  an entry visa is participants’  responsibility . Participants  requiring an entry 
visa must obtain it from the consulate  or diplomatic  mission in their country of residence  prior to 
departure.  Please note that the OECD cannot organise a visa on your behalf. For further information,  
please  consult  the  French  Foreign  Affairs  Ministry  Web  site 
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/france_829/venir ‐france_4062/entrer ‐france_4063/index.html  
 
 
 Please note that ALL participants  must have registered  prior to the meeting .  
Further information  is available at www.oecd.org/conferencecentre  
 
 
  
__________