RESTRICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74  
 
7 August 2015  
(15-4081)  Page: 1/16  
Sub-Committee on Least Developed Countries 
Seventy-Fourth Session    
 
 NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 2 APRIL 2015 
Chairperson: Ambassador Roderick Van Schreven (Netherlands) 
A. ADOPTION OF TH E AGENDA .................................................................................... 1  
B. MARKET ACCESS FOR LEAST DEVELOPED CO UNTRIES ............................................. 1  
-  Market Access for Products and Services of Export Interest to Least Developed 
Countries (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/59): Update by th e Secretariat on recent trends in LDC 
trade  
C. TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY-BUILDING 
INITIATIVES FOR LEAST DE VELOPED COUN TRIES ........................................................... 7  
-  WTO Technical Assistance and Training to the Least Developed Countries: Report 
by the Secr etariat ............................................................................................................ . 7 
-  An Update on the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF): Report by the EIF 
Executive Secretariat ........................................................................................................ 11 
D. LDC GROUP RETREAT HELD IN MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND, FROM 
17 TO 19 FEBRUARY 2015: REPORT BY TH E COORDINATOR OF THE LDC GROUP ........... 15  
E. OTHER BUSINESS .................................................................................................. 16  
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 
1. The Sub-Committee on Least Developed Count ries (Sub-Committee) adopted the draft 
agenda of the meeting contained in document WTO/AIR/COMTD/LDC/1. 
B. MARKET ACCESS FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
- Market Access for Products and Services of Export Interest to Least Developed 
Countries (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/59): Update by the Secretariat on recent trends in LDC trade 
2. The Chairman recalled discussions on the Secretariat Note contained in document 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/59 at the 73rd Session of the Sub-Committee on LDCs. Members had 
expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for comp iling statistics on services trade. Some Members 
had raised issues with respect to statistics on preferences; there had been a call for enhancing 
transparency of data on preferential schemes.  
3. He said that the Note contained useful information on LDC trade, notably on the key service 
export sectors in LDCs, especially tourism, and the large trade deficit experienced by LDCs which 
demonstrated the fact that LDCs had been experien cing more import growth than that of exports. 
He asked whether this growth in imports reflected LDCs sourcing capital goods to invest in their 
manufacturing capacity or it was a phenomenon of imports for consumption. He invited the 
Secretariat to provide an update on recent trends in LDC performance since the 2014 report. 
4. The representative of the Secretariat, Chief St atistician, provided a brief update on trade 
developments in 2014. He noted that a full update, including statistics on services, would be 
included in the next Secretariat document on market access in October 2015. He said that after a WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  strong recovery in 2010 following the global economic crisis, world trade remained sluggish with 
almost zero growth in value and some growth in volume in 2014. However, trade in LDCs continued to grow in 2014, albeit most of the growth  occurring only in the first quarter of the year.  
5. He explained that the drivers of LDC export growth had changed in the post-crisis period. 
Before the 2008-09 economic crisis, primary commodities such as fuels and mining products had 
been the drivers of LDC export growth, thanks to  the so-called "super-cycle" resulting from high 
prices and increased demand from emerging ec onomies. Since 2011, lower growth of the world 
economy, particularly in emerging economies such  as China, and increased supply capacities in 
extractive industries, had led to a decrease in the value of commodity exports. At the same time, manufactured products had become more important in driving LDC export growth. This emerging 
trend towards export diversification was driven by a few Asian LDCs, in particular due to exports of 
light manufacturing products such as textiles and clothing.  
6. He informed that, with respect to commercial services, data for 2014 were not yet available. 
He recalled that LDCs had only accounted for 0.7% of world services exports in 2013. Since 2000, 
LDC services exports had been growing at an a nnual average of 14% which was faster compared 
to developed and other developing economies. High  growth in services exports was driven by the 
Asian LDCs, namely Cambodia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, as a result of increased exports in 
tourism, information and communication technology  (ICT) and construction services, respectively. 
Among African LDCs, export growth had been high for Ethiopia in air transport services and for 
Tanzania as well as Uganda in tourism services. Compared to other LDCs, island LDCs were characterized by less diversified profiles and by  lower services exports growth, which had been 
only 4% in 2013. 
7. Concerning the issue of market access for LDCs , he noted that, in 2014, 84% of LDC exports 
had enjoyed duty-free access in developed markets.  Around 60% of LDC exports had received true 
preferential duty-free access
1 compared to 53% in 2011. The preference margin of LDCs was 
higher for agricultural products than for any other export product. 
8. The Chairman sought clarification as to why exports of agricultural products from LDCs had 
been insignificant given the LDCs' comparative ad vantage in the agriculture sector, and given the 
high preference margin enjoyed by the LDCs on ag ricultural products. He also enquired to what 
extent other factors such as the absence of warehouses or lengthy customs procedures could have affected the performance of LDCs in agriculture trade. 
9. The Chief Statistician explained that economic growth and increasing incomes had led to 
more being spent on food in the LDCs. Another reason for a more rapid increase in the demand for 
food imports, in proportions beyond the local agri cultural production, was the movement of people 
from rural to urban areas. Progress was being ma de in the capacity of LDCs for agricultural 
exports. He gave an example contained in a publication under the "WTO Chairs Programme" 
concerning farmers in Senegal engaged in exporting grain for livestock feed to the EU markets. He 
explained how improved agronomic services, pest control, the use of pesticides and improved 
storage had allowed these farmers to obtain the necessary certification to export grain to the EU.  
10. The representative of Bangladesh recalled the 2007-08 food crises in highlighting the need 
for improving agricultural production. As had been  indicated by the Chief Statistician, LDCs could 
generate a surplus for exports by improving agronomic services, without necessarily being 
required to increase total agricultural production.  
11. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, thanked the Secretariat for 
providing an update on trends in LDC trade. He  recalled some of the issues that the Group had 
raised during the discussion of the Note at the 73rd Session of the Sub-Committee. He said that 
the dismal 1% share of LDCs in global trade was the main reason for placing them at the heart of 
WTO's work and the Doha Work Programme.  
12. He said that the LDCs continued to face price fluctuation in primary commodities, and 
continued to rely on a few primary products for their export earnings, with fuels accounting for 
                                               
1 True preferential duty-free access is defined as the percentage of exports offered duty-free treatment 
under the GSP-LDC and other preferential schemes, as co mpared to products offered duty-free entry under the 
MFN treatment. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  more than half of their total merchandise exports in 2013. There was also a general decline in the 
share of agricultural and manufacturing products  in LDCs' exports. The LDCs had consistently 
called upon their development partners to en hance and strengthen mechanisms to boost 
productive capacity in their economies, and to put special emphasis on addressing supply-side 
constraints related to weak infrastructure, including weak capacities to meet international 
standards. Aid for Trade could play an important ro le in assisting LDCs to meet these challenges. 
While LDCs attracted 30.4% of total Aid for Trade, a larger share was taken by middle-income 
countries. This seemed to be in contrast to the calls made in keeping LDC needs central to the 
international development agenda. He called upon Members to prioritize the needs and interests of LDCs in their Aid-for-Trade commitments as well as in the disbursements of funds.  
13. He further pointed out that since the LDCs relied on a few export products, it was important 
that they received full market access to products of export interest to them. While most developed 
Members granted nearly full duty-free and quot a-free (DFQF) market access to LDC products, 
exceptions remained in certain important markets. He paid special tribute to the efforts made by 
developing countries such as Chile, China, In dia and Korea in implementing DFQF schemes for 
LDCs and encouraged others to follow their example.  
14. He stressed that the LDCs continued to pursue the fulfilment of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
mandate on DFQF market access for LDC products, in a manner that ensured stability, security 
and predictability. He argued that it was possible for developed Members that had not yet achieved the target of providing 97% DFQF market acce ss to improve their coverage for LDCs, whilst 
ensuring that no LDC was left the worse off. He welcomed the impetus that the Bali Decision on 
DFQF had injected in this process, and looked  forward to WTO's Tenth Ministerial Conference 
(MC10) as an opportunity to bring further pr ogress to DFQF market access for LDC products. 
15. He continued by highlighting that the integration into international services trade remained 
one of the biggest challenges for LDCs. He noted that, in 2013, LDCs had accounted for a mere 
0.68% of world services exports and that the tr ade balance of LDCs in commercial services had 
widened, reaching a deficit of US$41 billion in 2013. LDC services exports base was narrow, with 
travel and transport services being the two domina nt sectors. Most of the LDCs were also net 
services' importers. 
16. He recalled the Bali Ministerial Decision in regard to the operationalization of the "LDC 
Services Waiver". He further recalled the high-lev el meeting of the Services Council held on 5 
February 2015 where a number of Members had anno unced the granting of preferential market 
access to the LDCs. He encouraged Members to design preferences that added value to the 
prospects of LDCs, and encouraged them to notify those preferences as soon as possible. 
17. In conclusion, he expressed concern over the continued marginalization of LDCs in global 
goods and services trade. He emphasized the importance of full market access in goods and services for LDCs, as well as technical assistance aimed at capacity development in their 
economies. He urged Members to pay attention to the situation of LDCs in the preparation of the 
sustainable development goals (SDGs) as well as the subsequent financing needed to achieve those SDGs. 
18. The representative of the Central African Republic supported the statement made by 
Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group. Sh e requested that more detailed statistics at 
regional-level be made available in future studie s by the Secretariat. She also underlined the need 
for more data on export sectors of LDCs. She believed more disaggregated statistics would help 
African LDCs to analyse the impact of various glob al policies on their exports, including the African 
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). 
19. The representative of Mali said that oil, mining and agriculture sectors were important 
contributors to LDC exports, but provided only li mited contribution to job and wealth creation. He 
supported the statement made by Bangladesh, on  b e h a l f  o f  t h e  L D C  G r o u p ,  a s  w e l l  a s  t h e  
statement made by the representative of Central African Republic. He requested Members to help 
LDCs with their structural transformation so as to better integrate them into the global economy.  
20. The representative of Nepal supported the stat ement delivered by Bangladesh, on behalf of 
the LDC Group. He said the Note provided a comprehensive account of the LDCs' market access WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  issues. The inclusion of an analysis on non-tariff measures (NTMs) made the report more 
descriptive and interesting. 
21. He said that due to both internal and external  constraints as well as tariff and NTMs, LDCs 
continued to face challenges in accessing markets. He recalled the Ministerial Decisions to provide 
LDCs with better market access opportunities in goods and services. He said that the 
implementation of the decisions on DFQF market  access for LDC products remained mixed, as 
certain products of specific interest to LDCs were excluded by some developed and developing 
Members from their preferential market access schemes. Some Members maintained preferential 
schemes which discriminated among LDC products. He further said that stringent rules of origin, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary an d phytosanitary (SPS) measures constrained LDCs' 
capacity to benefit from DFQF market access in an effective manner.  
22. He went on to elaborate the vulnerable position and low economic integration of LDCs in 
world trade, noting that the share of LDCs in gl obal trade was 1.23% in 2013, and that only five 
out of 48 LDCs had registered positive trade bala nce in that year. Even though LDCs had doubled 
their share in world merchandise trade and services trade from 0.58% and 0.64% in 2000, to 
1.24% and 1.18% in 2013, respectively, they were still far behind other WTO Members. Although the LDC exports reached US$250 billion in 2013, the overall trade deficit increased from 
US$53.6 billion in 2012 to US$60.6 b illion in 2013. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in 
LDCs was reportedly very low representing 1.9% of global inflows in 2013, which added to the worries of LDCs from the point of view of inclusive and sustainable development. 
23. He invited Members attention to the high conc entration of LDCs' export base, both in the 
areas of goods and services. More than 70% of LDCs' total merchandise exports depended on 
three main products. This figure, along with over reliance on primary commodities and labour-intensive industries, illustrated the vulnerability of LDC economies to fluctuations in international 
trade. All these factors underscored the necessity fo r trade diversification, and the need to move 
up the value chain in products and services. 
24. He said that while tariffs had been gradually decreasing over the years, in both developed 
and developing countries NTMs were on the rise. There was a need therefore for relaxation of 
NTMs for the growth of LDC exports. The situ ation called for a faithful implementation of 
DFQF-related decisions by all WTO Members without any discrimination. Consideration should also be given for further relaxation of rules of origin criteria and flexibility in the application of SPS and 
TBT measures on LDCs' products. Similarly, priority should be given to the provision of technical 
and financial support to LDCs through the EIF, the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and other Aid-for-Trade mechanisms. 
25. He expressed appreciation for the increasing e fforts of developing countries to expand the 
coverage of their DFQF schemes for LDC products . He urged all Members to streamline and further 
simplify their rules of origin criteria to make them more export friendly for LDCs in line with the 
decision adopted in Bali. He also urged Members to  soon notify their preferences on LDC services 
and service suppliers with a view to enhancing th e share of LDCs in global services trade. In 
conclusion, he called for additional efforts to enhance market opportunities for LDCs. He stressed that opening up new avenues for LDCs at MC10, in cluding full implementation of the LDC-specific 
Bali decisions, would bring positive impacts to LDC economies. 
26. The representative of Guinea supported the stat ement made by Bangladesh, on behalf of the 
LDC Group. She underlined the importance of market access for Guinea and hoped that partner 
countries would address restrictions related to rules of origin, SPS and other non-tariff barriers. 
She further highlighted the need for notifications on services preferences, following the efforts of LDCs in formulating a collective request which determined the sectors and modes of supply of 
export interest to them. She thanked Chile, China, India and Korea for their efforts to improve 
market access for LDCs. She echoed the request ma de by the representative of the Central African 
Republic for more detailed statistics at the regional level. She concluded by expressing her hope that the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi would result in improved market access for LDCs. 
27. The representative of Chinese Taipei congratulated the Secretariat for a presentation which 
offered valuable information. He noted with some concern that the island LDCs were at a 
disadvantageous position, as their export base was narrower than other LDCs. He suggested that WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  fisheries could help island LDCs increase their exports. He mentioned that Chinese Taipei offered 
training programmes which helped LDCs exploit their fisheries endowments without necessarily 
leading to the over-exploitation of fisheries resources. 
28. The representative of the European Union (EU) thanked the Secretariat for the presentation. 
She welcomed the progress of LDCs in their effo rts to integrate into the multilateral trading 
system. She also welcomed the progress made in market access for LDC products, both in developed countries as well as in a number of emerging countries.  
29. She deplored the fact that LDC participation in world trade remained marginal, and 
characterized by chronic trade deficits and specialization in primary commodities. She expressed the need for continued efforts to support LDCs, particularly through improvement of market access in developing country markets. In this regard, she noted that the Secretariat report underlined the 
ongoing challenge of compiling data on preferential market access offered by developing countries. 
30. She reminded Members that the EU was one of the pioneers in granting DFQF market access 
to the LDCs. She mentioned that the EU had implemented a revised generalized system of 
preferences (GSP) in 2014, which reduced the numbe r of beneficiaries and thereby created more 
opportunities for the neediest countries, including the LDCs. The fact that LDC manufacturing exports increased by 9.5% in the last year  indicated the success of this new GSP. 
31. She noted that market access alone was not sufficient to stimulate LDC exports. 
Aid-for-Trade support was required to address obstacles that LDCs faced and particularly those linked to manufacturing capacity, infrastructure and trade facilitation. The EU, and its member States, was the biggest supplier of Aid for Trade in 2013, providing EUR11.4 billion. EU Aid for 
Trade to LDCs increased by 70% from EUR1.8 b illion in 2012 to EUR2.6 billion in 2013, which 
constituted 24% of total Aid for Trade to LDCs . The amount of Aid for Trade given to LDCs 
depended on the priorities established by LDCs themselves. In the EU, discussions on the future 
Aid-for-Trade strategy would focus on ways to prioritise support to LDCs. The EU was also 
supportive of a positive outcome for LDC issues in the post-2015 development agenda. 
32. In conclusion, she said that the EU welcomed the results of the high-level meeting of the 
Services Council held in February 2015, and shar ed the positive assessment of the LDCs made at 
the last meeting of the Council for Trade in Serv ices. In this regard, the EU was working on a 
substantial package for LDCs which would be notified to the WTO soon after the finalization of the internal domestic procedure. 
33. The representative of India thanked the Secretar iat for the informative update on the trends 
in LDC trade. He congratulated the Chair on his re-election. He took the opportunity to update 
Members on India’s DFQF scheme. He recalled that India was the first developing country to 
implement a DFQF scheme for LDCs in August 2 008. This Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) 
scheme was subsequently expanded and, as of 1 April 2014, it provided LDCs with duty-free 
market access on 96% of India’s tariff lines, while it provided preferential duties on 2.2% of tariff 
lines. So far, 31 LDCs had joined the scheme, which was open to all 48 LDCs designed by the 
United Nations. 
34. He further informed Members that through notification No.29/2015-Customs (N.T.) dated 
10 March 2015, the Government of India had issued  revised rules of origin for LDC products. The 
rules further liberalized the determination of origin by stipulating that a change in tariff heading at 
the 6-digit level would be one of the criteria to confer origin. The verification procedures for the 
certification of origin had also been strengthened in order to facilitate exports into the Indian 
market. The aforesaid notification was available at the public domain at www.cbec.gov.in .  
35. India had signalled substantive offers on servic es preferences in key areas of importance to 
the LDCs, especially in Mode 4 and professional services. In addition to commitments in various 
services under Contractual Services Suppliers (C SS) and Independent Professionals (IP), India had 
also offered access to foreign language teachers, specialist chefs and sports persons. Furthermore, 
it had offered a new category of installers in its Mode 4 commitments. His delegation had also offered access in new sectors and deepened its existing commitments. A detailed section on 
technical assistance was being included in India's of fer. He believed that the offers made by India 
would cater to specific requests made by the LDCs in their Collective Request. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  36. Despite commitments in Mode 4, his delegation believed that actual access could only be 
realized if implicit barriers were addressed. Visa fees could be an important implicit bottleneck for LDC services suppliers. It was for this reason that  India had decided to waive off visa fees for LDC 
applicants applying for business and employment visas. The internal process of approvals had 
begun, and India would notify their services offer as soon as they were completed.  
37. In conclusion, he noted that India was conscious of its WTO obligations which mandated that 
LDCs received special priority in both goods an d services, and given the development agenda of 
the Doha Round, this issue was all the more important. India had more than 300 million people 
living at less than US$1 a day and, in that sens e, it was the world’s la rgest LDC. Given India's 
economic reality and capacity, it had made its utmost efforts to deliver on the LDC cause, both in the goods and currently in the services area. He urged other Members, that had not done so, and 
especially those that were capable of delivering, to come forward and deliver on this long-awaited 
promise to the LDCs.  
38. The representative of the Secretariat, Chief Statistician noted that the additional information 
that was requested by a number of African delegations would be taken into account in the new 
version of the report. It was a difficult statistical exercise to have access to all LDC data. In the particular case of Africa, there was a lot of cross-border trade between countries that was not 
well-captured by the statistics. He urged delega tions to notify data on preferences, as the 
Secretariat could only work on the basis of notifications. He mentioned that some developing countries provided concessions to LDCs but did not notify the corresponding data to the Secretariat. 
39. The representative of the United States than ked the Secretariat for the presentation, and 
requested that it be shared with Members. He sought clarification from the Secretariat in regard to 
manufacturing exports from LDCs. While one slide of the presentation suggested that 
manufacturing was becoming a driver of LDC exports, a statement from the floor referred to a 
declining share of manufacturing and agricultural exports from LDCs. He requested the Secretariat 
to clarify this discrepancy. 
40. The representative of the Secretariat, Chief Statistician, noted that the increasing price of 
commodities, since 2000, had increased the weight of commodities in LDC exports. The long-term 
trend suggested that LDC exports had been domina ted by commodities. In contrast, the slide he 
had presented at the meeting showed a short-term tendency based on data from the last quarter. 
If this tendency continued, and the price of commodities continued to decline in the coming 
months, there could be a rebalancing of the drivers of LDC exports. 
41. The Chairman noted that one of the points th at had not been raised was the issue of the 
liberalization taking place under regional trade agreements (RTAs). He suggested that the 
Sub-Committee explore the possibility of having an  automatic checklist regarding possible positive 
and negative effects from RTAs. Such a checklist co uld be triggered following a notification of an 
RTA in the WTO. The aim would be to identify, as much as possible, what could be the long-term 
effects on LDC trade. He also underlined the impo rtance of looking at competitiveness issues in 
LDCs, apart from analysing tariff and other market access conditions. He suggested that the Sub-Committee organize an informal workshop to discuss possible policy lessons that could be 
drawn from the trends in trade observed through the statistics in the Note.  
42. The representative of the United States noted that if Members were interested in having a 
discussion on the elements suggested by the Chairman, his delegation would welcome a written 
proposal so that capitals could reflect and decide on these matters. 
43. The Chairman thanked the Secretariat for the data, information and analysis on LDC trade in 
goods and services. He looked forward to the 2015 study by the Secretariat, which would be 
available in early October. He was confident that the paper would provide Members with the 
necessary background as to where LDCs had been and where they were today, as well as what could be done on the important challenge of in creasing LDC participation in world trade. He 
suggested that the Sub-Committee take note of the update provided by the Secretariat, as well as 
the statements made. 
44. It was so agreed. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  C. TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY-BUILDING INITIATIVES 
FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
- WTO Technical Assistance and Training to the Least Developed Countries: Report by 
the Secretariat 
45. The Chairman recalled that the Work Programme for the LDCs mandated the 
Sub-Committee to monitor capacity-building initiatives taken in favour of LDCs. He reminded 
Members that every year they received an update from the Secretariat on WTO's technical 
assistance and training provided to the LDCs. The LDCs were an important beneficiary of this 
assistance which, inter alia , aimed at increasing their knowledge base on the multilateral trading 
system, and helping them to exercise their rights and obligations. 
46. The representative of the Secretariat, Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation 
provided an overview of WTO's trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) for LDCs in 2014. He said 
that special priority had continued to be attach ed to the LDCs in the provision of WTO's TRTA. 
LDCs were associated with 48% of TRTA activities in 2014. He gave an account of the TA products 
specifically geared towards the LDCs.  
47. He noted that the three-week introduction co urse for LDCs at level 1 of the progressive 
learning strategy (PLS) was traditionally maintained in Geneva, alternating between English- and 
French-speaking LDCs. While the English course was held in 2014, the French course, scheduled 
for 2015, was cancelled owing to insufficient number of eligible candidates. This LDC course was the only level 1 course held in Geneva, as introduction courses normally took place via e-learning or in the beneficiary countries. The LDCs were increasingly taking the level 1 course online. In this 
regard, one-third of candidates that registered for the level 1 introduction course in 2014 were 
from the LDCs.  
48. The advanced thematic course for LDCs was recently introduced at the WTO. The first such 
course for French-speaking countries in 2013 had to be cancelled since the WTO only received 
21 applications, of which only seven possessed the pre-requisites for the course. However, the 2014 course for French-speaking countries was held as scheduled. A similar course was scheduled 
to take place for English-speaking LDCs from 22 June-3 July this year. The course held in 2014 
had been appreciated, particularly in light of its focus on issues of importance to LDCs such as the LDC Services Waiver, and implementation of  the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). 
49. He went on to state that priority was given to technical-assistance requests made by LDCs, 
including at national and regional level. He, however, regretted the fact that requests from LDCs 
were rather insufficient. In 2014, only 21 requests  had been received for national or regional 
activities for LDCs. There were approximately 21 LDCs that had not requested any national 
activities in 2014. 
50. He pointed out that LDCs remained the prio rity for WTO's Reference Centres Programme. 
There were about 112 Reference Centres of which a third were located in LDCs. In 2014, the WTO 
installed or updated eight Reference Centres, four of which were in LDCs. A few missions relating 
to Reference Centres had to be postponed due to the health situation in some LDCs. He mentioned that in 2015 and 2016, the WTO aimed at enhancing the coverage of the Reference Centres to more LDCs. Twenty LDCs had been identified for the biennium 2015-2016 for an upgrade or 
installation of Reference Centres. 
51. He further provided some details on three internship programmes: the Netherlands Trainee 
Programme (NTP); the Mission Intern Programme (M IP - funded by France, Ireland and Denmark); 
and the Regional Coordinator Internship Programme  (RCIP - funded directly by the WTO from the 
DDA Global Trust Fund). He said that a large number of LDC delegates participating at the Sub-Committee meeting had also participated in one of these programmes, demonstrating that 
these flagship programmes were working well. In the last couple of years, the average share of 
participants coming from LDCs was 65% for the NTP, 63% for the MIP and 38% for the RCIP. In 
2014, the three programmes covered 40 interns. The share of interns from LDCs was 60% for the NTP, 68% for the MIP and 44% for the RCIP. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  52. He encouraged all the beneficiary countries, sp ecifically the LDC representatives to work on 
their needs assessments, in particular in the contex t of trade policy reviews, so that any technical 
assistance delivered to the LDCs was based on iden tified needs. This was one of the tasks assigned 
to interns at the WTO. 
53. He noted that the LDCs were increasingly making use of the e-learning programme. In 
2014, 2,518 LDCs participated in online courses representing one third of all participants (7,590). The number of successful participants from LDCs in  the e-learning courses also increased rapidly 
from 502 in 2010 to 1,473 in 2014. 
54. In conclusion, he said that the preparations for the 2016-2017 Biennial Technical Assistance 
Plan had begun. The preparation process would be demand-driven, and would give priority to LDCs. The Secretariat would consult with regional gr oupings, inviting delegations to articulate their 
needs. A questionnaire would be sent out to delegations in the coming weeks which would allow 
the Secretariat to tailor the plan to the needs identified by Members. 
55. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, thanked the Secretariat for 
its report. He recalled the importance attached by Ministers on providing technical assistance to 
LDCs ever since the establishment of the Organi zation in 1995. Over the years, WTO's TRTA had 
grown substantially, which could be observed in the evolution of the WTO's biennial technical 
assistance plans. He also noted that the WTO worked with partners, such as through the EIF and 
STDF, to tackle some of the additi onal challenges that LDCs faced. 
56. He welcomed the continued prioritization of LDCs in the delivery of TRTA. This assistance, 
however, needed to be provided to LDCs on a sustainable basis for it to have a lasting impact on 
their capacity to better understand and benefit from the multilateral trading system. In the view of 
the LDCs, the main objective of TRTA was to enhance human and institutional capacity in the LDCs. He acknowledged some of the unique produc ts geared towards the LDCs. For instance, the 
holding of the three-week Introduction Courses for LDC government officials had been useful. 
LDCs were also benefitting fr om the Geneva-based as well as Regional Trade Policy Courses 
(RTPC). He further noted that the increased participation of LDCs in intermediate and advanced 
levels of training in the WTO would help them to formulate better trade policies, as well as 
participate effectively in the activities of the WTO. He hoped that the WTO would continue to be flexible so as to facilitate the participation of  LDC officials in various training programmes.  
57. One area where some attention was required was how long-term institutional capacity and 
knowledge in LDCs could be fostered. In this re gard, he suggested that LDCs be considered as 
possible venues for RTPCs. The regular training exercises that resulted from such courses would increase human and institutional capacity in a given LDC as it would involve relevant government 
agencies, academia, research institutions and the private sector. Further, such an arrangement 
would also enhance collaboration between LDC academic institutions and the WTO. LDCs were aware of the procedure on this, but wished to request Members to consider LDC venues for RTPCs 
when future consultations on the issue took place. 
58. He further underscored the importance of the various internship programmes at the WTO, 
which gave exposure to LDC government official s and created capacity in WTO-related matters. 
The NTP as well as the MIPs had proven very usef ul. He thanked all the donors for their generous 
support, and urged them to further strengthen  these programmes. He requested that the 
internship programmes should fund at least one official from each LDC Member each year. The TRTA policy needed to avoid rationing amongst LDCs . This would help build sustained capacity in 
the LDCs.  
59. With regard to national technical assistance activities, he noted that the utilization rate by 
the LDCs remained low. This was due to various reasons including, but not limited to, costs related 
to the organization of such events. He apprecia ted the entitlement of an LDC to request three 
national activities per year as compared to two for other developing countries. However, the organization of these activities involved costs that often prevented the submission of requests for national activities. He urged donors to give positive consideration to this problem, and to earmark 
funds with a view to holding more national activities in LDCs. He asked the Secretariat to take note 
of this request. He further added that LDCs might raise these issues, especially relating to WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  internship programmes and national activities in the context of preparations for the next TA plan. 
He looked forward to receiving a positive  response from Memb ers in this regard. 
60. The representative of the Central African Republic supported the statement made by 
Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group. She expressed her disappointment about the 
non-consideration of LDC proposals for national activities during the preparations of the biennial 
technical assistance plans. In 2011, her delegation  had submitted a request for a national activity 
for SPS, TRIPS and Services - but none of the requ ests had been fulfilled owing to non-availability 
of the Secretariat. The same requests for national  activities had been reformulated in 2013. These 
activities were important for their officials in the capital. She asked the Secretariat to take the request into account, especially with respect to the availability of experts from the Secretariat.  
61. With regard to activities organized in Geneva, she explained that officials from capitals often 
had difficulties obtaining a visa for Switzerland despite having invitations and airline tickets. In the 
absence of a Swiss Mission in her country, officials had to travel to Cameroon, at their own expense, to obtain a visa, which in some cases took two to three weeks. Discussions with 
Switzerland had yielded a solution where, since January 2015, her nationals were authorized to go 
to the French Embassy in the Central African Republic to obtain the relevant visas for two to three days. She welcomed this arrangement which solved the current problem of obtaining necessary 
visa to attend WTO training activities. She suggest ed that such a solution needed to be extended 
to other LDCs that faced the same constraints to improve the effective participation of LDCs in the technical assistance activities of the WTO. 
62. She underlined the importance of internship programmes in the WTO. Her delegation being 
a small delegation supported the MIP which allowe d officials from their capitals to support the 
Geneva missions to work on trade issues. Such in terns were useful as they eased the amount of 
work that needed to be done and helped them to be more efficient and effective in the 
negotiations that took place in the WTO. She also  proposed that the LDCs should not be excluded 
from internship programmes if a Member face d administrative measures. She argued that 
Members that underwent political or humanitaria n crises required funds to resolve emergency 
situations and often had limited budgets to ensure contributions to the WTO in a timely manner. 
She expressed her disappointment that such Member s, including her own, were not able to fully 
benefit from WTO technical assistance activities because of administrative measures taken in the WTO. 
63. The representative of Guinea noted that the growing number of registered individuals from 
LDCs demonstrated LDCs' interest in the TA activities of the WTO. She expressed concern about 
the difficulties experienced by her country in organizing national technical-assistance activities. In 
2014, Guinea had requested assistance in three area s, including to identify priorities in trade 
facilitation - but no activity was carried out. She noted that if there were problems for the Secretariat staff to travel to Guinea, the Secretar iat could consider solutions proposed by Guinea 
such as using experts trained by the WTO throug h the NTP. She wished to have more follow-up 
information on the request made by Guinea with re gard to national activities. Her delegation had 
submitted requests to benefit from the MIP – this had not been followed up by the Secretariat. Her 
delegation was very small and needed such support  to enable them to effectively participate in 
WTO's work.  
64. The representative of Mali supported the statem ent made by Bangladesh, on behalf of the 
LDC Group. He welcomed the initiative to remove limits on the number of national activities that 
LDCs could seek per year. He thanked the Secretar iat for responding to Mali's requests for three 
national activities in 2014. One ac tivity that had been planned was not carried out for reasons that 
were not known. He noted the cancellation of Fr ench-speaking activities. He expressed support for 
the comments made by the representative of the Central African Republic in regard to the 
problems of obtaining visas. He suggested that the Secretariat review all processes with more 
flexibility to provide opportunities to LDCs to attend events in Geneva. He noted that the Reference Centre in his country had been stre ngthened and that the Centre was engaged in 
providing necessary services to the Government. 
65. The representative of Yemen supported the stat ement made by Bangladesh, on behalf of the 
LDC Group. Yemen was one of the 21 LDCs that had not submitted requests for national activities 
in 2014, mainly for security reasons. This ha d prevented Yemen from benefitting from WTO 
support. There were other Members which, for simila r reasons, albeit not security, were prevented WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  from convening national activities in their capitals. He suggested that the Secretariat introduce a 
special system of compensation for those LDCs. He further stressed the need to smoothen the integration of recently acceded LDCs into the WTO system, and asked whether the Secretariat had any plans to consider special activities for recently acceded LDCs. 
66. The representative of Nepal supported the stat ement made by Bangladesh, on behalf of the 
LDC Group. He noted that WTO's technical assistance, made available in the form of trainings, 
workshops, internships, or courses of various le ngths had helped LDCs build their capacity and 
enhanced their understanding on WTO matters. TRTA  and capacity-building efforts had helped LDC 
officials to deal with the WTO matters more effici ently and assisted them to enforce their rights 
and obligations. He expressed gratitude to the ITTC for the hard work undertaken in enhancing capacity in LDCs. He welcomed the fact that  LDCs were a priority for ITTC activities. 
67. He noted the importance of the biennial technical assistance and training plans for the 
delivery of WTO's TRTA, which was a core element of the development dimension of the multilateral trading system. These plans were an  important component of the Aid-for-Trade Work 
Programme. The relevance and utility of WTO’s TRTA had been increasing. However, he considered 
the delivery of TRTA to be inadequate against th e increased demand for TRTA from the LDCs. He 
encouraged Members to scale up their support to enable the ITTC to better serve the increasing 
needs of LDCs.   
68. He said that capacity building at the global, regional and national level had proven to be 
equally relevant and productive for government officials and others working in the field on WTO matters. Both e-learning and face-to-face capacity-building activities had been effective for 
broadening and further deepening LDCs' underst anding of the multilateral trading system.  
69. He pointed out that the efficacy of th e biennial plans very much depended, inter alia , on how 
much resources it could enjoy during implemen tation. Predictable and adequate funding was 
essential for timely and effective implementation of the TA plan. He thanked all donors for their 
significant and continued contribution to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF). He also noted that contributions to the DDAGTF had depleted. He underscored the need 
of maintaining a desired level of contributions for the smooth operation of TRTA.  
70. The representative of the Democratic Republic  of the Congo supported the statement made 
by Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group. Sh e thanked the Secretariat for the presentation. 
While the application of her country to the NTP had been accepted, she sought clarification from 
the Secretariat as to why the request for the MIP had not been accepted. 
71. The Chairman invited the Secretariat to resp ond to the issues raised by LDCs at the 
meeting. He also requested the Secretariat to consider responding to each LDC delegation in 
writing. 
72. The representative of the Secretariat noted that he would respond, as proposed by the 
Chairman, directly to delegations. To facilitate a response from the Secretariat, he invited 
delegations to bilateral discussions. He explaine d that there had been constraints in providing 
experts for some activities, particularly in the le ad up to the Ministerial meeting in 2013 and, that 
the Secretariat, in certain instances, had considered that certain activities could be covered in a more efficient manner. He reiterated that this would be explained to delegations bilaterally, and 
followed up later. 
73. On the issue raised by Bangladesh as to whether LDCs could be considered as venues for 
the RTPCs, he explained that the venue alloca tion was a competitive process among several 
interested Members. He informed Members that a couple of LDCs, including Benin and Senegal, 
benefitted from the WTO Chairs Programme. If ther e were a need for specific assistance at the 
academic level with universities, the WTO coul d provide necessary support to LDCs and other 
developing countries. 
74. He took note of the request to fund one intern for each LDC delegation every year. He said 
that the Secretariat did not receive internship applications from all LDCs. He further underlined that the Secretariat was somewhat constrained to consider applications of candidates that either 
did not meet the criteria or received applications way beyond the deadline. He also pointed out the WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  need to respect certain rules vis-à-vis  the donors supporting the internship programmes. In this 
regard, certain criteria needed to be applied, and he would be ready to explain all the considerations of the selection process. He asked delegations to help the Secretariat in this process by submitting applications of qualified candidates and to submit those applications within 
the stipulated deadline.  
75. With regard to the funding of national activiti es, the Secretariat was fully aware of this issue 
as it had been discussed before. He had no immediate solution other than to stress the need to 
explore together ways in which such costs could be covered including with bilateral donors. With 
respect to Members that could not benefit from national activities for security-related reasons, he mentioned that the Secretariat addressed the issue of compensation by giving such LDCs priority 
in the allocation of interns to the missions. In other cases where requests for national activities 
could not be delivered, the Secretariat accepted interns under the NTP to be trained on the 
requested issues. Finally, concerning the RAMs, the Secretariat was engaged with them with a view to addressing the issue identified in their accession processes. 
76. The Chairman thanked the Secretariat for its report, and Members for their statements. He 
was pleased to note that the LDCs were a priority beneficiary of WTO's TRTA. In 2014, LDCs were 
associated with approximately 48% of all technical-assistance activities. Several products had 
been specifically created for the LDCs, or had LDCs as a priority, such as the three-week 
Introduction Course for LDCs and the Advanced Courses for LDCs. It was his hope that these 
various technical-assistance products were building the knowledge base on trade matters in the LDCs. He also hoped that WTO’s TRTA was making a contribution to the building of institutional 
capacity in LDC governments.  
77. He further took note of a particular request from the LDCs to enhance the internship 
programmes in the WTO. He emphasized the need for merit-based recruitment so as to select the 
most capable candidates for these programmes. He was ready to assist LDCs in his capacity as the 
Chairman of the Sub-Committee, in order to work towards an outcome to the request made for strengthening the internship programmes. He also noted that the LDC Group could raise this issue 
in the context of preparations for WTO's biennial technical assistance plans.  
78. He suggested that the Sub-Committee take note of the briefing made by the Secretariat as 
well as the statements made.  
79. It was so agreed. 
- An Update on the Enhanced Integrated Fr amework (EIF): Report by the EIF Executive 
Secretariat 
80. The Executive Director of the EIF Executive Secretariat was grateful for the opportunity 
provided to brief the Sub-Committee on the prog ress and achievements made by the EIF - which 
was the only programme devoted exclusively to building trade capacities in LDCs.  
81. He said that during the past three quarters, the EIF had approved one pre-Diagnostic Trade 
Integration Study (DTIS) project, and validated seven DTIS and DTIS updates and launched 
another four DTISs. The EIF had also supported the establishment and strengthening of national 
institutional arrangements in 11 beneficiary countries. In addition, it had provided productive capacity-building support for 13 projects during  this period. The EIF had also supported a 
feasibility study project in one country during this period, increasing such interventions to five.  
82. He further highlighted that the new window of trade mainstreaming support, for which an 
announcement had been made in 2014, had resulted in six requests for support, of which one had 
already been approved. The EIF had managed to increase its total commitments to US$195 million 
as of March 2015.  
83. Since the last reporting period, particular attention had been paid to achieving universality 
of the EIF. The EIF Programme was able to bring Somalia as the 50
th EIF country on board in 
September 2014 and welcomed Equatorial Guinea as its 51st country in February 2015. The EIF 
now covered all 48 LDCs and three recently graduated LDCs. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  84. He went on to say that in order to promote sustainability of the national institutional 
structure, the EIF had started strengthening the su stainability component in each project proposal. 
This was done by emphasizing financial, institutional and human resources sustainability in all the project proposals so as to enable the EIF countries to continue providing the benefits to 
stakeholders even after the EIF support ceased to exist. The EIF actively encouraged countries to 
leverage resources, and it offered support to beneficiary countries in this endeavour.  
85. Speaking further on the issue of the comprehe nsive evaluation and design of the second 
phase of the EIF Programme, he mentioned that the comprehensive evaluation of the EIF had 
been completed in November 2014. The evaluati on reconfirmed that the EIF remained highly 
relevant and important for LDCs’ trade needs and that it had supported LDCs in mainstreaming trade into their national development plans and st rategies. The evaluation also suggested that the 
EIF had started showing impacts on the ground and that there was good prospect for 
sustainability, although it also highlighted the fact that the results varied across countries. The evaluation further pointed out that there was a need to focus more on enhancing the speed of 
programme delivery and resource leveraging as well as supporting LDCs for greater integration 
and participation into the global trading system.  
86. In November 2014, in the aftermath of th e comprehensive evaluation, the EIF Board 
constituted a Working Group representing the entire partnership with the responsibility of 
providing recommendations to the Board on th e extension of the EIF programme. The Working 
Group commissioned four papers relating to extension and transition, governance, ownership, leveraging and sustainability, all of which had been submitted. He noted that the paper on 
extension, which had been approved on 17 Decemb er 2014, paved the way for the decision by the 
EIF Steering Committee on 18 December 2014 to extend the programme for a period of seven years starting on 1 January 2016, based on the decision on the scope and modalities for the 
second phase of the programme. The Working Group also finalized terms of reference for two 
consultants for preparing the Programme Framewor k Document and issues that had emerged from 
the Comprehensive Evaluation, namely: regional in tegration, global value chains and engagement 
of the private sector in the EIF. The consultants' reports were presented during the EIF Global 
Platform organized at the WTO from 17 to 19 March 2015 – a forum designed for the entire partnership, including "real implementers" at the co untry level, with a view to shaping the second 
phase of the Programme. The consultants were revising the reports based on comments and 
inputs received from the participants of the Global Platform as well as from capitals. These reports 
would be submitted to Working Group at its next  meeting. The Working Group was then expected 
to provide recommendations to the EIF Board for its consideration and decision.  
87. Subject to the approval of the Programme Fr amework document by the EIF Board and its 
endorsement by the EIF Steering Committee, the se cond phase of the EIF was expected to be 
launched during the forthcoming Global Review of Aid for Trade, which would set the stage for 
organizing the Pledging Conference for the second phase in the second half of 2015. 
88. He further noted that based on the recommendations of the comprehensive evaluation, the 
EIF had already initiated several quick-win reform measures which included front loading support through project start-up support missions in countries where the programme had recently started 
(e.g., Ethiopia and Myanmar); periodic portfolio performance reviews with main implementing 
entities; streamlining no-cost extensions; and adopting proactive communication strategies. Supporting countries with the development of project management tools and streamlining 
reporting requirements were two other agenda items the EIF was planning to pursue in the near 
future.  
89. He also spoke about global advocacy and ou treach activities of the EIF. Two major 
international events at which the EIF organized side events were: the Ministerial Meeting on 
Building Productive Capacity in LDCs (Benin, July 2014); and (ii) the Second United Nations 
Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (Vienna, November 2014). Continued global advocacy had helped to put the EIF at the forefront of the global development discourse. The role 
of the EIF had not only been recognized by th e Open Working Group proposal for Sustainable 
Development Goals, but also at the Ministerial Meeting held in Benin. The EIF's contribution to the graduation of LDCs was also duly appreciated and included in the outcome document of the 
Ministerial Meeting of Asia-Pacific LDCs on Gr aduation and post-2015 development agenda (Nepal, 
December 2014). The EIF was at various stages to complete its publication work in a number of topics such as: (i) on Standards and Trade; (ii) on Trade in Tourism Services in the LDCs; and WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  (iii) on the Istanbul Programme of Action and th e post-2015 development agenda. With a view to 
enhancing the outreach of the Programme, the EIF had revamped and launched the EIF website in three languages (English, French and Portuguese ) and had restarted the publication of the EIF 
Newsletter from the fourth quarter of 2014. In conc lusion, he said that the next few months were 
going to be critical for the EIF as it moved towards finalizing the scope and modalities for the 
second phase of the programme with a renewed sense of commitment, ownership and results-orientation. He thanked all members of the partnership - LDCs, donors and agencies - for 
their continued support to the Programme. 
90. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, than ked the EIF Executive 
Director for the report. He said that the LDCs  and development partners had been engaged in 
shaping up the strategy for the implementa tion of the second phase of the EIF. 
91. He said that the EIF Global Platform had recorded a high-level participation from LDCs as 
well as from other stakeholders. Such high-level participation from the side of LDCs was an additional testimony of the importance that the LDCs attached to the EIF. The EIF was the only 
multi-donor programme dedicated to support the interests of LDCs in trade development. 
92. He quoted some examples and figures to illustrate why LDCs continued to champion the EIF. 
He said that in Mali, for instance, with EIF support, the mango sector had seen an increase of 
exports of 78%, with a turnover of US$28 million . Among the 3 million people engaged in the 
sector, the project supported women's economic empowerment, by grouping them into women's 
cooperatives. These women were earning higher wages through the sale of mango and mango jam - after receiving training in production and processing techniques for fruits and vegetables 
supported by the EIF. As a result, these mother s could boast of sending their children to school, 
providing adequate clothing, and taking care of health bills.  
93. Continuing with the examples, he spoke of Yemen, where the demand for Yemeni honey in 
the gulf region had tremendously increased, than ks to the EIF support for high productivity and 
quality standards. This sector had 100,000 bee k eepers with 1.3 million colonies. It exported 
5,000 million tons per year with an export value of US$500 million. The EIF support had further 
trained women and organized them into producer cooperatives where honey was gathered, packed 
and sold, thus taking advantage of higher prices  for their produce and thereby also maximizing 
profit, both as producers and as cooperative shareholders.  
94. He also spoke of the garment industry in Lao People's Democratic Republic, where the first 
professional garment skills development training centre had been opened to provide innovation 
and cost-effective training to increase export competiveness. This had helped factory workers become more competitive, and boost revenues through more exports, and as such it had improved 
family livelihoods. He said that the Lao People's Democratic Republic's textile and garment 
industry was the biggest non-source industry wi th almost 30,000 workers with an export volume 
of 15 million pieces for US$200 million in 2012. 
95. The LDC Group expected that the extension of the EIF would yield fruit in all beneficiary 
countries. He noted that 78% of EIF countries had mainstreamed trade into their national development plans, which was an important milestone in the recognition of trade as a potential engine for inclusive growth. Moreover, 95% of bene ficiary countries provided high-quality financial 
reports, as highlighted by the Trust Fund Manager during the Global platform. This demonstrated 
the high level of accountability on the LDC side an d contributed to increasing the confidence of the 
LDC development partners. He called upon developed and developing countries, in a position to do 
so, to consider joining the EIF, as new EIF donors, for a collective effort in helping LDCs use trade 
as a means for poverty reduction. He strongly believed that trade could be an engine of growth if the right policies were applied.  
96. He noted that the debate on the extension of the EIF was taking place at a time when the 
international community was discussing the SDGs , which were intended to go beyond the 
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For instance, Goal 9 and Goal 17, respectively, intended to boost industrialization and technology transfer in developing countries and LDCs. Technology 
upgrading and knowledge-intensive production could lead to value added manufacturing and 
services, and could lead towards economic diversification with consequent positive impact on job creation. He believed that the new phase of the EIF should continue assisting in addressing WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  supply-side bottlenecks in LDCs instead of narrowly focusing on the so-called new issues, namely, 
value chains, regional dimension and the private se ctor involvement. He affirmed that EIF funding 
needed to be dictated by national trade priorities.   
97. He expressed his appreciation to the LDC development partners in the EIF. The valued 
support of development partners was not only limited to financial contributions, but also 
demonstrated in their active engagement on th e ground helping LDCs strengthen coordination 
capacity. This type of support was catalytic as it helped create institutional capacity in the LDCs. 
He said that through active engagement in the EI F governing bodies and as Donor Facilitators on 
the ground, donors had demonstrated their strong  commitment to supporting the LDC objective of 
using trade as a development tool for growth and poverty reduction.  
98. He was confident that the Pledging Conference  would bring substantial replenishment to the 
EIF Trust Fund, so as to ensure that the second  phase of the programme translated into more 
impact on the ground. He encouraged all stakeholders in this important discussion to be open-minded, constructive and result-oriented. In this regard, he encouraged Members to focus on 
achieving good results and to improving the effi ciency and effectiveness of the programme which 
ensured value for money. 
99. The representative of Guinea thanked the EIF Secretariat for the report and supported the 
statement by Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group. She thanked the development partners for 
supporting the EIF, and allowing the LDCs to work towards poverty alleviation through the projects funded by the EIF. She congratulated the EIF Secr etariat for the successful hosting of the Global 
Platform that had allowed Members to see more cl early the report and the issues that had been 
put forward by the consultants. She invited donors to increase efforts to achieve the funding 
targets for the effective implementation of phase two of the EIF. 
100.  The representative of Nepal supported the stat ement made by Bangladesh, on behalf of LDC 
Group. He said that the EIF had played an important role in mainstreaming, as well as in 
leveraging resources, for trade-related infrastructure building and enhancing trade capacities. As the EIF would enter its second phase in January 20 16, the organization of the EIF Global platform 
assumed great significance. It had provided an excellent opportunity to its key stakeholders, 
including LDCs, donors and representatives of core  agencies to contemplate on the various aspects 
of the EIF, exchange views on its strengths an d weaknesses, and suggest ideas and perspectives 
to be incorporated in the second phase. The over whelming participation of LDCs in the platform 
ensured ownership and demonstrated full support to the continuation of the EIF. 
101.  He went on to say that the unique partnershi p mechanism established by the EIF needed to 
continue to work for LDCs to help them integrate into the global economy. He reaffirmed his 
delegation's view that the EIF's second phase n eeded to be built upon the foundation and success 
made so far. In this regard, there was a need to focus on introducing and adopting innovative 
approaches as suggested by the Comprehensive Eval uation Report to address the challenges that 
had been encountered during the first phase. He hoped that the Framework Document of the 
second phase would be designed in such a way so as to facilitate the implementation of the findings of the Comprehensive Evaluation and to accommodate the views and concerns expressed by LDC representatives during the Global Platform. 
102.  He further noted that if Members wished to enlarge the scope of the EIF in its second phase, 
which was desirable, it was necessary that more funds be committed to cater for the increasing needs of the LDCs. He added that the LDCs would continue to make efforts to leverage additional 
resources subject to availability.  
103.  In conclusion, he thanked all donors and core agencies for their constructive engagement in 
the EIF programme and encouraged them to scale up their support at the upcoming pledging 
conference. He also called upon new emerging developing country Members to join the EIF in its 
next phase and extend their hands of solidarity to uplift LDCs out of poverty.  
104.  The representative of Australia thanked the EIF Executive Director for his report. He 
expressed appreciation for the hard work undertaken by the EIF Secretariat in advancing the 
necessary reforms in addition to its regular work. In this regard, he praised the spirit of 
collaboration between LDCs, donors  and the Secretariat. He reiterated that, like the LDCs, other WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  partners in the EIF were constructively engaged in the current work. He recalled that the 
discussions in the EIF Global Platform as well as in the EIF Working Group emphasized the importance of national priorities for driving EIF funding. He aligned himself with the LDC statement 
which highlighted that the second phase of the EI F programme would need to achieve good results 
and that there should be improvements in the ef ficiency and the effectiveness of the programme 
that brought value for money. He thanked, on behalf of donors, all the delegations for their kind words to donors. 
105.  The Chairman thanked the EIF Executive Director for his report. He noted that the EIF 
seemed to be a very important capacity-building initiative for LDCs. It had made contributions to 
mainstreaming trade in LDCs, and in particular developing institutional capacity in LDCs. There were a series of success stories across African and Asian LDCs which needed to be built on as the 
programme moved to its second phase. He understood that Members of the EIF Board were 
working on the elements that should form part of  the second phase of the EIF. He hoped that the 
conclusion of this work would help LDCs in further building their trade capacity. It was now up to 
the donor community to decide if they would continue to support the EIF.  
106.  He suggested that the Sub-Committee takes note of the report made by the EIF Executive 
Director as well as of the statements made. 
107.  It was so agreed. 
D. LDC GROUP RETREAT HELD IN MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND, FROM 
17 TO 19 FEBRUARY 2015: REPORT BY THE COORDINATOR OF THE LDC GROUP 
108.  The Chairman informed Members that an LDC Group Retreat was held in Montreux, 
Switzerland, from 17 to 19 February 2015. He understood that the purpose of the Retreat was to 
identify the issues for LDCs in the post-Bali Work Program, and to advance LDC interests in preparation for MC10. He gave the floor to th e LDC Coordinator to provide a report on the 
outcome of the Retreat. 
109.  The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, reported on the LDC Group 
retreat. He said that the Retreat was organized with the assistance of the UK's Trade Advisory 
Fund and UNCTAD. He said that the LDC Group had been honoured to receive a keynote address 
from the WTO's Director-General Roberto Azevêdo.  In his keynote remarks, the Director-General 
had assured LDCs that while the core areas to conclude the DDA were agriculture, NAMA and 
services, LDCs could table any proposal of import ance to them. At the Retreat, the Group also 
received insightful presentations from a number of  experts from various organizations. The results 
of the Retreat would contribute to developing an outline for LDCs’ position in the post-Bali Work 
Program. The Retreat was also used to examine LDC special and differential treatment (S&D) 
proposals and to assess the high-level meetin g of the Services Council on the LDC Services 
Waiver.  
110.  He went on to say that the Retreat discussion had revolved around the following themes: 
Agriculture (including net food-importing developi ng countries (NFIDCs)) issues, concerns with box 
shifting and domestic support; NAMA (treatment of customs unions including LDCs, non-tariff barriers); Services (implementation of the LDC Se rvices Waiver and the results of high-level 
meeting in February 2015); food security simu lations for LDCs and LDC considerations for a 
permanent solution on public stockholding; extension of the TRIPS transition period for 
pharmaceutical products; LDC S&D proposals; implementation of other LDC Bali Decisions including DFQF, rules of origin and cotton; and WTO technical assistance.  
111.  At the retreat, the LDCs had noted that they were provided with necessary flexibilities in the 
agriculture and NAMA draft modalities texts and it was their understanding that these flexibilities would prevail in addition to their market access interests. On the Bali LDC Decisions, the Group 
assessed how to elevate them to binding decision s by MC10. In addition, the Group considered 
that a meaningful agreement on cotton was long  overdue, whether within or outside of the 
agriculture negotiations. At the conclusion of the retreat, LDCs had agreed to take all of these areas forward and to also consider topics that could not be taken up at the Retreat such as the 
status of LDC accessions. WT/COMTD/LDC/M/74 
 
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  112.  He further mentioned the work undertaken by LDCs in the following areas: submission of a 
list of S&D articles to the CTD Special Session; wo rk relating to the high-level meeting on the LDC 
Services Waiver and its subsequent assessment by LDCs at the Council for Trade in Services (CTS) 
on 18 March; the request for an extension of the transition period for pharmaceutical products 
under the TRIPS Agreement; and the EIF Global Platform. 
113.  He further noted that according to the LDC assessment at the CTS in March, the high-level 
meeting held in February could bring positive results for LDCs. The LDCs had received very 
promising indications of preferenti al treatment to operationalize the Waiver. This meant that their 
services suppliers could receive preferential treatment with certainty ushering new opportunities to their services trade. However, he felt that some of the preferences announced could be further improved before those are notified to the WTO by 31 July 2015. In this regard, the LDCs had 
conducted several bilaterals with individual Members to explore how the promises at the high-level 
meeting would be carried forward in time for July. The LDC Group hoped that notifying Members would not use the notification process to simply inform Members of existing market access and 
treatment available to every Member.  
114.  In concluding, he stressed that the LDC Group was in the process of working internally on 
their priorities for a post-Bali Work Program. The year 2015 was pivotal for all Members of the 
WTO to define this Work Program by July 2015, and to deliver a successful MC10 in Nairobi in 
December with concrete deliverables for LDCs. He  urged Members to redouble efforts to ensure 
that concrete outcomes for LDCs remain ed central to concluding the DDA.    
115.  The Chairman thanked the delegation of Bangladesh for its report. He noted that the LDC 
Group had had the opportunity to start its thinking process with a view to advancing its interests in 
the current phase of DDA negotiations as well as in the regular work of the WTO. The task ahead 
of Members in establishing the post-Bali Work Program was an important one. It was his sincere 
hope that Members could bring this work to a successful conclusion - which would also provide an 
opportunity for LDCs to address their key issues in the Work Program. 
116.  He suggested that the Sub-Committee take note of the report made by the LDC Coordinator. 
117.  It was so agreed. 
E. OTHER BUSINESS 
118.  The Chairman noted that the year 2015 was an important year on several tracks. On the 
one hand, Members were working towards developing the post-Bali Work Program and later in the 
year MC10 would be held in Nairobi, Kenya. It was an unprecedented opportunity for the WTO to 
once again deliver so that LDCs could increase their participation in global trade. He encouraged Members to keep this perspective in view as th ey worked towards July Work Program and MC10. 
119.  He also informed Members that in the context of the commemoration of the 20th 
Anniversary of the WTO, an event on LDCs was be ing planned in the month of October. The event, 
which probably would be public in nature, woul d take place under the aegis of the Sub-Committee 
and perhaps would be held back-to-back with the regular meeting of the Sub-Committee, 
tentatively scheduled for October. The WTO was in the initial stage of planning this event. He would get back to the Sub-Committee in due course once progress on organization had been made. 
120.  He noted that the next meeting of the Sub-Committee was tentatively scheduled for early 
July. The exact date would be communicated in due course.
2  
121.  The meeting was adjourned. 
__________  
                                               
2 In view of a request from the LDC Coordinato r, the July meeting of the Sub-Committee was 
rescheduled after summer break. In this regard, a fax was sent to Members on 30 June 2015.