WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/W/157 
1 May 2007 
 (07-1735) 
Committee on Trade and Development  
  
 
ANNUAL REPORT ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING 
(1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2006) 
 
Note by the Secretariat
 
 
 
 
Page 
 
 
 
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................2  
II. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... .3 
III. A BROAD OVERVIEW OF TH E ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN.....................................4  
IV. THE PRODUCTS ................................................................................................................... ..6 
A. GENERAL WTO- RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING .........................................6  
B. SPECIALIZED AND ADVANCED TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE .................................10  
C. ACADEMIC SUPPORT FOR TRAINING AND CAPACITY -BUILDING :  AN INTEGRATED 
APPROACH ............................................................................................................................... .30 
D. SUPPORT TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FACILITIES .................................................32  
V. PROCESSES AND PROGRAMMES...................................................................................37  
VI. PARTNERSHIP AND OUTSOURCING .............................................................................39  
A. REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS ........................................................................................................40  
B. OTHER PARTNERSHIPS ..............................................................................................................44  
VII. FUNDING........................................................................................................................ ........48  
 WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
1. This report contains a qualitative and quan titative overview of the WTO Secretariat's 
technical assistance and training activities undertaken  during 2006. It discusses how the training was 
geared towards building long-lasting human and in stitutional capacity and e nhancing ownership.  
2. It provides information on modes of delivery of Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA), 
e.g. simulation exercises conducted as part of the tr aining, the use of eTraining and distance learning, 
as well as on how training has moved to higher levels of learning and whether and how a selection process of participants was conducted.  
3. It discusses how the cooperation with partners was articulated, including with regional and/or 
multilateral agencies or more generally with other institutions, as well as with academic partners and 
how these partnerships contributed  to enhancing the efficiency of trade capacity-building.  
4. It shows the continued efforts to strengthen th e needs assessment approach, including through 
the TPR process, so as to ensure that the products are geared towards the n eeds of the recipients.  
5. In underscores that, in line with the Doha D eclaration, priority attention was given to 
Least developed Countries (LDCs), who have been asso ciated with 44 per cent of all TRTA. It notes 
that some products are specifically geared toward s LDCs, e.g. the Integrated Framework and Joint 
Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP), Introduction Courses, Geneva Weeks, 
Reference Centres and the Netherlands Trainee Programme (NTP).  
6. It reports on a total of 486 Geneva- and fiel d-based TRTA activities undertaken, representing 
some 30,000 participant/days, with most WTO divisi ons having been associated with the delivery of 
WTO's TRTA.  It is observed that this number has been stable in recent years and compares to the 
natural resource capacity limitations within the Secretariat. 
7. It confirms that, while a geographical balance was maintained, particular attention was given 
to Africa, with 178 activities, followed by Asia a nd Pacific (91), Latin America (55), Central and 
Eastern Europe and Central Asia (40), Arab a nd Middle-East (33), and the Caribbean (32).  
8. It shows that the delivery of TRTA has increasi ngly been focused and specialized, with base 
training being assured through the (Regional) Tr ade Policy Courses (TPCs), eTraining and distance 
learning.  
9. It notes how the Secretariat continued to outs ource activities and made use of the services of 
external consultants in regional and national activities, who covered both general and specific issues. 
Equally, it underscores that university professors a nd researchers have directly collaborated with the 
WTO and participated as lecturers in these courses.   
10. It stresses the continued challenge the Secret ariat faced in securing adequate funding of 
TRTA, particularly through the Doha Develo pment Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF), as a 
result of a shortage of funds. The target amount s and period benchmarks es tablished by the Budget 
Committee were not met and the issue of adequate and timely receipt of funds remains unsolved.   WT/COMTD/W/157 
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II. INTRODUCTION 
11. The Technical Assistance Plan 2006 (WT/COMTD/ W/142) was prepared by the Institute for 
Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) in the Summer of 2005, with substantive contributions 
from WTO divisions and then presented to the Member s.  The informal consultations held in the 
course of the year had, once again, been very he lpful in addressing key issues contained in the Plan. 
12. The smooth and early adoption of the Plan by the Committee on Trade and Development, at 
its first reading, on 16 September 2005, allowed th e Secretariat to make the necessary and timely 
preparations for its implementation early 2006.  Bene ficiaries were invited to submit their requests for 
national activities in a letter addressed them on 15 November 2005 (Job(05)277).  In parallel, donors 
were contacted for making their contributions to the DDAGTF.  
13. A particular difference with other years was th at in the year 2006 a strategic review of 
WTO-provided TRTA was conducted, following the signature of a contract with an external 
(independent) evaluation team in November 2005.  The outcome of the review was presented to the 
Secretariat in July 2006.  This was the first ever external evaluation conducted of TRTA provided by 
the Secretariat and its outcome is containe d in the Final Report of 19 September 2006 
(WT/COMTD/W/152).  The WTO Secretariat prepar ed a Management Response to the Report on 
17 October 2006 (WT/COMTD/W/153), as mandated in the Terms of Reference.  The 
recommendations were extensively discussed in the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD), 
both in formal and informal sessions.  Several of the recommendations were, to the extent possible, 
incorporated in the preparations of the TA Plan 2007 (WT/COMTD/W/151), which was presented to 
the Members in October 2006.  The Plan was 'in prin ciple' adopted at that meeting and confirmed at 
the CTD in November.  The discussions on the recommendations will be pursued in 2007.  
14. As in previous years, this report provides a qualitative and quantitative overview of the WTO 
Secretariat's technical assistance and training ac tivities undertaken during 2006.  It complements 
information provided in the semi-annual report subm itted to Members on activities carried out in the 
course of the year.  It contains factual informa tion on the activities that have taken place, the number 
of officials that have been trained (particip ant/days) in various events, as well as on the 
geographical/regional distribution of activities.  It  also provides qualitative information on the conduct 
of the activities themselves.  The report is largel y based on inputs provided by in-house divisions and 
contains information on how the TRTA has evolved over the years in specific areas.  It includes 
examples of how TRTA was delivered, e.g. 'success stories', how in some cases the delivery can be 
done better, with examples of the TRTA that has moved to higher levels of learning, the use of 
training material, and on such questions as interacti on with participants.   It discusses the use of 
simulation exercises, eTraining and distance learning, and, in some cases, whether and how a selection process of participants was conducted, and addresses matters relating to follow-up after the 
seminars.  Moreover, the report provides some indica tions of how it is felt that the training has been 
beneficial to the participants and/or country.  It provides specific information on how partnerships 
were used, with regional and/or multilateral agencies or more generally with other partners, including 
universities.  It discusses the division of labour , presentations, regional dimensions, the logistical 
support provided, i.e. how the interaction with partne r agencies has been helpful in the delivery of the 
activities themselves. 
15. The informal consultations conducted between th e Secretariat, beneficiaries, and donors to 
discuss issues relating to the Plan, continued to be very valuable in enhanci ng the understanding of the 
various products available for TRTA, as well as in the implementation of the Plan.  More broadly, this 
process of informal consultations has been of critic al importance in designing the TA Plan, refining 
the products and in raising the discussions on trade capacity building to new levels.  One particular 
issue that is becoming recurrent in the discussions is  the question on how to best ensure that requests WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  for TRTA be based on adequate needs assessments.   The Secretariat has pursued its efforts to 
strengthen the needs assessment tools and apply them to the widest extent possible, e.g. with the 
support of trainees under the NTP as well as in coope ration with the Trade Policy Review Division 
(TPRD), but on the whole this has continued to be a main  challenge.  It is an issue that merits further 
consideration. 
16. In designing the Secretariat's TRTA activities,  the main objective was to build long-lasting 
human and institutional capacity and to enhance owners hip.  The products have, as much as possible, 
been tailored to the needs of the be neficiaries.  Countries have been invited in writing, to submit to the 
Secretariat directly, their requests for national tec hnical assistance at any time during the year, when 
the need arises.  This flexibility has been found to be indispensable to allow for the delivery of TA 
that is focused and timely, related to identified need s.  Also, as a rule of thumb, developing countries 
continue to be entitled to two nati onal activities, Least developed Countri es (LDCs) to three.  This is 
in line with the scarce human resources in the Secretar iat, and the experience that there is a natural 
limit to the number of TRTA activities that can be undertaken in any given year, but also because of 
the limited absorption capacity in beneficiary countries.  
17. The Secretariat has again used all opportunities to explain the features of the TA Plan and 
beneficiaries' entitlements, and to draw their atten tion to how technical assistance can be requested.   
The regional desks in the ITTC continued to interact  with beneficiaries, to ensure that the proposed 
TRTA would meet the countries' requirements.  They acted as liaison officers between the line 
divisions in the Secretariat and the beneficiary, to ensure that the right terms and conditions for 
successful TRTA were set.  Those countries that were not using their rights were contacted, to explore 
whether they would have any particular need for assistance.  TRTA also featured prominently on the 
agenda of the Geneva Week, in order to alert non-residents to the possibilities of benefiting from 
WTO Programmes.  Finally, in order to monitor th e quality of the products and to ensure that the 
needs of the beneficiaries are b est catered for, the activities are assessed through the Back-to-Office 
Reports (BTORs), which are systematically an alyzed by the Technical Cooperation Audit Unit 
(TCAU), leading to follow-up recommendations. 
18. The structure of this report follows as much as possi ble the structure of the TA Plan itself.  It 
provides a broad overview of all activities undertaken  in Chapter II, followed by a more detailed 
discussion of the products in Chapter III.  Chapte r IV focuses more specifically on partnership 
arrangements and outsourcing, followed by s horter chapters on Funding in Chapter V. 
III. A BROAD OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN 
19. In 2006, and in line with expectations, a to tal of 486 activities were implemented including 
Geneva-based activities as well as those held ab road.  Of these activities, 44 took place in Geneva 
(Trade Policy Courses (TPCs), Geneva week, sympos ia etc.), and 442 were field based (Regional 
Trade Policy Courses (RTPCs), regional and nationa l seminars, etc.).  This number comprises 
activities of significantly different durations, varyin g between one day to 12 weeks, and involving as 
little as one staff member, or as many as over two dozens for the longer courses.  Also, the number of 
participants varies from one activity to another.   It was for this reason that the notion of 
"participant/days" was introduced, wh ich gives an appropriate weight to each activity when measuring 
implementation.  In 2006, the total number of par ticipant/days for planned regional events, amounted 
to 29,752, which corresponds to some 84 per cent of the total of anticipated participant/days in the 
TA Plan (i.e. 35,430).  It is recalled that the notion of participant/days is not applicable to all products, 
and can thus only be seen as a rough indicator.   
20. The delivery of all TRTA activities in 2006 held abroad involved some 4469 days of staff 
travel, in addition to which the preparation time should be counted.  This number does not account for 
staff time related to the implementation of Geneva-b ased activities.  This number of staff travel days  WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  was performed by 229 staff members and consulta nts who, collectively undertook 882 travels for 
implementing the 442 field activities.  This shows th at the average time associat ed with an activity is 
five days and on average, each of the WTO staff memb ers have been associated with four travels.  A 
majority of WTO divisions are thus involved in the delivery of TRTA in one way or another, either 
through contributions to Geneva- and/or field- based activities.  Most divisions undertook field 
missions and participated in a variety of work shops and training events.  WTO divisions were 
essentially involved in the delivery of activities, rela ting to the Agreements under their responsibility, 
as well as in the Geneva-based and RTPCs, STPCs etc ..  ITTC accounted for over a quarter of all staff 
travel (1216 days).  Despite the availability of L- staff, who are assigned to various WTO divisions, 
and whose main task is to provide support in th e delivery of technical assistance and training, there 
was strong pressure on all divisions, as the sixth Ministerial Conference had led to new deadlines in 
some specific areas of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations.  The Secretariat was required typically to provide support in the negotia tions and to implement commitments as contained 
in the TA Plan.  
21. As to the objective of maintaining a regional balance in the distribution of the technical 
assistance activities, (cf Table 1), the majority of activities were held in Africa (178), representing 37 
per cent of WTO's TRTA, followed by Asia and Paci fic (91), representing one fifth of all activities.  
A total of 55 activities were organized for Latin Amer ica (11 per cent), 40 for the Central and Eastern 
Europe Central Asia and the Caucasus (CEECAC) (8 per cent), 33 for the Arab and Middle-East 
countries (7 per cent), and 32 for the Caribbean (7 per cent).  While the LDCs are not listed 
separately, it should be noted that out of all activiti es, LDCs have been associated with a total of 212 
of them, which represents some 44 per cent of all TRTA.  This includes national activities held in 
LDCs (99) as well as regional seminars, worksh ops and training activities to which LDCs were 
invited.  
22. In terms of national vs. regional activities, it can  be observed that a total of 246 activities were 
held at the national level and 163 activities were re gional events.  Thus, while the total number of 
regional seminars has remained relatively stable, th e number of national activities has increased.  This 
is consistent with the notion that more targeted TR TA is required at the national level.  The remaining 
77 activities consisted of WTO's participation in act ivities organized by other agencies and to which 
the Secretariat was asked to make a contribution, as well as WTO's representation in trade-related conferences, symposia and high-level meetings.  As is discussed further in the report, these activities 
are mostly undertaken as part of the partners hip arrangements with other agencies that the WTO 
cooperates with, and are directly relevant in terms of TRTA and capacity building.  
23. With regard to the 122 planned WTO activities, specifically listed in the TA Plan, either 
undertaken in Geneva, or in the field, including th e regional seminars, the TPCs and RTPCs, a total of 
113 were executed (93 per cent), the rema ining nine not having taken place. 
24. The total number of regional and global activities undertaken, as contained in Tables 1 and 2  
includes Joint Integrated Techni cal Assistance Programme (JITAP) regional workshops and seminars, 
university workshops in preparation of the RTPCs, the eTraining modules, as well as over 30 regional activities that were held under WTO's partnership arrangements with other agencies and bodies, to 
which WTO was requested to make a specific input .  A regional activity on dispute settlement was 
carried over from 2005 and a training event on SPS w as added to the TA Plan as a follow-up activity 
of a specialized course on SPS conducted in 2006. 
25. With the exception of the three month TPCs held either in Geneva or in the region (RTPCs), 
the logistical and administrative arrangements, as well as the human resource inputs and the cost 
relating to regional seminars are most demanding.  Preparation time requires up to nine weeks, 
depending on whether the activity is organized sole ly by the WTO, or whether it is part of a 
partnership arrangement with another agency.  Thr ough the implementation of the partnerships, this WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  burden is lessened somewhat, particularly when other agencies are taking charge, in part or in full, of 
the logistical and administrative arrangements of the regional activities. 
26. As to the subjects covered (Table 2), the vast  majority of activities, national and regional 
combined, specifically addressed WTO Agreements.  W ith regard to topic-related seminars, services 
and assistance provided in support of the TPRs were  in strong demand, followed by SPS, market 
access issues (NAMA, customs valuation, rules of  origin), TRIPS, development issues, trade 
facilitation and rules. 
27. In line with the Doha Declaration, priority atte ntion continued to be given to LDCs.  Not only 
is this confirmed with the absolute and relative numbers, i.e. the frequency with which LDCs have 
been associated with TRTA, but this is also expressed through th e products, several of which are 
specifically and/or largely geared towards LDCs.  In this regard, mention can be made of the 
Integrated Framework (IF) and JITAP, the th ree-week Introduction Courses for LDCs, Geneva 
Weeks, the Reference Centres Programme, the NTP,  support provided in th e needs assessments and 
TPRs.  Also, it is recalled that LDCs are entitled to three national activities and that they receive 
priority attention in the accession process.  More ge nerally, and whenever possible, priority was given 
to LDCs in the selection process for Geneva-based training courses. 
28. In 2006, the WTO outsourced some activities a nd made use of the services of 48 external 
consultants, who participated in the delivery of 51 regional and national activities.  These consultants 
covered both general and specific issues, and incl uded also research collaboration.  Through the 
process of RTPCs a number of university professors and researchers have collaborated with the WTO and the host university by participating as lecturers in these courses.   
IV. THE PRODUCTS 
A. G
ENERAL WTO- RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING  
29. The WTO Secretariat has conducted in 2006, as planned, a series of general WTO-related 
technical assistance and training activities.  Most of these activities took the form of courses, of various durations, covering either the WTO as a w hole, or specific WTO-related topics but with a 
view to introducing these topics in a general ma nner.  In essence, these activities were of an 
introductory nature.  They are therefore distinct from specialized and advanced training and technical 
assistance covered in Section B below. 
30. TPCs have evolved considerably since the first course, held under the GATT, in 1955.  In 
2006, four Geneva-based TPCs and five RTPCs, each  of twelve-week duration, have been held.  
Building on, and drawing lessons from past experien ces, the WTO Secretariat, with its associated 
partners, has continued to improve the quality of its  programme design and delivery, with a view to 
responding better to the training needs of beneficiary countries.  
(a) Trade Policy Courses (TPCs) 
31. Four TPCs were held, three in English and one in Spanish.  More than one hundred 
participants attended these courses.  
32. A selection process was performed for each course.   The number of overall applications has 
remained stable throughout the years.  However,  the number of candidates applying for the TPC held 
in Spanish was relatively low. 
33. As the Geneva-based TPCs constitute in many ways  'laboratories' for the development of, and 
adaptation of new training modules, a particular effo rt has been made in 2006 to improve the quality  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 7 
 
 
  and adequacy of the response given by the courses ’ organizers to the identified training needs of 
beneficiaries.  Thus, a thorough evaluation process w as put in place several years ago, providing feed-
back on training delivered.  The ITTC has particular ly focused on developing a modular approach to 
general WTO-related training, giving more importa nce to exercises and sessions which allow sharing 
of participants’ experiences in an interactive m ode.  The consolidation and development of new 
training material, compatible with other types of training courses, has accompanied this work, thus 
strengthening the coherence of the Secretariat training efforts.  Conduc ting in parallel the delivery of 
training for not less than fifteen Geneva-based training courses1 and developing innovative training 
programmes and their related material, also requi res rapid responses to evolving training needs and 
more efficient training tools, which could further increase the efficiency of the training.  Though 
human resources are scarce within the ITTC to undert ake these tasks, the directio n of work initiated in 
2006 will be pursued in 2007. 
34. The TPCs were conducted under the responsibility of  the ITTC but their design and delivery 
was ensured with the active support of staff members from virtually all WTO divisions. 
35. The TPCs were funded through the regular budget. 
(b) Regional Trade Policy Courses (RTPCs) 
36. The five RTPCs held in 2006 continued to build on the achievements made and lessons 
learned in 2005.  There were a number of areas in  particular where lessons were learned and the 
necessary changes implemented. 
(i) Partnerships 
37. Partnerships are the keystone for RTPCs and are continuously improved.  Overall, 
notwithstanding some problems, 2006 was a successful year for the development of the partnerships 
between WTO and the universities.  All partner unive rsities showed an increa sed sense of ownership 
of the RTPCs, which was evidenced through more autonomy in the delivery of the RTPC, both in their preparations prior to the course, and in the r unning of the course.  They dealt efficiently with 
unforeseen problems which arose throughout the course,  which in earlier years of the partnership may 
have required more input by WTO.  Overall, th e universities anticipated the requirements for the 
RTPC and were proactive in their management.  Th e year 2006 was the third and final year of the 
partnership with the University of Hong Kong and l'Université Mohammed V – Souissi'.  These 
partnerships were successful over the three years, w ith the partner institute enhancing its capacity to 
deliver WTO-related training.  The lessons learne d in 2006 included the need to stream-line the 
preparatory work with the partners and to establish a more systematic, harmoni zed approach to all our 
partnerships.  All the partners we re important in helping to improve the quality and efficiency in 
providing support.   
(ii) Programme 
38. In 2006, two changes were confirmed in the progr amme of the RTPCs: 1)  the replacement of 
the mandatory written project by each participant w ith four Theme Sessions which had already been 
introduced into the programme of the Geneva-bas ed TPCs: 2) the introduction of the Revision 
Sessions similar to those also included in the Geneva-based TPCs.    
                                                     
 
1 The fifteen Geneva-based training courses represented in 2006, 310 days of training, or 1'875 hours of 
training, or 7’699 participants/days. WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  (iii) Theme Sessions 
39. Evaluations from participants and the academic  coordinators from all the RTPCs highlighted 
the difficulties inherent in managing the participants ' written projects.  The participants' evaluation of 
the written research project showed that the exercise was unsatisfactory for them as they felt they had 
insufficient time during the RTPC to dedicate to th e research project.  From a pedagogic point of 
view, there was also a lack of follow-on for the pa rticipants once the paper had been presented.  The 
introduction of the Theme Sessions allowed participan ts to work together in small groups to address 
specific questions on a number of particular t opics, and to get immediate feedback on their 
performance.  To assist the participants with the Th eme Sessions, and also to assist them with their 
overall presentation skills, a Communications Skill s Workshop was introduced into some of the 
RTPCs on a pilot basis in 2006.  The evaluation of these workshops was very positive and they will 
be retained in all future RTPCs. 
(iv) Revision Sessions 
40. Again, in 2006, the RTPCs solidified the use of Revision Sessions as introduced in the 
Geneva-based TPCs.  The  sessions are delivered by a WTO official and a regional resource person, in 
some cases this is the Academic Coordinator of  the course.  The Revision Sessions have been 
positively evaluated by the participants. 
(v) Regional Resource Persons 
41. In 2006, the network of regional resource pers ons involved in the delivery of the RTPCs 
continued to be enhanced.  Some people had been added to the network and some had been removed 
based on the evaluations of 2005.  Throughout 2006  there were mixed evaluations of the regional 
resource persons which will result in some persons not  being retained in the network in 2007.  There 
were lessons learned with regard to how to improve the selection process for regional resource 
persons and these lessons will be implemented in 2007. 
(vi) Preparatory Workshop for RTPCs 
42. The programme for the Preparatory Workshop fo r RTPCs, which is held for the regional 
resource person delivering the course, was reviewed in  2006 with a view to broadening the range of 
subjects covered during the Workshop, and in order to  give the participants as complete a picture as 
possible of the current situation in the WTO with a view to assist them in their preparation for the 
RTPC.  The Workshop was also developed to be in creasingly interactive, in order to encourage full 
participation by the regional resource persons. 
(c) Geneva-based Introduction Courses 
43. The 9
th and 10th Introduction Courses (for LDCs), one in  English and one in French, and each 
of them of three-week duration, were held as planned.  
44. Selections were performed for each Course between the eligible candidates from LDCs 
representatives nominated by their governments.  The overall number of applications remains stable throughout the years.  However, the number of candidates applying for the Introduction Course held 
in French in 2006 was lower than expected.  Severa l beneficiary countries therefore had their quota of 
representatives doubled.  Some fifty participan ts from LDCs attended these courses in 2006. 
45. The Introduction Courses were conducted under the responsibility of the ITTC, but their 
design and delivery benefited from the active support of staff members from a large number of other 
WTO divisions.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  46. Efforts made in the previous year to stream line the programme were continued.  Improved 
training modules developed in the context of TPCs (see above section) have been adapted to fit in the 
programme of the Introduction Courses.  Work to  define and identify sessions' coverage proper to 
these courses will be pursued in 2007. 
47. The Introduction Courses were funde d through the regular budget. 
(d) Geneva-based Thematic Courses 
48. The following Geneva-based courses (iden tified in the 2006 Plan as “specialized and 
advanced training and technical assistance”) have b een reclassified “general WTO-related technical 
assistance and training”, due to their introductory na ture, though they focus on specific WTO-areas of 
work. 
(i) 14th, 15th, and 16th Thematic Courses on Dispute Settlement 
49. Three Thematic Courses on Dispute Settlement, two in English and one in French, of one-
week duration, have been held in 2006, as planne d.  These Courses were attended by more than 
seventy participants.  A dispute settlement simulatio n exercise constitutes one of the main features of 
the training programme.  
50. Participation in these courses is also open to  representatives of developed countries, in 
conformity with Art. 27.3 of the Dispute Se ttlement Understanding (DSU).  However, only 
participants from developing countries, with a prio rity to LDCs, are funded by the WTO, through the 
regular budget. 
51. Selections were performed for each course followi ng rules designed to give priority to LDCs 
and developing countries over develo ped countries.  The overall number of applications has remained 
stable at a high level throughout the years for this Course.  
52. The Thematic Courses on Dispute Settlement ar e conducted under the responsibility of the 
ITTC, but their design and delivery is ensured with the active support of staff members from the Legal Affairs Division and the Secretariat of the Appellate Body. 
(ii) 5
th Thematic Course on Trade Negotiations 
53. One course on Trade Negotiations, of a two-week  duration, was held in 2006 in English as 
planned.  
54. The programme and components of the Course ha ve continued to be fine-tuned, drawing 
lessons from previous editions.  A particular effo rt has been made to offer more room in the 
programme to practical exercises, including a trade negotiations simulation exercise. 
55. A selection was performed for this course.  Th e overall number of applications has remained 
stable at a high level throughout the years for this course.  
56. This course was funded through the regular budget. 
(e) Short Trade Policy Courses (STPCs) 
57. Several STPCs were organized in 2 006.  They continued to be an effective and useful tool to 
widen the understanding of gove rnment officials of trade policy matters, the multilateral trading 
system, international trade law and the functioning of the WTO.   WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  58. The duration of these Courses varied and range d from one week to three weeks.  Each 
programme was designed to address the specific n eeds and concerns of participating countries, 
including in those regions that are not yet covere d by the RTPCs; namely, the Arab and Middle-East 
countries and Central and Eastern-Europe, Central-Asia  and the Caucasus.  In this respect, partner 
institutions played an essential role not only in the deign of these programmes but also in their 
delivery.  Contributions varied from one partner to another.  Some took the lead in organizing these 
Courses, including covering all costs associated with the participating official s'; others contributed 
differently by providing resource persons, logistical support and/or sharing the of costs.  In all cases, 
partnership arrangements have c ontinued to demonstrate their value and importance.  Partners 
included, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB),  West African Economic and Monetary Union 
(WAEMU), Central African Economic and Moneta ry Comision (CAEMC) and the International 
Development Law Organization (IDLO).  
59. Moreover, the Secretariat continued to refine the design and delivery me thods at these courses 
by more emphasis on practical exercises and cas e studies as opposed to using the traditional 
approaches.  Additional improvements were also  introduced in areas such as the selection of 
participants dissemination and distribution of b ackground/reading material prior and during the 
courses.   
B. S
PECIALIZED AND ADVANCED TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
(a) Geneva-based Specialized Courses 
(i) 2nd Specialized Course on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) 
60. In 2005, the first Specialized Course on Sanita ry and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) was held 
in Spanish in Geneva back to back with the regul ar session of the SPS Committee.  Given its success,  
a second edition was held in English in 2006.  The ITTC coordinated the event which was designed 
and conducted with the very active contribution of the Agriculture and Commodity Division. The International Office of Epizootics
2 (IOE) was also associated with this Course.   
61. A selection was performed in order not only to achieve an equitable distribution of seats 
between WTO Members but also with a view to ensure  participation of experts directly involved with 
one of the three areas covered by the SPS Agreemen t.  Active participation of selected candidates was 
particularly requested as each participant had to identify and eventually implement an action plan 
which could contribute to strengthe ning the implementation capabilities of the beneficiary countries.   
The overall number of applications continued to be considerably higher than the number of 
fellowships available, which are limited both for budgetary reasons and for training efficiency 
reasons. 
62. A follow-up programme was put in place, lead ing to the establishment of an electronic 
platform to maintain the network created between the participants, the WTO experts and the courses 
tutors.  A follow-up meeting will also be held in 2007. 
63. This course was funded through the regular budget. 
(ii) Follow-up to the 1st Specialized Course on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) 
64. In 2006, a training event, lasting two days, was he ld in Geneva, back to back with a regular 
meeting of the Committee, as a follow-up to the firs t Specialized Course on SPS, held in 2005.  The 
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation (IICA), wh ich was the main partner for the Specialized 
                                                      
2 IOE refers now to the World Organization for Animal Health.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Course held in 2005, was also associated with this course and contributed financially to the event.  
Consequently, only a small part of the expenses linked to the organization of this training event had to 
be funded from the regular budget.  A more sustaina ble and predictable funding will have to be found 
for this type of activity to continue to take place in the future.  The event was intended essentially to 
provide a forum to take stock of, and exchange on the progress of the plan of action-related activities 
conducted by each participants since the 1st Specialized Course.  
(b) National Technical Assistance Activities 
65. As stated in the TA Plan, the main purpose of national seminars is to address specific issues 
that could not adequately be addressed at the regiona l level, as well as to undertake activities that are 
by their very nature country specific, e.g. those undertaken under joint programmes (JITAP, IF), and 
with partner organizations, (e.g. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)).  
Also, national seminars are undertaken in conjunc tion with Trade Policy Reviews, or in acceding 
countries, where often specific interaction at the national level is required to advance the accession 
process.  Except for the national activities undertaken  in the context of specific programmes, national 
seminars are exclusively driven by demand, respondi ng to specific needs.  While the number of 
national activities has considerably increased in co mparison to last year (247 compared to 218 in 
2005), this mode of delivery is still not fully utilized .  The Secretariat uses all available opportunities 
to remind Members of their entitlements to national se minars (two for developing countries, three for 
least developed countries) and is pro-active, e.g. by  getting directly in contact with beneficiaries.  
Also, and despite considerable efforts made by the Secretariat to assist beneficiaries in ensuring that 
demands are based on a needs assessments of TRTA  requirements, this pr ocess is only gradually 
finding ground.  
(c) Regional seminars and other specialized TRTA activities 
66. As is stated in the TA Plan, the main advantag e of regional technical assistance and training 
seminars and workshops is that they allow WTO to  reach a broad audience, interested in the same 
subject matter; they are cost-effective from the human resources allocation perspective, as it would be 
impossible to address every issue in every country on a national basis, even if this were requested by 
the beneficiaries.  It facilitates the exchange of  information, sharing of  experiences and networking 
among participants at the regional level, which is generally found to be beneficial.  The number of 
regional seminars held from one year to the next is relatively stable, with 163 undertaken in 2006, 
compared to 169 in 2005.  This is largely due to the fact that all WTO Agreements are covered over a 
two year cycle in all regions, except for those subjects that are specifically part of the DDA 
negotiations, which, in principle are covered in all regions every year.  
67. As will be discussed below, regional seminars ha ve often benefited from interactive training, 
with the trainers increasingly making use of simu lations and case studies, thus promoting self-study 
and interaction.  Also, an increasing amount of traini ng and reference material is sent to participants 
well ahead of the seminar itself, so as to allow fo r an adequate preparation of the officials.  In 
addition, selection of participants is  increasingly conducted prior to the activity in order to ensure that 
the level of knowledge of participan ts is adequate for the course;  at the very least the profile of the 
suitable candidate is very clearly stated in the lette r of invitation.  Finally, it is noted that various 
activities have been adjusted to higher levels of learning, thus addressing those officials that are 
already familiar with the Agreements and n eed to be assisted in more specific ways. 
68. The following discussion of technical assistan ce and training provided on selected WTO 
Agreements is based on inputs provi ded by WTO divisions responsible for the subject matter.  It 
should be noted that the information contained in this section also, in seve ral instances, covers 
activities and training provided at the national level. WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 12  
 
  (i) Market Access (NAMA, Customs Valuation, Ru les of Origin, Import Licensing, Preshipment 
Inspection) 
69. The technical assistance and capacity building activities undertaken by the Market Access 
Division in 2006 were mainly concentrated on NAMA and undertaken in collaboration with the 
Economic Research and Statistics Division (ERSD).  In addition, some activities were organized in 
the areas of import licensing, rules of origin, customs valuation and textiles. 
70. The staff of the division participated in the various TPCs and JITAP workshops, and many 
other ad hoc  activities and events organized both in and outside of Geneva.   The staff of the division 
also participated in some activities at the invitation of other institutions.  In terms of number, the staff 
of the division participated in approximately 31 activities of this kind. 
71. Regarding the qualitative aspects, it is worth mentioning that most of the regional and 
national seminars on NAMA negotia tions implemented by the divi sion in collaboration with the 
ERSD, involved exercises, hands-on sessions for formul a simulations, introductions to the Integrated 
Data Base/Consolidated Tariff Schedule (IDB/CT S) databases, dissemination tools and their 
application along with discussion and explanatio ns of the NAMA-related negotiations.  These 
practical exercises/hands-on sessions combined with lectures/presentations on the background 
knowledge of the market access negotiations, the D oha mandate and the draft elements of the 
modalities for NAMA negotiations, the state-of-play of the negotiations, and simulations concerning 
the different formula proposals have effectively en sured the quality of these activities, which was very 
much appreciated by the participants.  
72. The effectiveness of these activities, which in cluded data analysis, hands-on sessions and 
formula simulation exercises, depended on the availa bility of proper computer equipment, up-to-date 
data, internet connections, and ot her logistical requirements.  Go od partnership arrangements were 
extremely important and critical.  Based on the division's experience in 2006, the partnership 
arrangements or collaborations with the Univers ity of Nairobi, the Singapore Government, the 
Andean Community Secretariat, the Inter-America n Development Bank (IADB), the Institute for the 
Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (IN TAL) and the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI) were 
excellent. 
73. For regional lecturers, the collaboration with the University of Nairobi was a good  example.   
At the regional seminar on NAMA for English-speaking African countries, discussions on regional-specific issues were welcomed, especially regarding the African dime nsion of NAMA.  This 
kind of collaboration would be encouraged for future TA activities. 
(ii) Trade Facilitation 
(a) Benefits/'success stories' 
74. The goal of the WTO regional and national wo rkshops on trade facilitation is to provide 
participants with improved unde rstanding of the issues involved in the negotiations on trade 
facilitation and to strengthen capability to assist their country in preparation for effective participation 
in the negotiations.       
75. The result of the workshops that  is most visible is increased country participation in the 
negotiations after a workshop in their region.  Ma ny of the participants themselves began coming 
from the capital to participate in the negotiation meetings.   Based on comments from participants 
other common benefits are as follows: 
• development of a working relationship between customs and trade policy officials;  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 13 
 
 
  • improved understanding of trade facilitation issues in the region; 
• learning through the working group exercises how to approach and prepare for negotiations ; 
• a change in attitude towards the negotiations; 
• a better understanding of the WTO process a nd therefore better understanding of how to 
support the negotiations; and, 
• preparation for the negotiation setting through workshop mock negotiation meetings. 
 
(b) Training Materials 
76. This year the biggest addition to the traini ng materials is a multimedia presentation that 
provides  information on the background on the ne gotiations, the legal framework and Members' 
proposals.  This presentation was included on the CD-ROMs that are distributed at all training 
workshops and it can also be viewed on the WTO trade facilitation technical assistance and capacity 
building webpage.   This presentation has been greatly appreciated by participants and negotiators.  It 
is also used as a training tool by Members (the European Union) and other organizations.   
77. The workshop training materials have remained  the same but the content has evolved as 
discussions have evolved at the WTO, and material s are continuously updated.  Each participant 
receives a manual containing all materials needed dur ing the course, such as the legal framework for 
Negotiations, Members' negotiation proposals, print-out s of PowerPoint slides, etc.  Each participant 
also receives a CD-ROM that contains all WTO trade facilitation documentation, general WTO 
information, course materials, resource materials prepared by other organizations, etc. to assist them 
to continue their work after the workshop. 
78. Various other materials are used as teaching tool s,  such as large wall posters and laminated 
chart with outlines of essential information. 
(c) Movement to a Higher Level of Learning 
79. As the negotiations have intensified so have the workshops.  This past year the participants 
consisted of more high-level officials who are dire ctly involved in the negot iation process, and have 
attended past WTO trade facilitation workshops.  They  have better prior knowledge of the subject 
which allows for more in-depth discussions and exercises.    
80. In order to provide maximum benefit in a shor t time, the amount of pre-workshop preparation 
was increased and the exercises were intensified.   Originally the focus of the workshops was on 
providing information.  Now the goal is to pr ovide a foundation which can be built on after the 
workshop.  All the basic knowledge and material is provided so they can continue and intensify their 
work when they return home.    
(d) Participant Selection 
81. The letter of invitation provides very specific requirements for participants and requests the 
same participants that participat ed in WTO trade facilitation workshops in previous years.  It was 
required to prepare trade facilitati on case studies in advance to ensu re the participation of qualified 
people.  However, governments often notify particip ants insufficiently in advance which prevents 
them from completing this assignment in a timely ma nner.  The agenda sent out with the letter of 
invitation also refers to a list of background do cuments which can be found on the WTO Website to 
assist beginners in preparing for the course.  Some  participants do read these documents in advance 
and also watch the multimedia presentation. WT/COMTD/W/157 
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  (e) Interaction with Participants 
82. The trade facilitation workshops are designed to be  interactive.   Most of the lectures are 
interactive and sometimes incorporate team comp etitions during the lecture (depending on the 
delivery style of the presenters).  An informal at mosphere, ice breakers and motivational exercises are 
used to encourage students to participate.   All "resource persons" at regional workshops interact with 
the participants during the extensive working group exercises.  
(f) The Use of Simulation Exercises 
83. Almost half of each workshop is dedicated to  working group exercises.  The exercises are 
designed to help participants understand how to take a critical look at proposals and to prepare 
negotiation proposals and to determine their strategy /positions for the negotiations which is presented 
in a mock meeting format.  The mock meeting is chaired by one of the participants.  All "resource 
persons" assist the working groups throughout the wo rkshop.  Similar exercises are used as in the 
previous years, but the exercises have evolved with the evolution of the negotiations. 
84. This year a new working group session was adde d in which participants prepare a model 
guide for implementation of a proposed measure.  This helps in understanding the implications of 
implementation and these models will be very useful  in the future workshops on the implementation 
of a final text. 
(g) Cooperation with Regional and International Organizations 
85. As required by the negotiation mandate on trad e facilitation, the WTO Secretariat cooperated 
with the World Customs Organization (WCO), World Bank (WB), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Organisati on for Economic Co-operation and Development 
(OECD) in presentation of  regional workshops, with some organizations participating more regularly 
than others.   The WTO Secretariat is responsible  for establishing the agenda, selecting the venue and 
providing all logistical arrangements for the participan ts.   The majority of the presentations are made 
by the WTO, with other organizations supplementi ng the programme according to their "comparative 
advantage".  The same speakers have presented most  of the workshops together so presentations now 
complement each other with little overlap.  Repr esentatives of all organizations participate as 
facilitators for the working group exercises. 
86. UNCTAD sponsored the participation of sever al Geneva-based delegates in the regional 
workshops to provide information on the negotiatio ns from a negotiators point of view.   These 
sessions added value to the workshop by helping the cap ital-based official to understand how to better 
prepare their negotiators.   This was the intended be nefit, but the Geneva delegates probably benefited 
more by gaining a better knowledge of the proposals, a nd what is needed in the region.   To improve 
this session it will be necessary for the WTO official s to have more control, because the speakers 
often stray from the assigned topic.  
87. Occasionally regional organizati ons have participated in the workshops.  Some of the 
organizations can add the regional perspective but their participation is normally a presentation about 
their organization.  Overall, the primary benefit fro m regional cooperation has so far been monetary.    
(iii) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 
88. The four regional workshops carried out in 2006  focused on certain topical issues that were 
actively under examination or negotiation in the TRIPS context, i.e. biotechnology/biodiversity/ 
traditional knowledge and geogra phical indications, as well as on the issue of TRIPS and public 
health.  With regard to the Decision on Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 15 
 
 
  and Public Health, the workshops had as their objec tive to provide information that will assist the 
countries of the region in making effective use of th e mechanism set out therein.  Speakers generally 
included, apart from Secretariat officials, re presentatives of the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO), the World Health Orga nization (WHO) and two experts drawn from 
delegations that could provide different perspectives, one from the region and the other from a 
developed country.   The feedback from all the work shops was positive, with pa rticipants particularly 
appreciative of the depth of the discussion, the part icipation of speakers with different perspectives 
and the practical exercises. 
89. An important component of the activities was the holding of a third two-week joint 
WIPO-WTO Colloquium for Teachers of Intellectual Property from developing countries.  This 
formed part of the wider approach towards cooperation with the academic community in developing 
countries aimed at local capacity-building on WTO ma tters.  In addition to the 20 places offered every 
year to participants from developing countries a nd countries with economies in transition, five 
teachers from developed countries participated at th eir own expense.  This opening was meant to 
stimulate the exchange of views between academics from developed and deve loping countries and the 
establishment of corresponding networks.  The main objective of the Colloquium was to build training 
and policy advisory capacity in developing countries,  by updating university teachers of intellectual 
property in developing countries on the activities and instruments of WIPO and the WTO, and 
providing a forum for exchange of information and ideas among the participants, officials of the two 
Organizations and Geneva-based negotiators.  Th e emphasis was put on recent developments and on 
policy issues under debate in the two Organizations.  The Colloquium also provided an opportunity 
for an exchange of views on teaching methodologies and on the outsourcing of technical cooperation.  
The feedback showed that the participants bene fited greatly from the programme, particularly from 
interacting with Gene va-based negotiators. 
90. Another important element of capacity build ing activities was the organization of two 
specialized Workshops on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.  Following up on the positive 
experience of a first workshop of this kind in Ge neva in September 2005, the Secretariat organized 
another such workshop in Geneva in November 2006,  and, for the first time, a regional workshop on 
this subject for English- and French-speaking African countries in Mauritius.   Discussions and 
practical exercises addressed, in particular, the paragraph 6 system as embodied in the August 2003 
Decision on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of th e Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and 
Public Health and the December 2005 Decision on the Amendment of the TRIPS Agreement.  The 
main purpose of those activities was to seek to give pa rticipants a "hands on" knowledge of the use of 
the paragraph 6 system and to provide a platform for the analysis of issues related to the necessary 
legislative and institutional framework  to be put in place at the domestic  level.   The workshops also 
offered an opportunity to exchange views a nd experiences among participants and with 
representatives from other international organizations , industry and NGOs.  Ca pital-based government 
officials from intellectual property, trade and public health departments in developing and 
least developed countries with direct responsibility fo r matters relating to the interaction between the 
TRIPS Agreement and public health participated in those activities.  A prior selection process of 
participants was applied in the case of the Geneva -based workshop and appears to have significantly 
contributed to the composition of a highly motivated group and to the stimulating discussions.  The feedback from participants was throughout very positive, and the half-day session dedicated to 
practical exercises pertaining to the implementation and application of the "paragraph 6 mechanism" 
was particularly appreciated.  As an additional feat ure, contact was established with participants in 
advance of the workshops to provide training material, check if they wished any particular issues to be 
addressed, and identify a few participants who were  asked to make presentations setting out the 
domestic or regional perspective.  Within our lim ited resources, some "post training" follow-up was 
also initiated, for example to share information a nd to enhance networking among the participants.   WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 16  
 
  91. The number of national workshops organized almost doubled during the reporting period, 
increasing from six such activities in 2005 to eleven in 2006, eight of which were held in least developed country members.  As regards the latter,  the strong demand for national workshop has to be 
situated in the context of the Decision on the Exte nsion of the Transition Period for LDC members of 
29 November 2005, which requests LDCs to provide to the TRIPS Council, preferably by 1 January 
2008, information on their individual priority need s for technical and financial cooperation with a 
view to assisting them to implement the TRIPS Agr eement.  In order to assist LDCs to draw up the 
information required, and to strenthen their domest ic capacities, the Secretariat has intensified its 
cooperation with WIPO (see below).  In addition, th e Secretariat is proposing that each workshop in a 
least developed country member include a new com ponent in the form of a separate needs assessment 
session. 
92. TPCs in the regions and in Geneva have turned  out to be resourse-intensive, as each course 
now contains a full module on TRIPS matters.  As regards the Geneva-based courses, this module has 
more recently been expanded to provide more time for substantive matters and exercises.  In order to 
meet the demand for a more in-depth training m odule, the TRIPS component of the RTPC for the 
Caribbean region will consist for the first time of an advanced works hop.  In addition to information 
on the TRIPS Agreement, as well as on ongoing wo rk and negotiations, the workshop will include 
extended exercises and case studies, taking account of regional specificities. 
93. As in previous years, technical assistance on TRIPS matters was provided in close 
cooperation with other IGOs, in particular the WIPO, based on the Cooperation Agreement between 
the two Organizations and the WIPO-WTO Join t Initiative on Technical Cooperation for Least 
Developed Countries, launched in June 2001.  In response to paragraph 4 of the Decision on the 
Extension of the Transition Period for Least Deve loped Country members, the two Organizations 
have agreed to enhance their cooperation, incl uding through the joint organization of national 
workshops for least developed country members in 2006 and the WIPO providing resource persons 
for such events organized by the WTO.   The WTO Secretariat has also s ought to cooperate with other 
intergovernmental organizations, in particular the WHO on matters relating to TRIPS and public 
health.  The Geneva-based Workshop on TRIPS and Public Health, for example, included speakers 
from WIPO, WHO, UNDP, the World Bank, the Globa l Fund, industry associations and civil society 
NGOs.  The WTO also provided resource persons to  certain technical cooperation activities organized 
by the WIPO, WHO, other IGOs and NGOs.   
94. Finally, a significant part of the Secretariat work has again been concerned with providing 
information in response to questions raised by local  delegations, visiting intellectual property officials 
and in direct contacts with officials in capitals , concerning issues such as notification and review 
procedures, the meaning of particular provisions of  the TRIPS Agreement, the options available under 
these provisions, the acceptance of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement, as well as other domestic draft legislation or the ongoing wo rk and negotiations in the TRIPS Council. 
(iv) Services 
95. In the context of the DDA agenda, two types of technical assistance activities have proved 
particularly efficient in services:  First, a 'light ' Geneva-centred approach with a focus on providing 
generally relevant background info rmation; complementing elsewher e available training material, 
including the inter-active GATS module on the WT O Website; and establishing/deepening working 
links with services delegates.  Second, national wo rkshops aimed at enabling government officials in 
relevant ministries and agencies to analyse nationa l policies in the perspective of relevant GATS 
provisions and to contribute effectively to the preparation of services offers.  Presentations at 
conferences destined for sector experts, from telecom and finance to transport and health, have turned 
out to be very effective as complementary channels  of information and advice.  Given the particular 
mandate in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministeria l Declaration to provide 'targeted technical  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 17 
 
 
  assistance' to enable all developing countries 'to fu lly engage in the negotiations', less emphasis has 
been placed on broader-based events of a more general nature.   
96. Overall, the Trade in Services Division provi ded the following spectrum of training and 
technical assistance activities in 2006: 
(a) Geneva-based events 
- Training and information session on the GATS for newly arrived delegates 
from developing countries. 
- Contributions to an eTraining programme organized by the World Bank, 
including written inputs to the lectur ing material as well as several Q&A 
sessions on the Internet.  
- Contributions to WTO Internet chats, ITC seminars, and video conferences. 
 
97. Such events may lack a particular focus, but th ey have helped to establish links with, and to 
provide information to, officials broadly interested in GATS-related issues.  In some cases, it was also 
possible to renew the contacts made and refresh th e information provided during external events as 
described below.  These positive resu lts have been achieved in a very cost- and resource-efficient 
manner.   
(b) External events 
- Shorter contributions to seminars a nd workshops organized by specialized 
international organizations to cover trad e- and GATS-related aspects within a wider 
sector context, including telecommunications , tourism, health, and road transport.3 
98. Invitations to such seminars are often received on an ad hoc basis and the costs are partly or 
mostly covered by the host organizations.  The role of the Secretariat tends to be limited to 
presentations of between two hours and one day.  These typically include general introductions into 
the GATS as well as explanations of how prevailin g national policy objectives  and concerns can be 
accommodated within the structure of the Agreem ent.  Although the overall programme is often 
beyond our control, such events have helped to build bridges with sector specialists who are not 
normally familiar with concepts of international servi ces trade.  In turn, this enables them to put the 
(potential) role of the GATS into perspective a nd make better-informed c ontributions to national 
policy coordination.  
- More extensive contributions (two to three days) to seminars and workshops 
organized in cooperation with regional economic organizations4 or internationally 
established training institutes (e.g., the Inte rnational Development Law Organization). 
99. Such events have continued to attract consider able interest, not least against the background 
of the Doha Round negotiations in services.  On the positive side, coop eration with regional 
organizations has tended to ease th e organizational burden on the WTO Secretariat and has also been 
used to bring in additional region-specific expertise, including through involvement of policy 
                                                      
3 Relevant fora included the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity, WHO, World Tourism Organization, 
International Road Transport Union, and APEC Telecommunications Working Group. 
4 Workshops and seminars organized jointly with or  exclusively by the APEC and ESCAP Secretariats, 
Islamic Development Bank, and the Organization of American States.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 18  
 
  researchers and lecturers.  On the other hand, it has proven difficult in several instances to ensure a 
comparable level of advance expertise among partic ipants (this applies as well to WTO-only regional 
seminars) and to coordinate the contri butions of the external experts.   
100. Inter-governmental organizations are not normally  keen to strictly select participants and 
government-affiliated lecturers at the risk of alie nating their Members.  The involvement of more 
independent agencies such as IDLO or regional Worl d Bank offices may help to ease such problems.   
- Contributions to WTO regional traini ng courses and organi zation of GATS-only 
WTO seminars.  
101. At the present stage of the negotiations, it appears particularly important, from the 
Secretariat's perspective, to communicate with, and address the problems of, officials directly 
involved in preparing national negotiating positions.  While regional courses have their own rationale 
as educational and awareness-creating events, their immediate pay-off for the negotiations is more 
limited.  Also, as a general feature, government offi cials do not normally want to discuss solutions to 
their policy problems and concerns, in particular if these are of an external na ture,  in the presence of 
officials from other countries.   
102. As far as possible, the programmes of GATS-onl y events were coordinated with prospective 
participants, by way of advance questionnaires.   
- National seminars on the GA TS and the ongoing negotiations. 
103. The majority of the division's technical assistan ce activities have focused on such seminars.   
They are not only an important source of informa tion and advice for government officials from a wide 
range of services-related ministries and agencies (post, telecommunications , transport, finance, 
justice, tourism, education, labour, health, construction, etc.), but al so provide an important forum for 
government-internal interaction.  Such events ar e also crucial for acceding countries preparing their 
services schedules.   
104. As a rule, the programme is coordinated in advance with the authorities concerned and may 
include parallel break-out sessions and visits to intere sted ministries.  Given the targeted and carefully 
coordinated nature of such even ts, it is possible to involve hi gher-ranking officials who do not 
normally have time to attend mo re general WTO-related events. 
(v) Agriculture and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
105. The Agriculture and Commodities Division (AGCD) provided resource persons for the 
Geneva-based activities, namely TPCs and Introducti on Courses for LDCs, as well as their respective 
revision sessions.   
106. In 2006, a Second Two-Week Specialized c ourse on the SPS Agreement was held at the 
WTO.  This course was first delivered in 2005 for Spanish-speaking trainees, with a solid background 
in the SPS Agreement, in collaboration with th e Inter-American Institute for Co-operation in 
Agriculture (IICA).  In 2006, the course was deliver ed in collaboration with the World Organization 
for Animal Health (OIE).  The Course was an advanced training activity for English-speaking 
officials and selection criteria were applied to en sure that participants possessed the requisite 
background knowledge to gain from the course.    WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 19 
 
 
  (vi) Regional Trade Policy Courses 
107. During 2006, AGCD staff members participated in  RTPCs in the Caribbean, South-East Asia, 
English-speaking Africa, French-speaking Africa and Latin America. 
(a) Advanced Courses 
108. The AGCD delivered sessions in the Advanced TPC  of the Organization of American States 
(OAS) (Washington, D.C.) and the Advanced Course for Senior Arab Officers (Abu Dhabi). 
(b) Regional Seminars 
109. As provided for in the 2006 TA Plan, four re gional seminars on agriculture were implemented 
during 2006; South-East Asian members (China), Latin American members (Argentina), English-speaking African members (Ghana) and Fr ench-speaking African members (Benin).  The 
collaboration with regional organizations, such as United Nations Economic Commission for Africa 
(UNECA) and the IADB was very fruitful, sin ce the programmes included spaces to present the 
"regional perspective" on implementation and the ne gotiations.  The gaps in the levels of knowledge 
and experience among the participants continues to be  one of the main obstacle during the delivery of 
these activities.   
110. For the delivery of SPS-related regional technical assistance activities the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission (Codex), the International Plant Prot ection Convention (IPPC) and the OIE typically 
provide lecturers.  The workshop programmes ar e designed in such a way as to highlight the 
inter-linkages of the work of these organizations w ith that of the WTO in the area of SPS measures.  
They also provide the opportunity  for these organizations to provide detailed overviews of their own 
activities as they relate to the implementation of the SPS Agreement.  This on-going collaboration is 
greatly appreciated by beneficiaries and serves to  underscore how implemen tation of the Agreement 
takes place in practice.  In 2006, three regional SPS seminars took place; North African and Middle-Eastern members (Egypt), for CIS members (JVI) and Latin American members (Colombia). 
(c) National Seminars 
111. During 2006, the AGCD delivered a total of 11 national seminars on agriculture (Cuba, 
Kenya, Saudi Arabia) and SPS issues (Bulgaria, D jibouti, Ethiopia, Japan, Madagascar and Rwanda) 
and two combined seminars agriculture-SPS (Fiji and Cuba). 
(d) eTraining 
112. Aiming at the creation of a knowledge base that can be further enhanced through specialized 
on-site workshops, the development of an eTra ining Course on Agriculture and SPS was initiated, 
jointly with ITTC's eTraining Unit, in 2006.  Both  courses will yield the expected results during 2007. 
(e) Collaboration with Other Organizations 
113. The AGCD continued to strengthen collaboration with other international organizations with 
the objective to streamline the delivery of technical cooperation, both on agriculture and SPS issues.   
114. The enhanced contacts and collaboration with the Trade Directorate of the OECD, UNECA 
and the Inter-American Development Bank in the deliv ery of agriculture regional seminars, were the 
main achievement in this field.  The AGCD will continue to strengthen collaboration with 
international and regional organiza tions and to foster synergies on  trade in agriculture issues. WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 20  
 
  115. SPS technical co-operation activities in 2006 have  built on the close collaborative relationship 
established with the three reference organizati ons identified in the SPS Agreement: the FAO/WHO 
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the Intern ational Plant Protection Convention (IIPC) and 
the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).  Jo int technical assistance activities with these three 
organizations started even before the entry into fo rce of the SPS Agreement.  However in the past two 
years, there has been a further deepening of the already excellent  collaborative relationship between 
the Secretariat and these three organizations. 
116. Cooperation with the standard-setting bodies has also been deepened through the Standards 
and Trade Development Facility (STDF).  In 2006, a project was completed which had permitted the 
OIE to provide additional in-depth training for veterinary experts on the margins of the SPS 
workshops.  Through this programme, an OIE cadre of trainers has been cr eated, whom, it is hoped, 
will be able to pass on their expertise.  This jo int STDF/WTO project will be evaluated in 2007 and 
lessons arising from it will be applied in future joint activities.  
(vii) Trade and Development 
117. The Development Division organized a numbe r of regional workshops on "trade and 
development" during the course of the year.  Th e workshops were geared  towards middle- and 
senior-level officials from the national trade and ot her WTO-related ministries.  The basic objectives 
sought to be ensured through the workshops have been the following: 
• improved understanding of the linkages between trade and de velopment, including through 
an exchange of national experiences among par ticipants on how to make trade work for 
development; 
• awareness about the steps that could help ma ximise the development gains from trade, 
including the different policy initiatives that would need to be taken nationally; 
• improved understanding of the DDA and how its development component cuts across all its 
negotiating issues; 
• in-depth knowledge of the historical evolutio n of special and differencial treatment and the 
key issues in the ongoing work programme in this area, including the developments after 
the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference;  
• presentations on the status of work in other development areas including transfer of 
technology, small economies, electronic commerce and work carried out in the CTD, 
including on commodity issues.  Presenta tions also addressed the work of the 
Sub-Committee on LDCs and the IF for LDCs; and 
• awareness about the current status of the negotiations. 
 
118. The evaluation forms submitted by participants  indicate that the key objectives of the 
workshops have been very much achieved.  In partic ular, the participants seem  to have become better 
aware of the interlinkages between trade and developm ent, the status of the key development issues of 
the DDA and the various technical assistance tools provided by the WTO.  In order to encourage 
participants to use the multilateral trading system  and provide some illustrations, interactive case 
studies and some exercises were part of the courses.  These included case studies on S&D provisions, 
on development-related issues of interest to the par ticular region of the course, as well as a simulation 
of negotiations.  Seminars were held in a fully pa rticipatory manner with a high degree of interaction 
with the participants.  The participants showed  a great interest and enthusiasm for the case 
studies - which they considered an efficient tr aining tool - and for the participatory teaching 
methodology in general.  Participants have, on more  than one occasion, mentioned the need to make 
the seminars longer and have suggested that the semi nars be more targeted to their individual country 
needs.  However, it has been explained that the natu re of the seminar, i.e. it being a regional seminar, 
makes it difficult to target the cour se to individual country needs.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 21 
 
 
  119. As for the coming year, the intention would be to continue and enhan ce participatory teaching 
methods in the seminars.  As in the past, Govern ments would be asked to nominate officials who 
would be required to make a brief presentation on how trade liberalization and participation in global 
trade has impacted on national economic development.  To this extent one segment of the course will 
be the responsibility of the participants, in which th ey will be expected to present their experiences 
regarding trade and development and to suggest ways, both at the national and at the multilateral 
level, by which global trade can further facilitate development.  The participants would also be 
encouraged to disseminate the knowledge acquire d to a wider audience, including the business 
community and civil society.   
(viii) Dispute Settlement 
120. In 2006, the LAD and the Appellate Body S ecretariat continued their cooperation for the 
planning and delivery of technical assistance activ ities relating to WTO dispute settlement.  The 
activities carried out included, as in previous years, a combination of participation in general activities 
such as the RTPCs, and of activities specifically focused on WTO dispute settlement procedures, both 
at the regional and national levels.  As in prev ious years, regional courses on dispute settlement 
procedures and practices continued to be offered on the basis of a two-year cycle (i.e. a course is 
organized in each region every second year).  All courses continue to be based on an interactive 
approach in which participants ar e encouraged to engage in practi cal exercises designed to familiarize 
them with the functioning of WTO dispute settlement  procedures.    
(ix) Accessions 
121. Technical assistance delivered by the Accessions Division includes helping acceding 
governments prepare documents required for th e accession process (memorandum on the foreign 
trade regime, replies to Members' questions, initia l and revised offers, as well as other technical 
documents) and educating them about WTO rules and en forcement requirements.  It takes the form of 
missions and, above all, of direct assistance and advi ce provided from Geneva on a continuous basis.   
The bulk of the technical assistance is provided fro m Geneva; missions are a complementary tool used 
as appropriate.  Follow-up is systematic and carri ed out from Geneva.  Policy level missions, which 
also have a technical assistance component, have had an increasingly critical role to play in advancing accessions in terms of creating awareness and commitm ent at high levels of government, Parliament, 
media, and in the public and private sector.  Progress achieved by acceding governments in moving their accession process forward is di rect evidence of the impact and sustainability of technical 
assistance activities.  Both acceding governments a nd Members - developing and developed - have 
praised the assistance provided by the division to acceding governments.  
122. In order to better respond to acceding government s' needs, a simulation exercise on market 
access negotiations on goods was developed by the Accessions Division in 2005.  Several activities 
using this simulation exercise have been ca rried out since then, upon request of acceding 
governments. 
123. Efforts have also been made to develop c ooperation with several institutions delivering 
technical assistance to acceding governments (I nternational Trade Development, Economic 
Governance Advisory Services (IDEAS), Agen cy for International Trade Information and 
Cooperation (AITIC), United Nations Conferen ce on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United 
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP), etc.).  The Secretariat's role consists mainly in providing these institutions with  the information they need to deliver adequate 
technical assistance to acceding governments.  The WTO participates as resource persons when 
invited to do so, and as much as its' limited resources allow it. WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 22  
 
  124. The focused TA activities perform ed by the Accessions Division will, of course, continue to 
need the complementary and coordinated support of other divisions engaged in technical assistance 
specific to their areas of expertise. 
(x) Rules 
125. During 2006, the Rules Division conducted and/ or participated in 28 technical assistance 
missions, covering all five regions in equal measure .  The division initiated five regional activities, 
three of which covering trade remedies on a basic level, one advanced-level anti-dumping investigation workshop and one regional workshop on fishery subsidies. 
126. The successful completion of an eTraining course was made a prerequisite for nomination to 
attend the three trade remedies workshops.  This ensure d that all participants had, at least, the same 
basic understanding of the issues covered during the wo rkshop.  This enabled the presenters to pitch 
the training at the appropriate leve l and could devote more time to practical exercises.  The three 
eTraining courses, one for the Balkan region, on e for English-speaking Africa, and one for the 
Caribbean, with a total participation of 150 offici als equally distributed over the three regions, ran 
concurrently, with the workshops conducted within four months af ter completion of the eTraining 
course. Although the initial planning was for the re spective workshops to be conducted within two 
months after the completion of the eTraining, ot her demands on the limited resources prevented it.  
All efforts should be made in future to ensure that  the two months limit be kept as the interest of 
participants might wane if the period between the two activities is too long.  Access to adequate 
computer facilities to do the eTraining course did not seem to be a problem in any of the three regions 
covered as no complaints in this re gard were received – all potential participants were informed about 
the facilities available at the respective WTO Reference Centres.  In light of the experienced gained in 
2005 with linking workshops to eTraining, all eTra ining materials were revised during 2006 in order 
to make the materials more e-learning friendly and entertaining.  Although the development of 
eTraining material is very time consuming, the divi sion plans to develop materials for more advanced 
eTraining courses on anti-dumping during 2007. 
127. In both the other two regional activities, the divi sion carefully scrutinized the nominations to 
ensure that the nominees have the right bac kground and/or responsibilities to benefit from the 
respective workshops.  In neither case was there any reason to inte rvene in the nomination process. 
128. The programmes of all national workshops were  developed in close cooperation with the 
investigating authorities concerned.  This ensu red that maximum value was added through these 
activities.   
(xi) Competition Policy 
129. Taking account of decisions taken in the Committe e on Trade and Development in the context 
of the 2004 "July package", the Secretariat's technica l assistance programme in this area is limited to 
the provision of national workshops, on request by individual WTO Members.  In 2006, two such workshops were organized:  (i) an advanced workshop on issues concerning abuse of dominant 
position and privatization for Zambia;  and (ii)  a workshop on the implementation of competition 
policy for Cameroon.  Experience in the presentati on of these workshops and general contacts indicate 
that there is a continuing interest in assistance in this area as an aspect of institution-building at the 
national level, independent of the fact that any possi bility of negotiations in this area has been ruled 
out for the duration of the Doha Round.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 23 
 
 
  (xii) Technical Assistance within the Trade Policy Review Mechanism Framework 
130. The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) is a valuable forum for achieving transparency 
in, and understanding of, the trade policies and pr actices of Members.  TPRs of developing and LDC 
members have increasingly performed a technical assistance function and have been useful in 
increasing understanding of the trade policy struct ure in place and its relationship with the WTO 
Agreements, playing an important part in "cap acity-building and mainstreaming".  The reviews 
enhance understanding in these countries of the WT O Agreements, enabling better compliance and 
integration in the Multilateral Trading System (MTS) ; better interaction between government agencies 
is also facilitated by the reviews.  The Secretaria t reports wide coverage of Members policies enabling 
them to identify any shortcomings in policy and specific areas where further technical assistance may 
be required. 
131. Since 2000, the review process for LDCs, and a number of other developing countries has 
included a two-to-four-day seminar or a half-day workshop for their officials on the WTO and, in 
particular, the TPR exercise and the role of trade in economic policy, including a presentation by the 
participants from the country under review on the experience from trade lib eralization efforts and 
round tables5.  The Secretariat Report for an LDC Review , as well as other less-developed countries, 
includes a section on technical assistance needs and priorities, as identified in cooperation with the 
Member concerned, and with a view to feeding this  into the IF process.  For LDCs, the Secretariat 
also works closely with the World Bank on the trade component of the latter's Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS), with the reviews often an  integral part to the framing of the DTIS, and 
indeed the Secretariat has now been asked to prep are the trade section for two studies.  The ITTC and 
the TPRD work together to elaborate a methodology to use TPRs more systematically as a tool for 
Needs Assessments.  Th ese activities are assimilated to national activities. 
132. While each review highlights the specific issues and measures concerning the individual 
Member, certain common themes emerged during th e course of the Reviews conducted in 2006.  
These included: 
• transparency in policy-making and implementation; 
• economic environment and trade liberalization; 
• implementation of the WTO Agreements; 
• regional trade agreements and their relati onship with the multilateral trading system; 
• tariff issues, including peaks, escalation, preferences, rationalization and the gap 
between applied and bound rates; 
• customs clearance procedures; 
• import and export restrictions and licensing procedures; 
• the use of contingency measures such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties; 
• technical and sanitary measures and market access; 
• standards and their equivalence with international norms; 
                                                     
 
5 Such seminars have been held for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Uganda 
(2001); Burundi, Haiti, Honduras, Le sotho, Malawi, the Maldives, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Zambia 
(2002); Gambia, Guyana, Rwanda, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) (2003); Belize, Benin, 
Burkina Faso, Mali, Sierra Leone, Suriname (2004);  An gola, Chad, Djibouti, Guinea and Togo (2005).  For 
2006, this process was undertaken for the review process of the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, 
Tanzania, Uganda and Panama.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 24  
 
  • intellectual property rights legislation and enforcement; 
• government procurement policies and practices
6; 
• state involvement in the economy and privatization programmes; 
• trade-related competition and investment policy issues; 
• incentive measures such as s ubsidies and tax forgone; 
• sectoral trade-policy issues, particularly liberalization in agriculture and certain 
services sectors; 
• GATS commitments;  
• special and differential treatment, including market access and implementation, 
particularly for customs valuation, TRIPS and TRIMs;  and 
• technical assistance in implementing the WTO Agreements and the experience with 
the Integrated Framework.  
(xiii) Regional Trade Agreements 
133. The Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) section has conducted a series of regional seminars 
(English-speaking Africa; French-speaking Africa;  Arab and Middle-East countries; Central and 
Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus countri es; Caribbean countries; and Latin America) and 
has been involved in the delivery of TRTA in the RTPCs.  The activities aim at raising awareness on 
RTA dynamics in global trade, and training and advising of government officials on WTO rules and 
procedures on RTAs.  Their underlying objective is to contribute to the development of RTAs that are 
in line with the relevant WTO rules, thus comple menting the objectives of the WTO.  Since Doha, the 
RTA Section has been entrusted with the additional t ask of clarifying issues related to the negotiations 
on RTA rules to WTO Members requesting such assistance. 
134. Several training modules are employed to deliver the TA activities.  These include lectures on 
various topics related to RTAs, quizzes, case studies, and group presentations prepared by 
participants.  Group activities were conducted system atically in all of the RTA specific regional 
seminars.  These and other interactive exercises are c onsidered by the majority of participants to be 
very useful since they encourage knowledge sharing and they allow to explore the topic from a variety 
of perspectives. 
135. Analysis of the Personal Evaluation Forms (PEFs ) indicates that participants in the various 
Regional Seminars and TPC were ge nerally very satisfied with the TA activities and that the set 
objectives were achieved.  The majority of responde nts indicated that the TA activities had provided 
them with knowledge that would be directly app licable to the negotiations, the administration of 
RTAs, as well as for in-house training, research and policy advice. 
136. Attendance at the RTA specific seminars varied .  Regional organizations/secretariats have 
been invited to all the RTA specific seminars.  Where present, their participation significantly 
contributed to the overall success of the TA activities.  
(xiv) Government Procurement 
137. In 2006, the Secretariat organized five activ ities on government procurement, comprising four 
regional workshops and a Geneva workshop.  The Geneva workshop differed from the regional 
                                                      
6 This has been discussed even in cases where Members are not party to the plurilateral Agreement on 
Government Procurement.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 25 
 
 
  workshops in that it was tailored particularly to  the interests of WTO Members which are in the 
process of acceding to the Government Procurem ent Agreements (GPA) and/or have made 
commitments eventually to seek accession to the Ag reement (or are considering such commitments), 
whereas the regional workshops addressed governme nt procurement as it relates to trade more 
broadly, with significant emphasis on developments in  the regions and at the national level.  Apart 
from these activities which were organized by the Secr etariat itself, a representative of the Secretariat 
participated, by invitation, in a national work shop on government procurement organized by the 
government of India. 
138. Both the regional and Geneva programmes embodied a highly interactive approach 
emphasizing the use of small group exercises and brea kout sessions to facilitate the exchange of 
information and sharing of experiences, in add ition to traditional lecture and other formats. 
139. The regional workshops held in 2006 were organi sed for the benefit, resp ectively, of:  (i) the 
Arab and Middle-East countries; (ii) the Caribbean  countries; (iii) the countries of French-speaking 
Africa; and (iv) the countries of Latin America.  The broad objectives of these activities were to:  (i) enhance participants' awareness of key concepts a nd principles in this area;  (ii) familiarize them 
with relevant WTO activities;  and (iii) facilitate policy development and decision making in this area 
at the national and regional levels. 
140. A total of 117 participants attended the re gional workshops, of which 32 or 27% were 
women.  In all these activities, 50 per cent or more of  participants were first-time attendees in a WTO 
technical cooperation activity.  In general, pa rticipants reported finding the activities highly 
informative, useful and beneficial.  The overall sa tisfaction rating was 90 per cent or more, including 
two regions where this was 100 per cent.  The level of objective attainment was also high.  Among the 
uses to which participants indicated that they woul d apply the acquired knowledge included:  (i) in the 
implementation of domestic procurem ent reforms;  (ii) in the improvement of national systems and 
performance;  (iii) in informing policy debate and de velopment, either directly or through information 
sharing with other capital-based colleagues;  and (i v) in trade negotiations in this subject area. 
141. The GPA Workshop attracted 27 participants from 25 countries (two countries sent additional 
participants at their own expense), with a 2:1 male to female ratio.  This year's programme 
incorporated a number of innovations including:  (i) an expanded session on sc ope and coverage and 
other market access-related issues, reinforced by a breakout session in  which participants practised 
accessing details of the existing Parties' coverage commitments;  (ii) greater use of graphical illustrations to elucidate key concepts and principles of what is a highly technical subject;  and (iii) a 
new session dealing with GPA-compatible ways of addressing social and developmental policy 
concerns in a government procurement system - an is sue that generated consider able interest.  Overall 
satisfaction rating in this activity was 95 per cent, with an 89 per cent objective achievement rating, 
according to analysis of the feedback  forms completed by participants. 
142. As in previous years, the Secretariat' s activities in 2006 benefited from extensive 
collaboration with host governments and experts from other institutions, including academics from 
George Washington University Law School and No ttingham University Law School and practitioner 
experts from the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), European Commission, the 
US Government Accountability Office, and United Nations Commission for International Trade Law 
(UNCITRAL), as well as an independent consultant. 
143. Among the insights and key messages to emerge from the activities held in 2006 were the 
following: 
• in all of the regions in which activities were held, but in varying degrees, the participating 
countries have undergone reforms aimed at achie ving higher levels of transparency and WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 26  
 
  openness to competition.  This reflects:  (i ) regional initiatives to promote trade and 
development;  (ii) national efforts to achiev e greater value for money in the procurement 
process;  and/or (iii) preparations for even tual accession to the GPA.  These necessitate a 
more differentiated approach to technical assistan ce in this area across the regions.  For this 
reason, in 2007 the Secretariat will introduce an advanced workshop which will be offered 
in some regions in addition to the basic format which will continue to be offered; 
• a keen interest was exhibited among particip ants to learn more about WTO's work on 
government procurement generally.  In 2007, emphasis will be placed not only on the existing GPA but on the revised  text of the Agreement on wh ich provisional agreement was 
reached by the Parties in December 2006 and wh ich has been developed, in part, to make 
the Agreement more user-friendly and accessible to developing countries; 
• there appeared to be an element of urgency in some cases to get to grips with the trade 
policy aspects of government procurement – in mo st cases, driven either by the increasing 
appearance of this issue as a topic in trade negotiations at the bila teral, subregional and 
regional levels or the prospect of eventual  accession to the GPA.  In this regard, the 
programmes have already been adapted to place additional emphasis on the acquisition of 
tools to assess national trade interests vis-à-vi s procurement in addition to the procedural 
aspects of procurement and other topics; 
• a further insight relates to the optimal numb er of representatives at regional activities from 
each participating country.  In 2006 only one par ticipant (instead of two) was  invited from 
each participating country.  This was deemed to be less than satisfactory in that it forces a 
choice between representation by a trade official or a representative of the treasury or procurement authority - when in fact, policy r esponsibility in this area (and the need to be 
informed of WTO activities) tends to be sh ared between these arms of government.  
Accordingly, this situation will be remedi ed in the 2007 Secretariat TA Plan which 
provides funding for two participants per par ticipating country - one each from the trade or 
commerce ministry and the procurement au thority or treasury/finance department; 
• there are important complementarities and synergies between the WTO's activities in the 
area of government procurement and the work of UNCITRAL, the World Bank, the OECD and a number of regional organizations, in  addition to broader initiatives relating to 
governance and the fight against corruption.  Efforts should be made to deepen the WTO's 
cooperation with other organizations active in these areas; and, 
• the potential benefits of procurement reforms can  also be undermined by collusive practices 
such as bid rigging.  To assist in addressing this, the Secretariat's regional programmes 
typically contain a session on tools for the prevention of such practices. 
 
(xv) Trade and Environment 
144. The broad objective of the regional workshops on  trade and environment organized in 2006 
was to facilitate and enhance the effective particip ation of Members in the WTO's work on trade and 
environment (T&E) and in particular with respect  to the T&E-related topics being negotiated under 
the DDA.  Participants were introduced to th e regular work of the Committee on Trade and 
Environment (CTE) and updated on the different aspects of the T&E-related negotiations being 
conducted in the Committee on Trade and Environment in Special Session (CTESS). 
145. In all regional workshops, programmes were tailore d to the interests of the respective regions 
and were designed to ensure full engagement from par ticipants.  In the latter re gard, participants were 
informed of the objectives of the workshops well in advance; they were routinely tasked to prepare 
interventions prior to their arrival; and they we re asked also to research national positions on the 
substantive topics.  The regional workshops pr ovided opportunities as well to promote greater 
dialogue between trade and environment officials at  national levels and to  facilitate sharing of 
national experiences among Members in the regions.  The year 2006 saw continued cooperation with  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 27 
 
 
  other international organizations in the conduct of  the regional workshops; organizations including 
UNCTAD, United Nations Environment Progra mme (UNEP), UNECA and the Convention of 
Bioligical Diversity (CBD) Secretariat were inv ited variously to contribute to the programmes. 
146. Participants in the regional workshops appr eciated the advance planning as well as efforts 
made to ensure programmes reflected regional T&E -related preoccupations and priorities.  As well, 
participants responded positively to the interactiv e nature of the workshops and the presence of 
experts and representatives of other international ag encies.  In all instances, presentations were 
supported by background documents and other WTO materials. 
147. In addition to the regional wo rkshops, other opportunities were taken to provide T&E-related 
technical assistance.  National wo rkshops were undertaken in res ponse to requests from Members.  
Also, the Secretariat participated in the C onference of the Parties of various multilateral 
environmental agreements (MEAs) and these pr ovided opportunities for networking and to convey 
information on relevant discussions in the CTE and CTESS.7  As it has done in the past, the 
Secretariat covered T&E-related topics in Re gional and Geneva-based Trade Policy Courses. 
(xvi) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) 
148. In 2006, technical assistance activities were aimed at assisting effective and informed 
implementation of the TBT Agreement at the nationa l level.  Towards this objective, three regional 
workshops were conducted.  As well, a number of na tional workshops were undertaken in response to 
requests from Members.  In all workshops, releva nt background information was provided on the 
main disciplines of the TBT Agreement; participants  were also updated on current issues before the 
TBT Committee, in particular with respect to the Fourth Triennial Review of the Agreement. 
149. As in past years, emphasis was put on ensuring interaction and engagement from participants.  
This was achieved through advance prepara tions; innovations to the programmes requiring inter alia  
that participants arrive at workshops ready to ma ke substantive interventi ons on TBT-related topics; 
use of a wide range of presentational methods and practical exercises; and distribution of background 
documents and other supporting material (both in hardcopy and electronic format). 
150. Workshop programmes also sought to take into  account different regional preoccupations and 
differing levels of awareness with respect to th e TBT Agreement and work of the TBT Committee.  
For example, the regional workshop in Latin Am erica (Uruguay; March 2006), included a focus on 
issues arising from discussions in preparation for th e Fourth Triennial Review; the regional workshop 
in the Pacific (Fiji, June 2006), gave particular a ttention to the process of submitting Statements under 
Article 15.2 of the Agreement; and the regional workshop for French-speaking Africa (Tunisia, 
September 2006), included a focus on transparency pr ocedures and information sharing.  In terms of 
concrete examples to illustrate the impact of the wo rkshops:  two Members that had participants at the 
Fiji and Tunisia events subsequently submitted thei r Statements on implementation and administration 
of the Agreement; as well, the first TBT notification was received by another Member that was represented at one of the workshops.  Follow-up actio ns were undertaken at the end of each workshop 
and CD-ROMs with all presentations  were sent to participants. 
                                                     
 
7 In 2006, the Secretariat participated inter alia  in the following meetings:  8th Meeting of the 
Conference of the Parties to the CBD (26-29 March);  5th Session of the Open-ended Working Group on the 
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal 
(3-7 April);  2nd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of  the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic 
Pollutants (1-5 May); 3rd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior 
Informed Consent Procedure for Ce rtain Hazardous Chemicals and Pes ticides in Inte rnational Trade 
(9-13 October); 12th Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on 
Climate Change and 2nd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the 
Kyoto Protocol (15-17 November). WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 28  
 
  151. As in past years, the 2006 regional workshops  were organized in close cooperation with 
regional organizations and benefited also fro m contributions to the programmes by several 
international  organizations
8 as well as officials from a number of Member countries.  In addition to 
the workshops undertaken, TBT-related topics were  also covered in Regional and Geneva-based 
Trade Policy Courses.  In response to a recomme ndation of the TBT Committee, a Workshop on 
Different Approaches to Conformity Assessment was held in Geneva in March 2006; funding from 
the DDA Global Trust Fund was made available to  assist participation from developing country 
Members.  TBT-related technical assistance activities in 2006 also included br iefings in Geneva for 
delegates, capital-based government officials and representatives of the standardization community.  
(xvii)  Trade Negotiations Skills and Techniques 
152. The Intensive Course on Trade Negotiations Skills (ICTNS) is designed to provide 
participants with skills and knowle dge concerning appropriate strategi es and tactics for the conduct of 
negotiations, as well as techniques of systematic d ecision analysis for monitoring and managing the 
negotiating process.  It contributes directly to th e objectives of the DDA by improving, deepening and 
enhancing participants' understa nding of the DDA negotiations, more particularly the 2005 Hong 
Kong Ministerial Declaration, July 2006 Possibl e Modalities in Agriculture, and the 2004 July 
package.  The core of the course encompasses all the stages in trade negotiations from the 
consultation stage to actual negotiations, involving real give-and-take.  The use of the DDA mandate 
for the simulation exercise makes this training programme particularly relevant since participants can apply their strengthened skills immediately to real  world negotiations in Geneva and other forums. 
153. The Course has been found to be very valuable , bringing participants into real negotiation 
mode.  Feedback from participants has been very positive and reassuring.  A computed average score 
for 2006 shows that 93 per cent of participants expr essed satisfaction with the results of the TA while 
87 per cent pointed to the achievement of the objectives of the TA.  Virtually all participants indicated 
in the evaluation forms that they had benefited from the course and expanded their knowledge of 
bilateral and multilateral trade nego tiations.  A number of participants indicated that they would use 
the knowledge and skills acquired in preparing their countries' positions for the ongoing Doha 
negotiations, in preparing their countries' services offers, in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group 
of States (ACP)-European Union (EU)-Environmenta l Protection Agency (EPA) negotiations, as well 
as accession negotiations. 
154. During 2006, national intensive courses were held in Oman, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, 
Thailand, Sri Lanka and Rwanda, and regional or subregional intensive courses were held in 
St. Lucia, Thailand, Qatar, Zambia, Madagasc ar, Jamaica (RTPC), Hong Kong (RTPC), Morocco 
(RTPC) and Namibia (RTPC).  Since the training pr ogramme was designed on the basis of the actual 
negotiating issues in the DDA, most of the participan ts felt that their trade negotiations skills had been 
substantially strengthened in practical terms.  In particular, the participants assigned to the developed 
country groups had the opportunity to engage in trade policy formulation and consultation process 
from the perspectives of developed countries - a rare opportunity to view the same issues from 
different perspectives.  This is an effective appr oach to strengthen the negotiating skills and capacities 
of participants. 
155. The training material has evolved over the year s on the basis of feedback from participants 
and colleagues.  Regional-targeting of the work ing documents has produced the most interesting 
results, e.g. as in Oman, Uganda , Tanzania, Hong Kong, Zambia and Sri Lanka where the participants 
                                                     
 
8 International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization 
(ISO), FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (Cod ex), United Nations Industrial Development 
Organization (UNIDO), International Organization for Legal Metrology (OIML), Asociación LatinoAmericana 
de Integración (ALADI), Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS).  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 29 
 
 
  inter alia gave a score of 100 per cent for the high qua lity of the training materials.  A selection 
process has been introduced to improve the quality of the results.  Selected participants are those who 
have good knowledge of the WTO Agreements, wh o have attended a WTO workshop or seminar 
before, or who have followed the WTO eTraining.   The results of the (ICTNS) are of immediate 
application.  Consequently, soon after an ICTNS h as taken place, some participants either become 
incorporated into their country's negotiating team  or are posted to their country's diplomatic 
representations abroad, especially to the WTO. 
156. Over the years, the WTO has built partnerships  with the APEC-Economic Integration project, 
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)  and the Conference Board of Canada (CBC) in 
running intensive courses on trade negotiations skills in Asia.  In Africa, partnership has been built 
with the University of Pretoria, University of th e Western Cape (South Africa), University of Dar es 
Salaam and the University of Nairobi.  The Ar ab Monetary Fund (AMF) has been involved in 
partnership arrangements in the Middle-East.  These partners did contribute in terms of both resource 
persons and financial resources.  
(xviii)  Outreach Activities for Parliamentarians and Civil Society 
157. Outreach activities for Parliamentarians and Civil Society are part of an overall WTO strategy 
to help legislators and Civil Society represen tatives better understand the WTO and the ongoing DDA 
negotiations.  They are also a response to a call fo r greater transparency in the WTO's operations and 
improved dialogue with external stakeholders.  Outreach activities consist of regional workshops 
organized and funded by the WTO, jointly with pa rtner institutions.  They are conducted in close 
cooperation with Members and the host-country.  In 2006, regional workshops were conducted in 
Malaysia (for Parliamentarians from Asia), Fiji (fo r Parliamentarians from the Pacific) and Singapore 
(for NGO representatives from Asia). 
158. These regional workshops were designed to respond to different objectives but the most 
important one was to create opportunities for inte raction and dialogue with Civil Society and 
Parliamentarians.  Other objectives were - to fost er greater public understanding of, and interest in, 
the WTO; to inform participants on the operations  of the MTS and key issues on the international 
trade agenda; and to encourage discussion on trad e-related and developmen t-related issues.  The 
workshops were very interactive and presentations, both by WTO officials and guest speakers, were 
supported by written material and background documentation. Workshop participants were 
encouraged to consider their respective rol es in multilateral processes and ways to increase 
parliamentary and public awareness of the interna tional trade agenda. They have also given useful 
feedback and suggestions on outreach activities, to  consider their respective roles in multilateral 
processes and on ways to increase parliamentary a nd public awareness of the international trade 
agenda. 
159. Participants appreciated the opportunity of di alogue with the WTO and their feedback was 
positive.  They  welcomed WTO's efforts to establis h a closer relation with Parliamentarians and Civil 
Society representatives and they encouraged the WTO Secretariat to continue and expand these 
efforts.  Participants were also comfortable with  the objectives and design of the workshops - which 
sought to convey neutral and balanced information on the workings and agenda of WTO and provide 
a platform for participants to exchange views on developments in the trading system and in their 
regions/interest groups.  The involvement of  e xperts from the respective regions as guest speakers 
was also welcomed.  One further positive eff ect of the 2006 activities was the strengthening of 
working relations with a number of partner orga nizations (Parliamentary associations and prominent 
Civil Society organizations) who served as co-organ izers of the workshops.  These relationships will 
be further built upon in the coming years. WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 30  
 
  160. Outreach activities have specific dynamics compared  to other TA activities. Participants often 
have mixed levels of knowl edge of the multilateral system and inte rnational trade and participants are 
generally more hesitant to enga ge in dialogue with the WTO.  The experience from the workshops 
nevertheless showed that participants with little background knowledge appreciated the opportunity to 
learn about WTO and used the opportunity to ad dress various misgivings/misunderstandings held 
about the Organization.  Others, who are more familiar with WTO took the opportunity to raise 
questions and challenge certain assumpti ons about the current negotiations.   
161. Workshop participants undertook to maintain a closer watch/involvement in WTO work and 
many promised to share their newly-acquired knowle dge with colleagues and contacts.  A number of 
Parliamentarians also indicated an intention to involve themselves more actively in current 
international discussions about a parliamentary dimension of WTO. 
C. A
CADEMIC SUPPORT FOR TRAINING AND CAPACITY -BUILDING :  AN INTEGRATED APPROACH  
162. The University Programme has a number of co mponents.  Some of these are conducted by the 
ITTC, while others are run jointly with the ERSD .  The programme has su ccessfully advanced the 
integration of initiatives involving academic comm unities into WTO traditional technical assistance 
and training activities, while continuing to build links with the academic community, especially in 
developing countries. 
163. A new programme of collaboration was launche d between the WTO and the ITC, linking the 
WTO's University Programme and the ITC's World Trade Net Programme. 
164. The activities were implemented with involveme nt of other WTO divisions, and aimed at 
building synergies between the WTO, other region al organizations, and local universities.  The 
programme incorporated eight (8) follow-up and new activities into the WTO 2006 TA Plan, 
enhancing the scope of WTO coope ration involving academic partners and beneficiary participants 
and further integrating these into traditional TA activities, namely: 
• WTO-UNESCAP Regional Workshop for senior researchers (Macao); WTO-INTAL/IABD 
Regional Training Course for Trade Officials and Academics (Guatemala); WTO-INTAL/IADB Regional Seminar for Academ ics (Argentina); Regional Workshop for 
Academics from Eastern and Central Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus (Austria); 
WTO-Cairo University Regional Workshop for Academics from Arab and Middle-East 
Countries (Egypt), Seminar for Government Officials and Academics (TPR Indonesia), and two WTO-University of Nairobi Regional S hort Trade Policy Courses for Trade Officials 
from English-speaking African Countries (Services and NAMA).   
 
165. These activities where delivered with the i nvolvement of officials from various WTO 
divisions: ERSD, TSD, MAD, DDA and Special Duties Division, Council and Ministerial Conference Division, LAD, External Relations Division (ERD) and the ITTC.  The beneficiaries audiences were trade officials, academics and bu siness sector representatives. 
166. Furthermore, the University Programme facilita ted the participation of the WTO in a number 
of research-related meetings convened by regional r esearch networks and institutions.  In this field, 
the programme funded the participation of the ERSD  to meetings of the African Economic Research 
Consortium (Kenya), the Board Meeting and Annual Conference of the GTAP (Ethiopia), and the Consultative Committee of  UNESCAP's ArtNet Programme (Macao).    WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 31 
 
 
  (a) Regional and National Activities 
167. The activities involving academic institutions sou ght to support institutional capacities in host 
countries and participating institutions, pursuant to  the guidelines provided for in the 2006 TA Plan.  
The 2006 activities aimed at advancing the integra tion of academic communities into WTO traditional 
technical assistance activities, encompassing more activities within the University Programme and 
building synergies between the WTO and other in ternational agencies, and integrating more 
Secretariat divisions in the implementation of the activities. 
168. The University Programme aims at gradually tr ansiting from initial basic types of support to 
academic programmes or institutions (e.g. donating b ooks, lecturing) to transferring responsibility and 
ownership of further activities to the associated uni versities.  For instance, the activities held in 
cooperation with universities in Uganda, Sudan an d Tanzania covered the lecturing on basic WTO 
issues, as well as discussions on curriculum developm ent, constituting an early stage of cooperation.  
At the second stage, the Secretariat seeks to encour age universities to organize national or subregional 
activities for other professors.  Activities of the latte r type were organized by universities in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, Russian Federation, Ke nya, Kazakhstan, and South Africa. 
169. The beneficiaries audiences were trade officials, academics and business sector 
representatives or a mix of these groups.  Topics address focused on resear ch issues, curriculum 
development and updating on WTO negotiations.  It s hould be highlighted that a number of these 
activities were requested as National Activities by the host country.  The 2006 activities included both 
new and follow-up activities, namely: 
• new activities:  WTO-INTAL/IABD Regional Training Course for Trade Officials and 
Academics (Guatemala); Seminar for Government Officials and Academics (TPR 
Indonesia), and two WTO-University of Nairobi Regional Short Trade Policy Courses for 
Trade Officials from English-speaking African Countries (Services and NAMA); WTO-University of Sarajevo Subregional Works hop for University Professors from the West 
Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina); WTO-In ternational Business University National 
Seminar for University Professors (Kazakhsta n); WTO-Makerere University Short Course 
and National Seminar for University Professors  and Government Officials (Uganda), and; 
WTO-University of Khartoum National Semi nar of WTO and Curriculum Development for 
University Professors (Sudan); and,  
• follow-up activities: WTO-UNESCAP Regiona l Workshop for Senior Researchers 
(Macao); WTO/United Nations University Regional Workshop for Academics (South 
Africa); WTO-INTAL/IADB Regional Semina r for Academics (Argentina); Regional 
Workshop for Academics from Eastern and Cent ral Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus 
(Austria), and; WTO-Cairo University Regional Workshop for Academics from Arab and Middle-East Countries (Egypt); University of Dar Es Salaam (Intensive Course on TNS); University of the West Indies, Master's programme (2 lecturing modules and one study tour programme of lectures); WTO-State University  of St. Petersburg sub-National Seminar for 
Academics; all-African Moot Court on WT O Dispute Settlement, organized by the 
University of Pretoria (South Africa). 
 
(b) Phase II of Collaboration 
(a) University of Nairobi 
170. During 2006, the activities involving the Univers ity of Nairobi consisted in two joint WTO-
UN activities (regional courses on services and market access) for officials from English-speaking 
African countries, with the involvement of professo rs from the University as co-lecturers.  Holding 
them in cooperation with the University of Nair obi allowed the Secretariat to consolidate four WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 32  
 
  activities into two.  In addition, professors from th e University of Nairobi cooperated with the WTO 
by acting as tutors in the eTraining courses provided by the WTO to trade officials. 
(b) New Initiatives 
171. A new programme of activities was launched during 2006, involving joint efforts between the 
WTO and the ITC, linking the University Progra mme and the ITC's World TradeNet Programme.  
Joint activities were organized during 2006 in the fo rm of national seminars/conferences), involving 
the academic, private and governments sectors.  The general focus of these activities was an 
examination of the impact of the WTO negotiati ons on the business sectors of specific countries. 
(c) Document Dissemination-Publications support to universities 
172. The outreach of this programme was enhanced  during 2006 by linking the donations of 
publications to the participants to the activities.   Four hundred and ninety-nine small sets of WTO 
publications were donated to the participants of ac tivities in the University Programme, while larger 
individual sets were donated to seventeen universities. 
(c) Other Activities Involving the Academic Community 
(a) Joint Research and Supported Research 
173. The research support programme is managed by ERSD.  Researchers from developing 
countries (they can be in institutions of higher learni ng anywhere in the world) are invited to propose 
WTO-related research projects which will be funded by the Secretariat.  Often the activities are "triangulated" with other parties (IGOs, universities)  and developed into bigger projects that the WTO 
only part-funds  In the reporting period, a series of six analytical papers from Asia were supported in 
conjunction with UNESCAP's regional research outr each programme.  These papers may be found on 
UNESCAP's ARTNeT Website.  A  project on used clothes markets in Africa is currently being 
completed.  Another study on the informal sector and trade has been launched.  A programme run jointly with the World Bank on NTBs in the APEC region is close to completion.  A cross-country project on trade policy and income distribution in Asia (with Adelaide University) is also under 
preparation. 
(b) Doctoral Support Programme 
174. The in-house PhD programme accommodates up to 12 researchers per year from developing 
countries for a maximum of six months (in practi ce 72 man-months) who are engaged in writing PhDs 
on WTO-related issues.  Thirty-two PhD researcher s have been through the programme so far.  The 
researchers must be well advanced in their doctora l programme.  The Secretariat provides them with a 
mentor during their stay.  The PhD students are required to give at least one seminar on their work for 
the Geneva policy community during their stay.   
D. S
UPPORT TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FACILITIES  
(a) Geneva-Based Activities 
(i) E-Learning Programme 
175. The e-learning programme takes full advantage of  information technology and the Internet as 
a complement as well as an alternative to traditional training programs; enhances WTO outreach to 
academic institutions and individual students and develops WTO-related training material which 
would not require simultaneous presence of the trai nees and trainers in Geneva or in the regions.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 33 
 
 
  176. The Secretariat continued the development of a comprehensive e-learning programme 
consisting of different types of IT-based technical ass istance and training tools.  Each type of product 
targets different categories of participants and me ets distinct needs.  WTO Reference Centres are 
extensively used as depositories of IT-based o ffline products, i.e. CD-ROMs and DVDs, and as 
venues for participants who do not have access to co mputers and/or Internet in their offices.   
• eTraining 
 177. The eTraining Website (https://etraining.wto. org) provides interactive courses over the 
Internet to government officials from developi ng Member and Observer countries.  Seven courses 
were organized using the eTraining platform during 2006: (i) six introduction courses on the WTO 
and its basic principles (two in English, two in Fren ch and two in Spanish); (ii) one specialized course 
on trade remedies for the Caribbean, English-Speaki ng African and Balkan regions (pre-requisite for 
participation in advanced workshops on anti-d umping organized in the three above-mentioned 
regions).  
178. Participants had online access  through the eTraining platform to: 
• the training material: modules,  tests, case studies, support documents, library; 
• interactive functions: discussion forum, in ternal email system, chat allowing live 
interaction with other participants  and invited WTO experts (new); 
• a tutor: experts from various WTO divisions (d epending on the course subject); the role of 
eTraining tutors was to answer participants' qu estions or clarification requests on the course 
substance and participate in the discussion forum;  
• a course administrator was available to m onitor participants' study pace, sustain 
participants' motivation throughout the course, answer questions and clarification requests 
dealing with the course organization, facilita te exchanges among participants, moderate 
discussions in the forum or the chat; and, 
• a dedicated online Helpdesk to deal with participants' technical problems and answer 
clarification requests on the Website functions. 
 179. The total number of participants in 2006 w as 685, a 296 per cent increase in relation to 2005 
(173 participants).  Feedback by participants on the 2006 courses w as very positive with high marks 
on course content, online support (tutors, course admi nistrator, helpdesk) and overall organization of 
the activities.  The findings of the ex-post evalua tion of 2005 eTraining activities undertaken by the 
Technical Cooperation Audit confirmed that i) par ticipants had acquired new information, knowledge 
and skills helping them to improve their job perfo rmance and ii) that there was a high level of 
satisfaction for eTraining activities. 
180. The development of training material for two new specialized courses in English was 
finalized in 2006:  (i) TBT, in collaboration with the TED; and (ii) Agriculture, in collaboration with 
the ACD.  In addition, the introductory course wa s revised to include more case studies based on 
dispute settlement cases, more examples and di dactic components as well as updates on latest 
developments in WTO.   
• Self-Training 
 
181. In 2006, five computer-based training modules (CBTs) on specific WTO Agreements/issues 
were made available on-line through the WTO webpage on distance learning 
(http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/d_learn_e/d_learn_e.htm ) and on CD-ROM or DVD, namely: (i) 
Overview of the WTO; (ii) General Agreement on Tr ade in Services; (iii) The Agreement on Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS); (iv) How to Apply the Transparency Provisions of the SPS WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 34  
 
  Agreement; and (v) WTO Dispute Settlement.  Each  CBT included theory and exercises through 
multiple choice questions with an automatic corr ection mechanism.  The CBTs are used essentially 
for self-training.   
• Briefings 
182. This modality consists of a combination of in terrelated media - slide presentations, video files 
and reference documents - all stored on the same  CD-ROM.  The first briefing in English on the 
negotiations on trade facilitation was made available to participants in regional workshops in 2006.  
At the same time, it was made accessible on-line through the WTO webpage on distance learning. 
(ii) WTO Introduction Day 
(a) 13
th, 14th, and 15th WTO Introduction Days 
183. Introduction Days were, once again, designed to disseminate general introductory and 
practical information to delegates newly arri ved in Geneva, WTO staff and interns, and 
representatives of the Intergovernmental Organizat ions (IO) and Non-Governmental Organizations 
(NGO) communities.  Lasting one day, and delivered  by WTO staff members with interpretation in 
the three officials WTO languages,  this activity remained popular in 2006 as more than one hundred 
and sixty persons attended the three events.  Though the programme remained unchanged, some 
adaptations were made to increase the logical seque nce of the day.  Similar events will be conducted 
in 2007. 
(iii) Geneva Week 
184. Two Geneva Week events were held in 2006 as part  of the Secretariat's efforts to assist the 29 
WTO Members and Observers which do not have  permanent representation in Geneva.  
185. The 12th Geneva Week, held from 24 to 28 April 2006, was attended by 91 participants from 
non-resident Member and Observer Governments and representatives from 15 regional, economic 
secretariats.  Several briefing sessions on the state- of-play in the DDA were organized and many of 
the non-resident Members attended a variety of WTO meetings, including the CTD Dedicated Session on Small Economies, and the Sub-Committee on Cotton.   Many also used the week to consult 
bilaterally or to meet with members of the Secr etariat.  Representatives from five governments used 
the time in Geneva to make progress in their r espective WTO working parties for WTO accession.  
Geneva Week participants also benefited from the seminars organized during the week by the AITIC 
and the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL).  The evaluation forms completed by participants 
were positive overall and emphasized the importance of  Geneva Week as a way of gaining timely, up 
to date briefings on WTO developments.  
186. The 13
th Geneva Week, held from 20 to 24 November  2006, was attended by 72 participants 
from non-resident Member and Observer Governments and from representatives of eight regional, 
economic secretariats.  Participants appreciated th e timeliness of the event and thought the selection 
of briefings from the various Chairpersons of the negotiating groups and Secretariat staff were 
particularly useful.  Participants were pleased to  participate in the Colombian Trade Policy Review 
Meeting and in the informal consultations in the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures.  Many of the participants took advantage of their presence in Geneva to meet with regional 
bodies such as the African Group or the ACP, to conduct bilateral consulta tions with other WTO 
Members or to seek clarification or more detailed information from WTO Secretariat staff, including 
on the TA Plan for 2007.  Geneva Week particip ants benefited from briefi ngs organized during the 
week by the AITIC and on the status of the ne gotiations on Agriculture, Non-Agricultural Market 
Access (NAMA), services, TRIPS, trade facilitation and on the work of the CTD in Special and  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 35 
 
 
  Dedicated Session.  Briefings were also held on the Enhanced Integrated Framework and the 
recommendations on the Aid for Trade initiative. 
(iv) Trainee Programmes and Internships 
(a) Netherlands Trainee Programme (NTP) 
187. The NTP is designed to build in-country capacity  in a most effective way, to assist in the 
economic and social development of LDCs, low income countries and comparable poor, small and 
vulnerable economies in areas related to trade polic y.  It thus provides officials with a direct 
opportunity to learn about matters dealt with within the WTO, under the direction of staff members of 
the WTO.  Particular attention is given to African  countries.  The Netherlands are contributing a total 
of Euro 2 Million (or SWF 3 Million) to the DDAG TF for the financing of the Programme, to be 
disbursed over the four-year life span of the Arrangement (2005-2008).   
188. In 2006, a total of 31 trainees benefited from this programme, from as many countries9.  
Fifteen of these candidates had started in 2005, and concluded the progra mme Spring/Summer 2006, 
some 14 took up duty early 2006 and concluded before  the end of the year and two started Autumn 
2006.  Another nine candidates were selected to st art their programme early 2007, bringing the total 
of retained candidates at 40.  In the selection pro cess, due attention is paid to the relevant criteria 
contained in the NTP  and its objectives.  This implie s that the vast majority of the trainees originate 
from LDCs, mostly from Africa.   
189. Based on the preferences expressed by the c ountries that have submitted candidates, the 
officials were allocated to various divisions, wh ere they performed their specific tasks.  These 
divisions include ITTC, DD, TPRD, MAD, TSD and TED.  Other divisions have agreed to provide 
direct support to the Trainees.  As space constraints implied that the number of officials that could be 
accommodated at the WTO premises is limited, a number of the officials were housed directly at their 
Permanent Missions.  At present, efforts are made to house all NTP trainees within the Secretariat. 
190. One specific task assigned to most trainees rela tes to the completion of their national needs 
assessment for technical assistance requirements.  So me trainees assist in the preparation of their 
country's trade policy reviews, others provide support in the accession process, including in the 
drafting of a services schedules of commitments and/or making offers.  Trainees from recently acceded countries largely assist in the implem entation of their WTO obligations, including 
notifications, and enhance their understanding of specific WTO Agreements.  Some trainees are 
directly involved in the implementation of the IF and/or JITAP, and act as national focal points.  
Several trainees were associated with the implementation of the Joint WTO-UNIDO Programme and 
preparation and implementation of th e relevant projects for their country.  More generally, the trainees 
attend meetings and briefings, including those pr ovided in the Geneva Week and the feed-back 
received so far is very encouraging.   
191. The NTP is fully operational and seems to work  to the satisfaction of participants and 
beneficiaries.  The Arrangement is pragmatic in its design, focused and flexible, geared towards 
addressing some fundamental issues to the benefit of  developing countries, and more specifically the 
LDCs and the most vulnerable amongst them.  The Programme is expected to leave a trace in terms of 
capacity building, as well as in assisting these benefici aries in the negotiations of the DDA.  As the 
intake of new NTP trainees is gradually slowed down, and also based on the feed back received from 
                                                     
 
9 Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Guinea, 
Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, 
Paraguay, Rwanda, Senegal,  Sierra Leone, St Kitts, Sudan, Tonga, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe. WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 36  
 
  the participants to the programme, all efforts are ma de to ensure that the new trainees will be housed 
at the Secretariat.   
(b) Other Internship Programmes  
192. The main objective of all other Trainee and In ternship Programmes is essentially to build 
human capacities in a systematic and cumulative manner.  These Programmes varied in nature and 
duration.  Some targeted nationals of WTO Memb ers, and countries and customs territories engaged 
in accession negotiations, who had completed their undergraduate studies in a relevant discipline, 
such as economics, law, political science, and intern ational relations and had also embarked upon 
postgraduate studies.  Other Programmes focused on training government officials from developing 
countries, including LDCs and economi es in transition, or simply enhancing the ability of a particular 
mission entrusted with the coordinating role of a specific Group.  Eligible candidates for these 
Programmes must have prior knowledge of WTO work  and relevant experience in trade matters.   
193. One hundred and eight Interns were recruited under the various WTO Internship Programmes 
in 2006.  They were mostly from  developing countries, LDCs and tr ansition economies.  The scope of 
these Programmes varied in nature and duration.  Some Programmes were designed to train 
Government officials, from both Member and Observ er countries, on the regular work of the WTO.  
Other programmes focussed on developing specific sk ills or provide assistance to Coordinators of 
WTO regional groupings to carry out their respective mandates.   
194. Since its inception, the WTO inte rnship system has functioned effectively.  It has also 
achieved, to a large extent, the objectives set for it.  However, with the increasing demand for these 
Programmes, specific steps were taken, by the Secret ariat, to further develop and improve the system.  
These include resolving the limited space capacity with in the Secretariat to house additional interns.   
(b) Activities Held in the Field 
(i) Reference Centres 
195. The Programme of the Reference Centres aims at assisting Trade Ministries, Specialized 
Agencies and Institutions in their understa nding of and participation in WTO matters. 
196. In 2006, a total of 23 missions were undertak en.  Twenty-one reference centres have been 
upgraded and two have been established.   Four of them were ITC/EU/WTO joint projects.   
197. The objective of the WTO Reference Centre Programme is to enable officials of the 
Government, business and the academic communities of  the beneficiary institution, among others, to 
obtain trade-related information through the WT O Internet, in electronic versions on CD-ROMs 
developed by the WTO, as well as documents, and to facilitate access to and use of eTraining 
programmes proposed by the WTO. 
198. To do so the WTO provides the Ministry in charge  of the Reference Centre with an external 
hard disk downloaded with an updated and extens ive electronic library, computer-based training, 
DVDs and databases.  The external hard disk is inst alled by the WTO, and stays within the Ministry.  
For LDCs, the WTO sends complete informatics e quipment, downloaded with the same information 
as the external hard disks, i.e. approximately 50 gigabytes. 
199. At the occasion of the establishment or upgrading of the Reference Centres, training sessions 
are organised.  Training sessions cover the overall is sues of the WTO Website (Public and Members).  
The participants are invited by the Ministry hostin g the Reference Centre, and come from ministries, 
universities, private sector, chambers of commerce, organisations.  They are trained on how to accede  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 37 
 
 
  and navigate the WTO-related info rmation on the Reference Centre's  computer and the WTO Website 
and on how to be informed on a daily basis on th e WTO activities.  The information is delivered 
through PowerPoint presentations and the WTO Website.  Hands on training is proposed and 
questions and answers discussions complete the trai ning sessions.  A total of 40 3 persons were trained 
in 2006. 
200. The modernisation of the Reference Centres was a priority in 2006 and will be particularly 
emphasized in LDCs in 2007.  It appeared that in  2006 the Reference Centres were increasingly used 
to access eTraining.  It is interesting to note that th e LDCs represent 16 per cent of the participants to 
eTraining courses, and mostly through the Reference Centres.  
(ii) Needs Assessments 
201. The tools that were developed to assist count ries in undertaking needs assessment for their 
technical assistance and training requirements, are gradually being used as basis for countries' requests.  The 'Guidelines' (JOB(04)/113), which were discussed during informal consultations and 
circulated to Members and Observers, have provide d the basis for these need s assessment.  Also, the 
institutional cooperation that was put into effect between ITTC and the TPRD is paying dividends, in 
terms of more systematically incorporating need s assessments into the TPR process.  This close 
cooperation has gradually been strengthened, with more systematic and increased participation of 
ITTC in the TPR activities, to address the TRTA-relate d aspects in the TPRs.  By way of illustration, 
needs assessments have been undert aken or are underway for: Angola, Armenia, Benin, Bangladesh, 
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kenya, 
Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi , Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, 
the OECS countries, Papua New Guinea, Republic of  Congo, Rwanda, Senegal,  Sierra Leone, Sudan, 
Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, the United Arab  Emirates, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.  
202. The status, depth and quality of the reports vary; in some cases the needs were reflected in 
country's trade policy review, and part of the di scussion during the review process.  In others the 
needs assessments were officially submitted by the governments to the Secretariat, but in many cases 
the needs assessments were prepar ed by trainees under the NTP, in  close consultation with the 
government authorities, but not officially submitted, t hus maintaining the status of 'unofficial draft'.  
Several needs assessment reports were prepared two to  three years ago and could, perhaps, in part be 
outdated/obsolete.  Needs assessments should be a dy namic process in light of changing priorities.  
The questions that continue to be considered in clude how to provide targ eted TRTA based on needs 
assessments?  How to strengthen relevant approaches?   How to reflect all the relevant needs in a 
comprehensive national approach?  How beneficiari es refer to needs assessments in their national 
request?  How to make full use of the trade component  in the DTIS, as part  of IF for the LDCs?  As 
well as the Memorandum of the Foreign Trade Regime  for acceding countries, the questionnaires used 
in relation to trade facilitation and other specific bodies of the WTO?  The feed back from seminars 
(BTORs)?  
V. PROCESSES AND PROGRAMMES 
(a) Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP) 
203. JITAP is implemented jointly by ITC, UNCTAD and the WTO.  The Programme is currently 
in the final stages of Phase II, which is expected to  be completed by the end of 2007.  JITAP's main 
aim is to build the knowledge base and to boost the integration of the JITAP countries into the 
Multilateral Trading System (MTS).   
204. In this regard, efficient dissemination of  trade-related information and improving 
transparency are among the factors which can help build the capacity of the beneficiary countries.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 38  
 
  Consequently, Module 2 of JITAP II, in which the WT O has the lead role for implementation, aims to 
enhance dissemination of MTS-related informa tion through the establishment/strengthening of 
Reference Centres and National Enquiry Points (N EPs), as well as training the operators of these 
Reference Centres and NEPs.   
205. Implementation of Module 2:  2006 marked th e completion of implementation of module 2 
for the remaining JITAP countries.
10  In this regard, technical and training missions comprising 
resource persons from ITC, UNCTAD, and WTO were  undertaken to all these countries.  Having 
already completed the implementation of Module 2 in  the eight original JITAP countries, which have 
since exited the programme,11 the implementation in the remaining countries marks the final 
completion of module 2 under this phase of the Programme.  The only exception is Cote d'Ivoire, 
where the implementation has been deferred until circumstances can permit an inter-agency 
implementation mission to be conducted. 
206. For all the Reference Centres and NEPs in each country, computer equipment has been 
installed and the necessary Internet  and email accounts have been created.  Five persons from each 
Reference Centre and NEP have received training in th e use of the installed IT equipment, search and 
retrieval of official documents from the Websites of the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC, on-line statistical 
databases as well as information management and dissemi nation.  In addition, the RCs and NEPs were 
provided with documentation, and CD-ROMs for training, from the three JITAP implementing 
agencies.   
207. Participation in other JITAP activities:  In  collaboration with the other implementing 
agencies, the WTO has conducted/participated  in  a number of training missions.  The training 
schedule for 2006 was designed to complement th e negotiating calendar arising after the 6th WTO 
Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, in December  2005.  Consequently, training activities were 
organized in the key DDA negotiating subjects – agriculture (including the cotton issue), NAMA, development issues, and services.  In most of these training activities, WTO resource persons provided the main presentations, complemented by counterparts from ITC and UNCTAD.   
208. Evaluation: The JITAP programme underwent a major evaluation in 2006, which was both a 
final evaluation for the exited countries, and a mid-te rm evaluation for the remaining countries.  It 
was conducted by an external evaluator compleme nted by national evaluators appointed for each 
country.  One of the key recommendations of the evaluation was for the continuation of a new phase of the programme in a "simpler and lighter" mode, a nd the admission of another group of countries.   
209. The evaluation report also touched on the questi on of synergy between JITAP and IF, and in 
addition discussed the place of JITAP in the wider Aid for Trade discussion.  On the JITAP-IF issue, 
the report emphasized that JITAP and IF are two di stinct programmes with different philosophies and 
modus operandi , as well as different targets (IF addressing LDCs globally and JITAP addressing 
Africa only while not being restricted to LDCs).  However, the report pointed out that better synergy 
could be developed between the two programmes.   
210. Most significantly, the report suggested that JITA P could be a delivery vehicle for specific IF 
products under the proposed Enhanced IF.  In a ddition, the report strongly recommended that JITAP 
be captured in the wider Aid for Trade Initiative, as it had already demonstrated capacity in several 
aspects that have been identified as products in that Initiative. 
                                                     
 
10 Botswana, Cameroon, Malawi, Mali, Maurita nia, Mozambique, Senegal, and Zambia. 
11 Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda  
  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 39 
 
 
  (b) The Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to LDCs (IF) 
211. The year 2006 marked an important milestone  for the IF.  WTO Members at the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference in December 2005 expresse d their continued commitment to the IF and 
welcomed the agreement to improve the implementati on of the IF in three specific areas:  increased, 
additional, predictable financial resources to im plement Action Matrices;  strengthened in-country 
capacities to manage, implement and monitor the IF process;  and enhanced IF governance.  Ministers 
had also welcomed the establishment of a Task For ce on an enhanced IF by the Integrated Framework 
Working Group (IFWG) and Integrated Framewor k Steering Committee (IFSC) and mandated it to 
provide recommendations to the IFSC on these areas w ith a view to the enha nced IF entering into 
force no later than 31 December 2006.   
212. Accordingly, the Task Force on an enhanced IF, consisting of IF beneficiaries and donors, 
formulated its recommendations which were adopted  by the IFWG and IFSC on 5 July 2006, and an 
institutional architecture to operationalize these reco mmendations was put in place.  The Task Force 
Report, and its recommendations are contained in document WT/IFSC/W/15 and Corr.1.  To translate 
the recommendations into concrete actions, a Tr ansition Team, as well as its three clusters, on 
administrative/legal, on financial, and on in-country issues, met according to an intense schedule from 
September through December 2006.  Issues related to ways to enhance the capac ity in the beneficiary 
countries to manage the IF process, additional funding,  the legal entity of the enhanced IF, location of 
the new IF Secretariat and Trust Fund management, and governance structures of the enhanced IF are 
among the issues discussed.  It is hoped that the enhan ced IF will be up and running in the first part of 
2007.   
213. Work undertaken to enhance the IF in 2006 di d not stop the progress in the implementation of 
the IF.  By the end of 2006, 24 LDCs had undertaken  and validated their Diagnostic Trade Integration 
Studies (DTIS) signifying broad government-wide s upport for the DTIS and its Action Matrix and 
strong government commitment to integrate trad e policy into the overall national development 
strategy.  Nine LDCs are at various stages of the pr ocess, while a further nine are at the initial stages 
of the process.  One other LDC has recently request ed to join the IF, while another LDC has taken a 
pause in the IF process.  In all,  44 out of the 50 LDCs are linked to the IF.  Detailed reports of 
developments in the IF in 2006 are contained in the Minutes of the IFSC contained in documents WT/IFSC/M/15 through 17.  General progress in  the IF can be reviewed on its Website: 
www.integratedframework.org
. 
VI. PARTNERSHIP AND OUTSOURCING 
214. Partnering has continued to be a key feature in  the implementation of the TRTA programmes, 
which is mainly geared towards building synergies in human and institutional capacity-building.  Two 
particular mechanisms/programmes designed to fo ster cooperation between particular institutions, 
donors and recipients are the IF and JITAP.  Moreover, a majority of WTO's TRTA activities are undertaken with regional and/or specialized partne r agencies, who provide their expertise in the 
seminars, courses and training events, as discussed throughout this report.  In some cases, cooperation 
with partner institutions and bodies is governed by Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs), but 
partnering is equally undertaken in a pragmatic wa y, regardless of whether or not there is a MoU 
between the agencies.  The section below highlights the cooperation that has occurred in the regions 
and discusses some partnership arrangement in more detail.   WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 40  
 
  A. R
EGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS  
(a) Africa  
215. The delivery of TA to Africa during 2006 was based on the 2006 TA Plan 
WT/COMTD/W/142 which listed a number of regi onal TA activities and provided for beneficiary 
countries to submit their individual national TA requests to the WTO Secretariat.  Each 
least developed country was entitled to three natio nal TA activities, while each developing African 
country was entitled to two national TA activities. 
216. The subjects covered in the various seminars  and workshops included agriculture, TF, TS, 
TRIPs, NAMA, TBT, SPS, CV, rules, Regional Trad e Agreements (RTAs), Government Procurement 
(GP) and TNS.  Resource persons from the different  divisions adopted their own selection process to 
improve the quality of the TA. 
217. The WTO, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the UNECA have enjoyed warm 
collaboration since 2001 and organized four join t TPCs for all African countries (French- and 
English-speaking), each course lasting two weeks.  The main objective of the trade policy course was 
to deepen the knowledge and understanding of Afri can countries, in particular the LDCs among them, 
about the issues under negotiations on the Doha De velopment Agenda.  The goal was to strengthen 
the capacities of African countries and enable them  to participate more effectively in future 
negotiations and thereby take full advant age of the multilateral  trading system. 
218. Representatives of subregional bodies like the New Partnership for Africa’s Development 
(NEPAD), the Economic and Monetary Community  of Central Africa (CEMAC), the Common 
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMES A), the Economic Community of Central African 
States  (ECCAS), the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern 
African Development Community (SADC) and the Union of Arab Maghreb (UMA) were invited to make brief presentations on "Regional Cooperation and Economic Integration - A Strategy for 
Effective Participation in Liberalising Global Trad e:  perspectives of regional groupings".  These 
TPCs drew on the contributions of resource persons with expertise on specific trade issues from the 
WTO Secretariat, AfDB, UNECA), Commonwealth Secretariat, Trade Law Centre for Southern 
Africa (TRALAC), Department of Trade and Industr y of South Africa, South African Institute of 
International Affairs, Department of Agriculture of South Africa, University of Pretoria, University of 
the Western Cape (South Africa), University of Nairobi, University of Dar-es-Salaam and the 
University of Namibia. 
219. The TPCs together with the various national t echnical assistance workshops underlined the 
potential contribution of trade and much improved market access towards the achievement of the 
objectives of the Doha Work Programme, and of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals 
by halving the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger. 
220. At the end of the course, WTO Experts distribut ed to participants feedback evaluation forms 
in which participants were requested to rate th eir impressions of the resource person, training 
materials, teaching methods, allocation of time for ea ch subject, adequacy of training tools, how much 
they had learnt, as well as their impressions of the training facilities and services provided.  
221. The feedback from participants demonstr ated that knowledge was imparted and 
understanding of the role and functions of th e multilateral trading system enhanced.  Many 
participants indicated that their capacities and sk ills on trade issues had been strengthened as a result 
of the WTO-provided TA.  Participants gained a re latively high level of knowledge on trade issues, 
key negotiating positions  of major WTO Members, and the state of play in the DDA negotiations. The 
knowledge and skills gained from the trade policy c ourses improved their capacity to understand the  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 41 
 
 
  functioning of the world trading system and the importance of strengthening their trade negotiations 
positions.  In particular, officials from the various ministries in the different countries working together--including those from the ministries of commerce, finance, foreign affairs, industry, 
agriculture, and board of investment-- learnt that  it was extremely important to coordinate their 
negotiating positions since trade negotiations were a give-and-take process. They also learnt that it 
was important to build a coalition on key issues among th e negotiating groups in order to reach a deal.  
On the whole, the capacity of participants h as been built as a result of WTO-provided TA.   
222. The vast majority of participants expressed sa tisfaction with the results of the WTO-provided 
TA and about the quality of the resource person.  Th is majority also gave high grades to the teaching 
materials in terms of quantity and clarity.  Almost all of the participants felt that they had learnt a lot, 
and that the WTO TA was relevant to their careers and would be useful to their professional duties.  
Clearly, the design of WTO TA has proven to be a constructive way of learning and building trade 
capacity of African countries. 
223. Overall, the WTO technical assistance provided to African countries has been successful.  
Participants have been very eager to obtain deepened knowledge on the WTO and acquire trade 
negotiations skills. Participants have  been particularly interested in the services and agriculture 
negotiations, NAMA, TRIPS and public health, SPS and TBT issues, trade facilitation, RTAs, rules 
negotiations and negotiation techniques.  
224. In the implementation of regional TA activiti es, a number of WTO divisions and African 
partner institutions have been involved.  Moreover , the WTO Secretariat has been exploring ways of 
deepening institutional relations with the NEPAD S ecretariat with the view of assisting NEPAD in 
achieving its goals in the field of trade.  Various  contacts have been established to that effect. 
225. The WTO continued its collaboration with th e Intergovernmental Organisation of the 
Francophonie (IOF) and its different entities in partic ular the University Agency of the Francophonie, 
engaging in various activities such as seminars in  the context of Rexpaco programme or "Hub and 
spoke" programme or in joint seminars at subreg ional level (namely: the Economic and Monetary 
Community of Central Africa (EMCCA) and the Western African Economic and Monetary Union 
(WAEMU)).  Also experts from the IOF and the WTO have participated in national seminars 
organized in specific French-speaking African count ries including countries observers to the WTO.   
226. Important documentation in the form of join t IOF/WTO CD-ROMs is being prepared for 
individual countries. 
227. Other activities in which the WTO has been asso ciated with Francophone entities consist of 
assistance missions and preparation of th e TPRs of individual countries.   
228. Also several briefings on issues in the negotiati ons have been organized jointly by the WTO 
and IOF in Geneva for French-speaking African c ountries at the request of the chairmen of the 
informal group of French-speaking countries (Mauritania and Congo). 
229. The WTO collaborates with the IDLO and the IsDB in providing lecturers during courses 
organized by these institutions  for French-speak ing African countries.  In 2006, workshops took 
place in Benin and in Senegal. 
230. The WTO collaboration with IOF is not limited to  French-speaking African countries.  Asia 
and Pacific region is also covered.  Joint actions such as seminars directed towards the 4 members of the IOF have been organized in 2006 and are scheduled for 2007. WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 42  
 
  (b) Asia and Pacific Countries 
231. In the Asia and Pacific region, the long-st anding partnership between the WTO and the 
UNESCAP confirms a high quality interaction between  partner agencies for the implementation of 
joint technical cooperation and capacity-building activities.  One key example is the May 2006 
WTO/UNESCAP/Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) Conference 
on the Doha Development Agenda Negotiation Issu es organized jointly by the WTO, the United 
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Ministry of Commerce of China and the authorities of Shenzhen.  The main objective of this WTO/UNESCAP/MOFCOM 
Conference was to provide an opportunity for sen ior officials from Asia and Pacific economies to 
further reflect on the meaning of the development a nd trade discussions of selected items of the Doha 
Work Programme.  This WTO/UNESCAP/MOFCO M Conference also provided a forum for 
exchanging views on national, regional and multilatera l trade related activities and initiatives.  This 
event drew on the contributions of resource persons  from the WTO and various national, regional and 
international organizations with e xpertise on the specific issues addressed. 
232. The WTO/UNESCAP/MOFCOM Conference highlight ed the potential contribution of trade 
towards achieving the objectives in the Doha  Work Programme.  The WTO/UNESCAP/MOFCOM 
Conference focused on selected substantive issues of the Doha Development Agenda Negotiations, 
namely development issues, TRIPS, agriculture, NAMA, rules, services, TF, WTO and RTAs and DSU.  Presentations by resource persons were followed by discussions.  This event included as guest speakers senior academics and representatives from in stitutions from the Asia and Pacific region.  
This specific Programme was designed to promote enhanced awareness of key issues and proposals in 
selected areas, to exchange information on the im plications of existing disciplines and practices at 
national, regional and multilateral levels, and to discuss capacity-building needs, especially with a 
view to assisting the Asia and Pacific economies to participate more effectively in WTO's negotiating 
activities.  At the WTO/UNESCAP/MOFCOM Conferen ce, presentations and discussions were based 
on relevant background documentation which were made available to participants before and during 
the event.  To encourage the sharing and excha nge of information and experiences on national and 
regional disciplines, it was suggested that participan ts come prepared, where possible, with material 
relevant to their domestic and regional po licies and practices to contribute to the 
WTO/UNESCAP/MOFCOM Conference. 
233. Distribution of tasks and cost-sharing between WTO and UNESCAP expanded and 
strengthened cooperation between th e two Institutions.  Joint activiti es include programmes such as 
the regular regional seminars on specific DDA negotia tions issues.  Over the years, UNESCAP has 
become a catalyst and facilitator for much great er understanding of WTO negotiating issues, better 
implementation of WTO Agreements, and more active participation of Asia and Pacific economies in 
the DDA Negotiations.  WTO and UNESCAP joint TR TA/CB operations have engineered strategic 
partnership arrangements since UNESCAP, as part of the United Nations, contributes both a global 
and regional development persp ective and facilitates the constr uctive exchanges between Asian 
capital-based and Geneva-based trade officials. 
234. The WTO also collaborates with the IDLO and its Sydney based Asia-Pacific Training Center 
in the delivery of the Asia-Pacific Regional Public  International Trade Law Course, pursuant to a 
MoU between the two Institutions.  The fifth course was held in November 2006 with the 
participation of 26 higher or mi d-level government officials from 12 Asia and Pacific developing 
countries.  The objectives were:  (a) to provide th e participants with a greater understanding of the 
rules, operations and impact of the WTO MTS, including the work programme set out in the DDA, and of the relevant regional trad ing arrangements; (b) to enhance the ability of government officials 
from WTO Member countries to effectively participate in the work of the WTO, in particular in the 
DDA negotiations and to implement the WTO Agreements  domestically; (c) to assist participants in 
devising strategies for meeting the challenges of, a nd benefiting from, global trade liberalization and  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 43 
 
 
  regional economic integration; (d) to enhance the abilit y of participants to more effectively contribute 
to the formulation of trade policies and strategies for mainstreaming trade into national development 
and poverty reduction policies and to translate national and regional policy objectives into 
governments' negotiating positions in  international trade negotiations; and (e) to contribute to building 
constituencies for multilateral trade liberalisati on and economic reform amongst APEC economies. 
235. The WTO/IDLO joint TA/BC activities are very successful.  Not only do the participants 
become acquainted with the current  rules in the relevant areas, but they also benefit greatly from 
deeper knowledge with the negotiating positions  of WTO Members on the major issues under 
discussion in the DDA negotiations.  They are in  a much better position to make substantive 
contributions in their respective national departments. 
236. The collaboration between the WTO and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) was 
reinforced in 2006 with the joint organization of three Specialized Regional Workshops (TBT, 
Advanced Course on DDA Negotiations for Senior O fficials, and Trade Negotiations Skills) for the 
14 Pacific Islands countries.  These TA activities resu lt in an in-depth, subject -specific assistance, and 
a deepened knowledge in the field of key WTO Agre ements, therefore enhancing the fuller integration 
of PIFS countries into the MTS. 
237. In all cases, enhanced quality operations have b een implemented over the years relating to the 
training material, the selection and involvement of pa rticipants in the activities, and the logistical 
support provided locally.  The WTO Secretariat c ontinue to benefit from a very constructive and 
pragmatic relationship with its pa rtner organizations in the Asia Pacific region.  This is highly 
appreciated by participants and national/regional resource persons.  These joint productive endeavours 
should be pursued in the future. 
(c) Arab and Middle-East Countries 
238. In 2006, the Secretariat designed and delivered an extensive programme of TA for the Arab 
and Middle-East Countries.  Approximately 30 events were organized.  These activities were 
conducted at the regional as well as at the national le vels and mainly took th e form of seminars and 
workshops designed to assist Arab officials to further increase their understanding of the WTO 
Agreements and enhance their capacity to participat e more actively in the MTS, including the ongoing 
DDA negotiations.   
239. Furthermore, the Secretariat maintained its collaboration with partne r institutions in the 
region, such as, the AMF, the United Nations Ec onomic and Social Commission for Western Asia 
(UNESCWA) and the IsDB, which continued to be of  great value and use.  These arrangements were 
particularly effective in identifying the specific need s and concerns of countries in the region, which 
is a crucial element in the design of TA programme s.  Through joint initiatives, the Secretariat was 
able to reach a larger audience, as partner instituti ons regularly invite repres entatives from the private 
sector and the Academic community to participate in  their events.  Finally, it is worth noting that 
partner institutions provided and financed simult aneous interpretation into Arabic for all joint 
activities.  This was extremely useful and contribu ted in improving the flow of information and in 
bridging the language barrier that exists in several Arab countries. 
240. The year 2006 also witnessed the beginning of a new partnership in this region with the 
IDLO.  IDLO has been collaborating for some time with the Secretariat within the framework of the 
MoU concluded between the two institutions.  Foll owing the establishment of an IDLO Office in 
Cairo to serve the Arab region, the Secretariat wa s approached and requested to collaborate in the 
organization of a Three-Week International Tr ade Policy Course for the Arab and Middle-East 
Countries.  This Course was held during the last quarter of 2006 in Egypt and was well received by 
the participants.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 44  
 
  241. The Secretariat has also been actively enga ged with countries in the region whose trade 
policies were subject to review in 2006.  The objective is to assist these countries through the TPR 
process to identify their TA needs.  This was th e case for two countries in 2006, namely, the United 
Arab Emirates and Qatar.   
(d) Central and Eastern European and Central Asian Countries 
242. In Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, TA was provided through a mixture of 
national and regional seminars, as well as by associ ating participants to the Geneva-based TPCs and 
training events.  It is recalled that several countri es are in the process of accession, for which national 
based TA activities are often the most effective m ode of delivery.  For the delivery of regional 
seminars, close cooperation continued on a regular basis with the JVI, which provides excellent 
training facilities for WTO training courses and which hosts and average of eight WTO related 
training events every year.  The cooperation arrange ment between the Secretariat and the JVI works 
to mutual satisfaction.  In sev eral cases, close cooperation took place with the World Bank, with 
whom the Secretariat co-organized a two week  training event on WTO issues in Uzbekistan, 
essentially geared towards acceding and recently acced ed countries, as well as a training event on 
services.  Cooperation also takes place with other training centres/bodies, including the IDLO.  In all 
cases, the partnership arrangements imply a clear an d well established division of labour in terms of 
logistical preparation and substantive inputs.  The practical working arrangements and financial 
modalities are mostly established at the beginning of the year. 
(e) Latin America and the Caribbean Countries 
243. The WTO Secretariat continued its well establis hed, fruitful collaboration with the regional 
institutions involved in the delivery of TRTA.  The work programme has covered MERCOSUR, the 
Andean Countries, the Central American Common Ma rket and other countries in Central America, the 
Spanish-speaking Caribbean, and CARICOM where the collaboration has been fundamental.  
244. The TA activities conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean show an  increasing interest 
on in-depth, subject-specific assistance, addressi ng problems relating to the implementation of 
commitments and the participation in negotia tions.  An advanced level of awareness and 
understanding on the part of the officials that ha ve benefited of the TA has been evident.  
245. The IADB through its INTAL Institute has been the principal partner of the WTO Secretariat 
both in terms of funding and taking care of the logi stics related to the TA regional activities conducted 
in the region.  The knowledge and the experience a ccumulated by the CARICOM Secretariat has been 
fundamental in the smooth implementation of the TA  activities in the Caribbean, and the collaboration 
of the ALADI Secretariat has been much appr eciated by both the WTO Secretariat and  the 
participants in the different events  organized in the ALADI Headquarters 
246. The funding from the Government of Spain has be en of a great help for the success of the 
TRTA. 
B. O
THER PARTNERSHIPS  
247. There is quite a large variety of partnership arra ngements that are operated in the field.  A few 
examples are provided to illustrate various ways in which the Secretariat cooperates with other 
agencies and organizations.  This information supple ments the more detailed descriptions provided by 
divisions, particularly in the context of the topic-specific regional seminars.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 45 
 
 
  (a) WTO-World Bank Institute Cooperation  
248. The WTO and the WBI are pursuing cooperation on  the basis of an Agreement between the 
two Organizations, signed on 28 Ap ril 1997.  Joint activities are undertaken through the IF, 
co-lecturing and the occasional participation in  each other's TRTA activities, and the two 
Organizations are gradually expand ing this cooperation in a more structured manner.  The basis for 
this is provided in WTO's TA and Training Plans and the WBI's Trade Program Brief.  The main 
objective of this cooperation, through the partnershi p arrangement, is to enhance synergies in the 
delivery of TRTA by the two Organizations, and in  building human and institutional capacities, based 
on each Organizations' comparative advantage.  Such mutually supportive assistance is geared 
towards advancing the goals of the DDA, as we ll as enhancing sustainable development in 
beneficiaries.  This joint coope ration thus takes place both in Ge neva (TPCs, research and academic 
cooperation) and in the field (RTPCs, national and regional seminars).  Some illustrations include: 
• the WTO and the WBI jointly design and deliver the trade segment of the Applied 
Economic Policy Course offered by the JVI.  In this course, the WTO takes the lead on teaching the rules of the Multilateral Tradi ng System and the Bank’s teaching focuses on 
the economics of trade policy reform.  Joint planning and coordination of lectures ensures 
that participants are offered an integrated  treatment of the law and economics of trade 
policy; 
• the two Organizations cooperate in the desi gn and delivery of a Joint Regional Training 
Courses for WTO accession countries.  Demand for systemic skills-building is particularly 
strong for this group of countries, as no accumulated experience of participation in the MTS exists and the accession process can result in far-reaching trade policy changes.  An 
integrated treatment of the legal and economic  reform aspects is especially desirable for 
this group of countries; 
• the WTO and WBI regularly hold specialized c ourses on selected trade topics.  On several 
topics, the delivery of joint courses usefully complement the content of each Organization’s 
training programs and thereby improve the quality of TRTA delivered;  
• the WTO and WBI provide inputs into each Organization’s regular training activities.  In 
particular, the WBI contributes to the WTO’s three-month Geneva-based TPCs and to the RTPCs.  These contributions have taken the form of lectures on selected trade policy issues 
and participation in the discussion of research papers prepared by course participants.  
WTO staff participates in WBI learning even ts, contributing lectures on a wide range of 
trade policy topics; and, 
• the WTO and WBI have several programs designed to strengthen the research capacity in 
developing and least developed countries.  Th ese programs seek to strengthen the domestic 
analytical base for trade policymaking and to encourage the exchange of ideas and 
knowledge among economic researchers from differe nt countries.  Many of the researchers 
supported through these programs, over time, have also acted as lecturers and resource persons for WTO or WBI training events.  
 
(b) WTO-UNIDO Joint Cooperation  
249. During 2006, UNIDO and WTO continued their joint efforts to secure funding for and 
implement activities based on the specific country proj ect documents for each of the pilot countries.  
Two more pilot countries were included in th e programme, i.e. Azerbaijan and Zambia.   
(c) Cooperation between the WTO and the OIF 
250. The training and information activities on beha lf of the OIF in 2006 were essentially 
conducted in the framework of the (
Renforcement de l'Expertise Francophone en Négociation des WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 46  
 
  Accords Commerciaux ) REXPACO Programme, an Agence Intergouvernemental de la Francophonie  
(AIF) project which was launched in 2004 in Afri ca with a view to training citizens of the 
francophone African countries on the ongoing trade ne gotiations.  Thanks to the REXPACO project, 
which relies on close cooperation between the AIF, the WTO and WIPO, some 260 persons from 
different regions of French-speaking Africa have al ready been trained on the issues covered by the 
ongoing trade negotiations and on th e negotiations initiated between  the ACP countries and the 
European Union in the framework of the Cotonou Agreement negotiations. 
251. This advanced programme, which aims to trai n trainers and ministry officials in the 
Francophonie countries of the South that are invol ved in multilateral issues, was conducted by WTO 
and WIPO, with the support of teachers from de veloped country universities and consultants 
specialized in trade matters. 
252. In addition to the specific training sessions conducted in Africa, the REXPACO programme 
was extended to the francophone countries of Cent ral and Eastern Europe and to the francophone 
countries of South East Asia and the Pacific.  In September 2005 an additional seminar, focussing 
mainly on Viet Nam accession issues,  was organized for the countries of South East Asia by the AIF's 
Bureau Régional de la Francophonie , based in Hanoi. 
253. Following an internal evaluation of the OIF, which took place in Madagascar in November 
2005, it was decided that the REXPACO project would be continued on a four-yearly basis.  At the same time, a recommendation was made to seek, ove r the next few months, possible synergies with 
the cooperation activities being conducted by the JITA P Programme and the WTO Reference Centres.  
It should be noted that during the last quarter of 2005, in the framework of the REXPACO 
Programme, several CAEMC and WAEMU countries were provided with additional computer 
equipment. 
254. The WTO continued its TA activities in connec tion with the French-speaking subregional 
institutions.  WTO experts conduc ted subregional seminars on anti- dumping and market access rules 
in the framework of WAEMU. 
255. The WTO stepped up its collaboration with the Secretariats of these regional institutions, 
organizing training courses for officials on intell ectual property matters, the fight against illegal 
imports, and the facilitation of trade in goods.  A nu mber of training activities that had been requested 
by other subregional institutions we re planned, but owing to lack of time, they had to be postponed to 
2007 in particular, with the Indian Ocean Commiss ion (IOC), the Permanent Interstate Committee for 
Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), and the Or ganization for the Harmonization of Business Law 
in Africa (OHADA). 
(d) Cooperation with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) 
256. IDLO seeks to strengthen the rule of la w and good governance in developing countries and 
economies in transition in order to provide secur ity for the individual and to reduce poverty by 
protecting individual rights and economic activity, an d by strengthening judicial and local institutions 
to promote a viable legal framework for commerce trade and investment.  The WTO and IDLO have a 
MoU since 2003, with the specific purpose of st rengthening formal c ooperation arrangements 
between the two Institutions.  This cooperation la rgely focuses on trade capacity building and training 
with regard to the mandates contained in the DDA, as well as to the implementation of existing 
Agreements and WTO commitments. 
257. 
To achieve this goal, the WTO and IDLO have  jointly organized several training courses in 
various regions, including in Asia and the Pacifi c, Central and Eastern Europe, and Africa and both 
Organizations have contributed to each other's activities by providing lecturers and trainers.   WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 47 
 
 
  Representatives of the two Organizations have met at  various occasions to discuss ways of broadening 
and deepening this cooperation in the most efficient manner.  
258. This joint cooperation has generally been pr oductive and cost-effective, both in terms of 
human and financial resources; costs for organizing joint activities are shared and duplication of similar activities can be avoided.  Moreover, through such cooperation  the TA and training 
programmes can be better targeted to the specific need s of the beneficiaries.  Finally, IDLO benefits 
from having excellent infrastructures, not only at its h eadquarters, but equally in some locations in the 
field, where training centres have been established or are being created.  
(e) Cooperation with the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI) 
259. The JVI is a training centre, based in Vienna (A ustria), fully equipped with excellent facilities 
to provide training to participants from countries in  Eastern and Central Europe, the former Soviet 
Union, and Asia, that have made, or are making the transition from centrally planned, to full market-
based economies.  The JVI offers courses in econom ics, financial analysis and management, trade 
policy, corporate governance, and related topics for public officials, training officers, and selected 
private sector executives.  The JVI is sponsored by  two Primary Members, the IMF and the Austrian 
Authorities, and by four contributing Members, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and 
Development (EBRD), the International Bank fo r Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the 
OECD and the WTO. 
260. On an yearly basis, the WTO h as, on average, some eight time slots (one week or more) 
which are used for regional seminars on WTO Ag reements, as well as for activities with regional 
academic partners.  Its flagship is the 10-week Applied Economic Policy (AEP) Course, to which the 
WTO contributes over a two-week period.  As a contributing Member, the WTO pays a flat fee of 
Euro 10,000 per seminar-week, which covers th e costs of the conference facilities, as well as the 
administrative support, housing arrangement for the semi nar participants, etc.  Normally, the training 
rooms can accommodate up to 30 participants.  Th e JVI has created the so called 'e-campus' which 
allows lecturers to post training material on a dedicated Website in advance of the seminars, with 
access for course participants. 
261. The JVI has proven to be an excellent partner for providing training in the region and the 
WTO is currently exploring ways to enhance the effective use of the JVI as a training centre. 
(f) Commonwealth Secretariat and Parliamentary Association 
262. The Development Division participated in a Regional Workshop on the WTO and the 
DDAfor Parliamentarians from the Pacific Isla nd region in October 2006.  The Workshop was 
organized in Fiji by the WTO Secretariat and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and 
included 20 Parliamentarians from seven Pacific Island countries.  
(g) Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) 
263. The Development Division also participated in  an Asia Regional Dialogue with civil society 
organized in Singapore in October 2006.  Th e event, which was titled "The WTO at a 
Cross-Roads - Expectations of the Doha Round," was organized jointly by the WTO and the FES, a 
German NGO active in the area of global social development.  Participants involved in the 
inter-active sessions included representatives from research centres and NGOs in Asia and from 
regional inter-governmental organizations, incl uding some UN agencies, and from the Asian 
Development Bank (AsDB). WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 48  
 
  264. In addition, officers from the division also participated in a number of other activities 
organized by different organisations and research bodi es.  Our participation was generally in the field 
of "trade and development";  special and differen tial treatment (S&DT);  and on issues related to the 
African Group and the LDCs. 
(h) Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) 
265. The WTO acts as the administrator for the STDF.  The STDF was established in 2002 to 
assist developing countries enhance their capacity to  meet international SPS standards, improve their 
human health, animal health and phytosanitary situa tion, and thus gain and maintain market access.  
Partner agencies in the STDF are the FAO, the OIE, the WB, the WHO and the WTO. 
266. In December 2006, a new Medium Term Strategy was agreed for the STDF.  The strategy 
runs from 2007-2011 and puts much greater emphasis on information sharing and co-ordination in the 
supply and receipt of SPS-related TA.  This objec tive will be achieved through close contact with 
donors and developing countries, improved reporting to the WTO/OECD Trade Capacity Building Database, and research on the experience of both  donors and beneficiaries in SPS-related capacity 
building.   
267. Greater use will be made of project preparation grants (PPGs) in future STDF programme 
development as a means to mobilize funds both from within the STDF and from the wider donor 
community.  PPGs continue to be a key mechanism to  meet the target to devote 40 per cent of Facility 
resources to LDCs and Other Low Income Economies (OLIEs) – a target which has been retained for 
both PPGs and projects.  PPGs will be used to ensu re synergy with other on-going initiatives, such as 
the identification of SPS needs under the IF, and assi st in conducting surveys of national capacity in 
the SPS area, for instance through the use of capacity evaluation tools.   
268. The STDF continues to act as a source of f unding for projects which aim to further the 
implementation of the SPS Agreement.  In 2006, a total of nine projects and six project preparation 
grants were approved for funding.  This brings the total of both to 22 projects and 23 project 
preparation grants since the STDF's creation.  In 20 06, the first projects were successfully completed.  
Evaluations of these projects will be published in 2007.  More information on the STDF can be found 
at www.standardsfacility.org
. 
VII. FUNDING 
269. Following the finalization of the 2006 TA Plan, the General Council adopted the 
recommended target amount of SWF 24 million for the DDAGTF in 2006 dedicated to TA and Training.  Thus the extra-budgetary funding requireme nts remained at the same  level as for the last 
four years.  These extra-budgetary funds complement the regular budget of nearly SWF 6 million, 
which are used to finance training activities held at the WTO Secretariat, as well as all national activities. 
270. In 2006, total contributions received amounted to SWF 18.2 million.  Taking into account the 
funds brought forward from 2005 in the amount of  SWF 7.6 million and the separately established 
funds earmarked for activities contained in the TA Plan totalling SWF 2.2 million, total funds 
available for 2006 TA activities were SWF 28 million. It  is worth noting that over SWF 6 million was 
received in the last weeks of the year, including pledges and contributions for 2007. 
271. Expenditure in the DDAGTF and the earmark ed funds totalled SWF 20.6 million, which 
represented an implementation rate of 85.8 per cent.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 49 
 
 
  272. At the end of 2006, the remaining balance stood at SWF 7.3 million, which was more than 
25 per cent of the target amount for 2007, required by  the terms of reference of the DDAGTF to be 
available at the beginning of the year. However, th e issue of adequate and timely receipt of funds 
remain to be resolved. The TA Plan's implementa tion is subject to the availability of financial 
resources, which rely on voluntary contributi ons. During the course of 2006, the Secretariat 
experienced critical financial situations due to shorta ge of funds.  This issue was raised with Members 
during the CTD meetings and in the information co nsultation process with Members and Donors, with 
a view to solving the issue ot predictability and stability of funding of the Secretariat's TRTA activities. 
273. The period benchmarks regarding the funding of the DDAGTF through actual receipts of 
voluntary contributions are as follows: (i) by 31 Dece mber of the year preceding the fund's revolving 
annual target period, actual contributions amounting to  25 per cent of the total estimated cost of the 
TA Plan; (ii) by 31 March, another 50 per cent for an overall 75 per cent of the total; and (ii)  by 30 
June, 100 per cent of the funds needed. 
274. To ensure secure and adequate levels of funding for the implementation of the activities 
contained in the annual TA plans, these deadlines need to be met in order not to jeopardize 
Secretariat's ability to fulfil the TA and training assistance mandate that was agreed.  WT/COMTD/W/157 
Page 50  
 
  TABLE 1 
 
TRTA by Region
 
 
TRTA BY REGION National  TA Regional/Global TA Other 
(Conferences, 
etc.) Total 
Africa 119 48% 39 24% 20 26% 178 37% 
Arab and Middle-East countries 13 5% 15 9% 5 6% 33 7% 
Asia and Pacific  42 17% 30 18% 19 25% 91 19% 
Caribbean 20 8% 11 7% 1 1% 32 7% 
CEECAC 24 10% 12 7% 4 5% 40 8% 
Latin America 27 11% 23 14% 5 6% 55 11% 
Other (global) coverage (incl. WTO-
based projects) 1 0% 33 20% 23 30% 57 12% 
Total 246 100% 163 100% 77 100% 486 100% 
 
  WT/COMTD/W/157 
 Page 51 
 
 
  TABLE 2 
 
Overview of TRTA provided  
 
 National TA Regional/Global 
TA Other 
(Conferences, etc.) Total 
1. WTO Agreements and related issues 187 55% 108 31% 48 14% 343 
Accession 10 77% 1 8% 2 15% 13 
Agriculture 5 45% 6 55%     11 
Competition Policy 2 67%     1 33% 3 
Development Issues 6 29% 4 19% 11 52% 21 
Dispute Settlement 5 36% 7 50% 2 14% 14 
Environment 2 40% 3 60%     5 
Government Procurement 1 17% 5 83%     6 
Market Access (CV, NAMA, Rules of Origin) 14 58% 8 33% 2 8% 24 
Multi-topic general TA (incl. DDA ATP) 45 74% 14 23% 2 3% 61 
Notifications 4 100%       4 
Outreach 3 43% 3 43% 1 14% 7 
Regional Trade Agreements 1 8% 7 54% 5 38% 13 
Rules 8 50% 6 38% 2 13% 16 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 8 30% 9 33% 10 37% 27 
Services 18 60% 7 23% 5 17% 30 
Technical Barriers to Trade 2 33% 4 67%     6 
Trade Facilitation 9 53% 8 47%     17 
Trade Negotiation Techniques 6 55% 5 45%     11 
Trade Policies Review Mechanism 25 83% 2 7% 3 10% 30 
TRIPS 13 54% 9 38% 2 8% 24 
2.  Training Courses     40 85% 7 15% 47 
eTraining / Distance learning     6 100%     6 
Geneva-based Trade policy Courses     4 100%     4 
Regional Trade Policy Courses (incl. 
preparation)     9 56% 7 44% 16 
Short Trade Policy Courses     10 100%     10 
Thematic and Specialized Courses     6 100%     6 
Introduction Courses (LDCs)     2 100%     2 
Introduction Days     3 100%     3 
3. General Capacity-building activities 51 70% 6 8% 16 22% 73 
Geneva Week     2 100%     2 
Integrated Framework / LDCs 9 75% 1 8% 2 17% 12 
JITAP 19 86% 3 14%     22 
IT / WTO Reference Centre 23 100%         23 
Participation in activities organized by other 
bodies         14 100% 14 
4. Academic Partnership Programmes 8 35% 9 39% 6 26% 23 
University Programme 8 35% 9 39% 6 26% 23 
Total 246   163   77   486 
 
Pro memoria             79 
Internships (NTP and Missions)     38         
Research Project     9         
Doctoral Support (PhD programme)     14         
IT-Related Projects – TA Tools Development     12         
Other TRTA-related projects     6         
__________