WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/IFSC/M/14 
17 November 2005 
 (05-5411) 
Integrated Framework Steering Committee 
Fifteenth Session  
 
 
 
REPORT ON THE 15TH MEETING OF THE 
INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK STEERING COMMITTEE (IFSC) 
 
Wednesday, 26 October 2005, WTO, Geneva  
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Henrik Rée Iversen (Denmark) 
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Integrated Framework Steering Committee (IFSC) held its fifteenth meeting on 
Wednesday, 26 October 2005.  The adopte d agenda is reproduced in Annex I. 
2. The Chairman of the IFSC  welcomed Deputy Director General Mrs. Valentine Rugwabiza in 
her role as Chair of the IFWG. 
B. 42ND MEETING OF THE INTEGRATED  FRAMEWORK WORKING GROUP (IFWG ):  REPORT BY THE 
CHAIR OF THE IFWG  
3. The Chairperson of the IFWG  made a detailed report on the IFWG meeting held on 
24 to 25 October 2005.  She pointed out that the IFWG  had taken up a wide range of issues relating to 
the IF Work Programme as well as on the future of the IF.   
4. On the implementation of the IF process in va rious countries, she reported that DTIS National 
Validation Workshops had been held in 17 LDCs, namely in Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, Djibouti, 
Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozamb ique, Nepal, Rwanda, 
Senegal, Yemen, and Zambia.  Reports by the representatives of the World Bank, UNDP, as well as donors on each of these countries showed that IF im plementation was on the right track with a number 
of projects being implemented, including thr ough IF Trust Fund (IFTF)  resources and through 
bilateral channels.  The Group had emphasized the need for more efforts on behalf of LDCs to 
integrate trade into their national development plan s, which would ultimately assist them in attracting 
further resources from bilateral and multilateral donors.   Emphasis was also placed on the importance 
of increased coordination among IF stakeholders at the country level, including more dialogue 
between donors and LDC governments to ensure a successful implementation of all the needs 
expressed in the Action Matrices of these countries.  
5. She said that the representatives of the World Bank and UNDP had also reported on progress 
in the preparation of the DTIS in the following 11 countries:  Angola, Burkina Faso, Chad, Lao PDR, 
Maldives, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra  Leone, Tanzania, The Gambia and Uganda.  She 
specified that National DTIS Validation Workshops were scheduled for Chad, Sao Tome and Principe 
and Tanzania in November 2005. 
 WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 6. She added that, upon its mandate to the Wo rld Bank, the IFWG had received Technical 
Reviews from the World Bank for the Central Afri can Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of 
Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan.  As per its us ual practice, members of the Group had agreed to 
provide comments electronically to the IF Secretariat by 24 November 2005, with a view to making a recommendation for each of these countries on the way forward in the IF.   
7. As regards the requests by Afghanistan and Vanua tu to join the IF, she reported that the 
IFWG had agreed to mandate the World Bank to un dertake technical reviews for these two countries, 
a first step in the IF process for considera tion by the IFWG at its next meeting.   
8. She continued by saying that the IFWG had hear d a report by the representative of the US on 
the IF simulation exercise which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 7 to 8 September 2005.  She 
explained that the objective of this innovative ev ent was to explore ways to improve implementation 
of the IF in beneficiary countries.  One of the insi ghts gained in the simulati on exercise was that the 
international private sector could play an active role  in the IF implementation, which it had not done 
so far. 
9. As regards the IFTF, she said that UNDP had provided a detailed status report on it.  She 
welcomed the fact that pledg es and transfers to the IFTF were going hand in hand for both Windows 
of the IFTF and that these resources had been increa sing.  In this light, the IFWG had welcomed the 
recent contributions from Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden to the IFTF, totalling 
US$5.1 million. 
10. She recalled that the IF Work Programme cont ained in document WT/IFSC/7 terminates on 
31 December 2005.  In that regard, the IFWG recomm ended to the IFSC the extension of the IF Work 
Programme, for another year, until 31 December 2006.  
11. She further recalled that the IF evaluation undertaken in 2002 to 2003 had recommended to 
strengthen the IF Secretariat which was housed in the LDC Unit of the Development Division of the 
WTO.  She reported that donor representatives had tabl ed a concrete proposal in the IFWG meeting to 
effectively strengthen the IF Secretariat.  According to the proposal, a Programme Implementation 
Unit (PIU) consisting of a chief coordinator, a de puty coordinator and an administrative assistant 
would support and complement the existing structure of the IF Secretariat.  She added that the PIU 
would work
 exclusively  on IF-related issues and would be in place once final modalities were agreed 
upon.  The PIU would be financed through donor funding.  
12. The Chairman of the IFSC  indicated that the issue of IFSC chairmanship, the extension of the 
IF Work Programme and the report on the simulation ex ercise would be dealt with in separate agenda 
items and asked Members to focus their discussion on the remaining statements made by the IFWG 
Chairperson. 
13. The representative of the Solomon Islands  welcomed the decision by the IFWG to mandate 
the World Bank to undertake a technical review for Va nuatu.  Since there were in total five LDCs in 
the Pacific region, namely the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Samoa, he asked 
whether it would be possible to undertake one regi onal DTIS instead of one for each country.  He 
recognized that each country would have to agree to such an arrangement before applying but he 
wanted to enquire if that possibility existed. 
14. The representative of Haiti  enquired about the status of his country's request to join the IF 
process.  
  WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 15. The representative of Djibouti  welcomed the new Chair of the IFWG.  He commended the 
work done so far in the IF in terms of increased  dialogue among IF stakeholders.  He stressed the 
importance of having the right means for trade integration to take place.  He referred to the low capacity of LDC missions in Geneva as an impedime nt for LDC delegations to participate in all the 
activities in the WTO.  He would welcome more inform ation on the role of each agency in the IF, the 
role of development partners and be neficiary countries and on the IF's scope of work in the field.  He 
made reference to the use of Window II resource s in Djibouti and underlined that US$1 million was 
not sufficient to address the challenges facing LDCs .  He urged IF stakeholders to meet more 
frequently in order to examine ways to move the implementation of the IF forward.  He commended 
the initiative by donors to strengthen the human resources of the IF Secretariat, but added that LDCs 
needed to have more personnel dedicated to all th e issues which concerned LDCs and not solely the 
IF. 
16. The representative of Tanzania
 commended the initiative by donors to strengthen the IF 
Secretariat.  She stressed that th e staff of the PIU needed to be familiar with LDC problems on the 
ground.  
17. The representative of Nepal  welcomed the report of the incoming Chair of the IFWG.  He 
welcomed the report on IF implementation in t hose countries which had held a DTIS Validation 
Workshop.  He also welcomed the decision by th e IFWG to extend the IF Work Programme until the 
end of 2006.  He stressed the importance of the IF  as a vehicle for LDCs to integrate into the 
multilateral trading system.  He welcomed the f act that the IF Secretariat would finally be 
strengthened and stressed the importance of hiring competent staff that was aware of the complex 
needs of LDCs.  He added that there was a need to add human resources for the rest of the LDC Unit 
as a whole.  
18. The representative of Benin  welcomed the incoming Chair of the IFWG.  Speaking on behalf 
of the LDC coordinator, he welcomed the initiativ e by donors to strengthen the IF Secretariat by 
adding a PIU.  
19. The Chairperson of the IFWG  clarified the question posed by the representative of Haiti.  She 
said that in all cases, the decision to mandate the World Bank to carry out a technical review for 
LDCs wishing to join the IF was taken by the IF WG.  In the case of Haiti, the IFWG had not yet 
given such mandate to the World Bank.   
20. The Chairman of the IFSC  proposed that the Committee take note of the report on the IFWG 
meeting on 24 to 25 October and of the statements made. 
21. It was so agreed . 
C. EXTENSION OF THE IF WORK PROGRAMME INTO 2006 
22. The Chairman of the IFSC  recalled that following the submission of the report of the Second 
Evaluation of the IF by CAPRA in August 2003, the IFSC had requested the IFWG to formulate a work programme which would improve the operational aspects of the IF.  Accordingly, the IFWG had 
adopted a Work Programme at its meeting on 9 to 10 February 2004 and had submitted it to the IFSC, 
which subsequently ha d approved it at its 11
th Session on 13 February 2004.  He added that the 
adopted Work Programme, contained in document WT /IFSC/7, stipulated a number of actions which 
the IFWG aimed to achieve by 31 December 2005.  During the past two years, the IFWG had worked 
hard to achieve all the points included in the Work Programme.  In that context, he stated that the 
IFWG had agreed to extend the IF Work Programme  until the end of 2006 and had asked the IFSC to 
endorse its decision. WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 23. He proposed that the IFSC endorse the decision of the IFWG to extend the IF Work 
Programme until the end of 2006.  
24. It was so agreed
.  
D. REPORT OF THE IMF AND THE WORLD BANK ON THE OUTCOME OF THE MEETING OF THE 
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE OF THE BANK AND THE FUND ON 25 SEPTEMBER , IN PARTICULAR 
MINISTERS ' ENDORSEMENT OF THE PROP OSAL FOR AN ENHANCED IF  
25. The representative of the World Bank  reported on the September meeting of the Development 
Committee of the World Bank which encompassed more than 100 Ministers of Finance and of 
Development represented at the Boards of both th e World Bank and the IMF.  The joint proposal on 
aid for trade of the staffs of the IMF and the Worl d Bank emphasized the important role that trade can 
play as a catalyst for economic growth.  He underlined the need of developing countries and specially 
LDCs for further assistance to address their supply-si de constraints and those in the area of physical 
infrastructure. 
26. He explained that the aid for trade proposals contained in the paper should be placed in a 
larger context of growing development assistance  for developing countries, growing development 
assistance to Africa and the debt reduction initiative.  The proposals consisted of three main elements:  
(i) enhancement of the IF;  (ii) examining the ade quacy of existing mechanisms to address regional or 
cross-country aid for trade needs and explore new me chanisms as appropriate;  and (iii) support for a 
strengthened framework to address adjustment needs stemming from trade liberalization.   
27. Among the three elements, he underlined that the enhancement of the IF received the broadest 
support.  The main focus of an enhanced IF, as envisag ed in the paper, would be the translation of the 
Action Matrices contained in the DTIS into concre te implementing actions.  He insisted on three 
important points: (i) strong in-country leadersh ip and implementation capacity;  (ii) multi-year 
predictable programmes of techni cal assistance and capacity building coupled with increased donor 
coordination;  and (iii) the possibility of financi ng project preparation particularly for the large 
infrastructure projects which would need to be finan ced outside an enhanced IF.  He added that the 
paper by the staffs of the IMF and the World Ba nk underlined the importanc e of enhancing the IF 
governance structure.  He concluded by placing emphasis on the need to strengthen government 
ownership and capacity through stronger national impl ementation units, the need to strengthen the 
capacity of the IF Secretariat and of core agencies and the need to ensure th at the IF become a fully 
funded tool. 
28. The Chairman  welcomed the report by the Worl d Bank on the Development Committee 
meeting.  He recalled that the proposals included tw o broad elements namely:  (i) the enhancement of 
the IF;  and (ii) a broader element on aid for trade.   He invited Members to limit their discussions to 
the enhancement of the IF. 
29. The representative of Benin  welcomed the report by the World Bank.  He stressed that an 
enhanced IF would allow LDCs to address supply-side  constraints more effectively.  He added that 
there was a need for a predictable programme over  a relatively long period of time in order to 
strengthen LDC institutional capacity and build infrastructure.  
30. The representative of Nepal  thanked the World Bank for its  report and reiterated his support 
for an enhanced IF, with more predictable resour ces spread over a longer period of time.  He also 
welcomed the broader aid for trade element in the proposal as it would examine the adequacy of 
existing mechanisms to address regional or cro ss-country aid for trade needs and explore new 
mechanisms as appropriate.  This was particularly  important for his country which was landlocked 
and least-developed.  He asked the representative of  the World Bank to further elaborate on the third  WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 element of the aid for trade proposal, namely, su pport for a strengthened framework to address 
adjustment needs stemming from trade liberalization. 
31. The Chairman  proposed that the Steering Committee take note of the statements made and 
suggested to continue the discussions on this ite m following the report by the IFWG Chairperson on 
the future of the IF under the next agenda item. 
32. It was so agreed . 
E. FUTURE OF THE IF:  REPORT ON THE DELIBERATIONS ON THIS MATTER IN THE IFWG 
33. The Chairperson of the IFWG  recalled that the discussions on the IF originated in the WTO 
Singapore Ministerial Conference and the subsequent  High Level meeting for LDCs in 1997 in the 
WTO.  She added that in the Doha Declaration, Mi nisters had endorsed the IF as a viable model for 
LDCs' trade development.  Ministers had urged development partners to significantly increase 
contributions to the IFTF and WTO extra-budgetary funds in favour of LDCs.  The IMF/World Bank 
Spring meeting of 2005 and the G-7 Finance Ministers meetings in February and June 2005 had both 
stressed the need for aid for trade and had called on  the international financial institutions to work 
with others to prepare proposals for "additional assi stance for countries to develop their trade and ease 
adjustment in their economies", for considera tion at the IMF/World Bank annual meeting in 
September 2005.  In the Livingstone Declaration of  June 2005, LDC Trade Ministers had called for 
increased resources and an effective delivery mech anism for trade capacity building to address 
supply-side constraints faced by LDCs.  That incl uded strengthening the effectiveness of the IF by an 
increase in its resources.  The G–8 meeting in Gleneag les in July of this year had repeated its earlier 
call for the IFIs to present proposal s to the Annual meetings, and al so agreed to increase help to 
developing countries to building the physical, human  and institutional capacity to trade, including 
trade facilitation measures.  Finally, the staffs of  the Bank and the Fund had submitted a paper on Aid 
for Trade to the Annual Meetings of the Ba nk and the Fund in September of this year. 
34. She pointed out that against this historical ove rview of the aid for trade initiative, the IFWG 
had held a rich discussion on issues relating to an  enhanced IF.  The IFWG had agreed on three 
elements which together comprised an enhanced IF , namely:  (i) increased and additional predictable 
financial resources;  (ii) strengthened capacities in the IF beneficiaries to implement, manage and 
monitor the IF;  and (iii) improved IF governance.  The IFWG had agreed to establish a Task Force to 
operationalize the enhancement of the IF based on  these three elements.  The Task Force would 
comprise of representatives of the donor community a nd the LDCs.  It would consult intensively with 
the IF's core agencies.  The Task Force would work in two phases.  In the first phase, before 
Hong Kong, it would generate first ideas and come up with a first report, before the Hong Kong 
Ministerial.  The report would be discussed in an informal IFWG meeting before the Hong Kong 
Conference.  During the second phase it would build on the results of phase one and would report to the IFWG and the IFSC in April of next year.  She underlined that the Reports of the Task Force 
would be discussed and endorsed by the IFWG and th e IFSC.  The Task Force would not take away 
the prerogative of the IFWG and the IFSC to govern the IF.   
35. She also reported that ITC and UNCTAD had jo intly submitted to the IFWG for its review 
their preliminary proposal for the strengthening of  the IF national implementation arrangements. 
36. The Chairman
 welcomed the report by the IFWG Chairperson and opened the floor for 
discussions on the future of the IF. 
37. The representative of Benin  welcomed the report by the IFWG  Chairperson on the future of 
the IF and welcomed the decision by the IFWG to  establish a Task Force.  He was eager to know WT/IFSC/M/14 
Page 6  
 
 which members would form part of the Task Force and urged partners to establish a specific timetable 
so that proposals on the future of the IF could be implemented as soon as possible. 
38. The representative of Djibouti
 thanked development partners fo r their initiative to engage in a 
dialogue with LDCs on the future of the IF.  
39. The representative of Nepal  welcomed the three elements agr eed by the IFWG which together 
comprised the enhanced IF.  He recalled that incr eased, predictable and add itional financial resources 
for an enhanced IF were the most important el ement for LDCs.  The second element, strengthening 
the capacity of beneficiaries was also very important.  In terms of improving the IF governance he underlined the need for faster disbursement of funds  and a more effective implementation of priorities 
expressed in the action matrix.  He welcomed the d ecision by the IFWG to establish a Task Force and 
stressed the importance of a substantia l involvement of LDCs in its work.  
40. The representative of Japan
 welcomed the establishment of a Task Force on the future of the 
IF.  He said that the elements defined by the IF WG as constituting the enhanced IF needed to be 
further elaborated in order to obtain concrete results.  He expressed his delegation's interest to 
participate in the discussion on the futu re of the IF, either as part of th e Task Force or in another form.  
He underlined the need for the Task  Force to consult and inform othe r IF stakeholders in order to 
ensure that the ideas it developed were embraced by all IF stakeholders.  On the timetable of the Task 
Force, he urged partners to keep their level of ambition with respect to phase one to allow concrete 
and fruitful discussions prior to the Hong Kong Minist erial Conference, but reminded that the limited 
human resource capacity of both LDCs and donors before the Hong Kong Ministerial could have an 
impact. 
41. The representative of the United States  recalled that LDCs formed a key partner of the Task 
Force.  She had already invited the LDC C oordinator to consult with the LDC Group and 
communicate to donors a list of participants from LDCs and possible dates for convening the first 
meeting of the Task Force. 
42. The representative of Sweden  supported the aid for trade initiative and welcomed the decision 
of the IFSC to focus discussions in this forum on th e enhancement of the IF.  The establishment of the 
Task Force would allow donors to better understand th e needs of an enhanced IF with a view to 
increasing its resources.  He stressed the need to  have the active involvement of LDCs in these 
discussions. 
43. The representative of th e European Communities  asked a procedural question with regard to 
the link between the deliberations of the Task For ce and the process underway for the preparation of 
the Ministerial Meeting. 
44. The Chairperson of the IFWG  recalled that the draft text of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration was the responsibility of Members.  She recalled that there was a process underway in which the Chairperson of the General Council would c onsult with the interested parties.  She added 
that the results of the Task Force's first phase w ould first be channelled though an informal IFWG 
meeting prior to the Hong Kong Ministerial which would allow preliminary ideas to be shared and 
endorsed by IFWG Members.   
45. The Chairman of the IFSC
 recalled that the quality of ideas and results which would transpire 
from the Task Force would determine the extent to  which they would be incorporated in a draft 
Ministerial text.  He also urged donors and LDCs to  agree on a time to convene the first meeting of 
the Task Force in the next two week s and in any case as early as possible.  WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 46. The representative of Sweden  expressed his delegation's wish to hold the first meeting of the 
Task Force on 3 November 2005.  He would co nsult with LDCs to agree on a precise date.1 
47. The representative of Benin  suggested that LDCs would consult in their Group with a view to 
deciding on a time and date as soon as possible. 
48. The Chairman of the IFSC  welcomed the discussions on the future of the IF.  He commended 
the initiative by donors to form a Task Force and urged donors and LDCs to agree on a clear calendar 
of meetings of the Task Force.  He proposed that  the IFSC take note of the statements made on the 
future of the IF. 
49. It was so agreed . 
F. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IF :  REPORT BY BENEFICIARIES ON FOLLOW -UP TO THE DTIS  
50. The Chairman  recalled that the IF Work Programme had placed special emphasis on the 
effective follow-up to the DTIS in the beneficiary countries.  To date, the DTIS had been completed 
in 17 LDCs.  They were:  Burundi, Benin, Ca mbodia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, 
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique , Nepal, Rwanda, Senega l, Yemen and Zambia.  
The preparations for the DTIS were currently at an  advanced stage in Chad, Lao PDR, Sao Tome and 
Principe and Tanzania.  Seven LDCs had also st arted their DTIS process namely:  Angola, Burkina 
Faso, Uganda, Niger, Maldives, The Gambia and Si erra Leone.  The IFWG had furthermore mandated 
the World Bank to undertake Technical Reviews – the preliminary step in the IF process – in seven 
countries:  Afghanistan, Comoros, Central Afri can Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, 
Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and Vanuatu.  He said that  36 LDCs were now at the various stages of the 
IF process.  He encouraged the countries that had entered into the post-DTIS phase to share with the 
meeting information on the status of IF implem entation in their respective countries, including any 
positive elements and/or problems encountered. 
51. The representative of Benin  said that his country's DTIS Validation Workshop was held in 
Cotonou from 10 to 14 October 2005.  The Workshop  was a success.  The recommendations resulting 
from the Workshop and the DTIS would be duly taken into consideration by his government.  The 
DTIS Action Matrix would be finalised as soon as po ssible.  His government was committed to ensure 
the progress of the implementation of the IF.  He expressed the hope that development partners would 
assist in the capacity building of his country's human resources and all other aspects which would enable it to benefit from the opportunities offered by international trade.  
52. The representative of Rwanda
 said that the DTIS Validation Workshop was held in Kigali in 
September 2005.  Steps were being taken to move further on the IF process.  The DTIS team, in 
consultation with the Ministry of Commerce, had b een engaged in the process of preparing the final 
version of the DTIS and its Action Matrix based  on the outcome of the Workshop.  After the 
finalization of the DTIS and its Action Matrix , it would be submitted to the National Steering 
Committee, and subsequently to the Cabinet, for a pproval.  This process would be completed by early 
November 2005.  His government intended to revi se the current PRSP to incorporate trade issues, 
particularly the main elements identified in the DTIS and its Action Matrix.  His government also 
intended to incorporate those main elements into the national budget for 2007.  His authorities were 
exploring ways to set up a system to monitor and ensure smooth implementation of DTIS recommendations.  He concluded by saying that th e IF process was in good shape in his country. 
 
                                                     
 
1 The first meeting of the Task Fo rce took place on 3 November 2005. WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 53. The representative of Guinea
 said that since 1997 his government had evaluated its 
trade-related technical assistance needs.  Th e evaluation had been transmitted to institutions 
participating in the IF.  That had led his country to be eligible for Window II under the IF in March 2002.  In this connection, the following acti ons had been taken:  (i) creation of a National 
Committee for International Trade Negotiations and th e IF, composed of representatives of the public 
and private sectors and of civil society;  (ii) the preparation and validation of  the DTIS, together with 
the Action Matrix of priority actions, which had enabled identification of the constraints to be 
overcome in order to participate more actively in global trade;  and (iii) integration of the DTIS 
findings into the PRSP.  He said that these elemen ts had become valuable tools in mobilizing the 
financial resources essential for promoting and deve loping trade activities.  In this connection, he 
highlighted three priority projects which were being implemented namely:  (i) strengthening of 
national capacity for a better understanding of the multilateral trading system, to better defend 
national interests and to meet the requirements of the private sector;  (ii) building the capacity of 
institutions responsible for the promotion and the de velopment of exports;  an d (iii) development of 
exports of agricultural products with a high poverty reduction pote ntial.  These projects had been 
implemented since June 2004 and had helped to  improve the economy's integration into the 
multilateral trading system through sustained promot ion and development of non-traditional exports.  
These were also important ways of achieving poverty re duction objectives.  He said that in addition to 
the projects financed from Window II resources under the IF, some bilateral development partners, 
the EC in particular, had expressed interest in the IF process and had agreed to finance two other trade 
facilitation projects.  These were:  (i) a project in the area of customs administration, to change from 
the old "ASYCUDA" system of statistical data management to the new system "ASYCUDA++", 
where an agreement had been signed with the EC fo r a provision of €2 million;  and (ii) a project for 
strengthening security in the autonomous port of Conakr y in order to bring it into conformity with the 
new security standards in the International Ship an d Port Facility Code (ISPS).  He added that in 
relation to the creation and implementation of the qu ality and standards promo tion strategy, which had 
been an important element of their Action Matrix , UNCTAD had provided his country with financial 
assistance of US$600,000 for a programme covering th e years 2006 and 2007.  The DTIS had shown 
that his country had vast potential in sectors in which it had comparative advantages in comparison 
with other countries in the West African sub-regi on, which had been a complementary factor in 
integration, as emphasized by the representative of  the World Bank in his statement.  He finally 
expressed gratitude to the bilateral and mu ltilateral partners for their assistance.  
54. The representative of Mozambique
 expressed appreciation for the continued commitment and 
dedication of the Members of the IFSC to the scope and goals of the IF.  Her government continued to 
place high priority in the IF process and implementation of the DTIS Action Matrix.  Since the National Validation Workshop held in September 2004, her government had undertaken the following 
steps:  (i) the establishment of a National IF Steeri ng Committee (IFSC);  (ii) the creation of the Local 
Project Appraisal Committee (LPAC).  The National IFSC included all relevant Ministries including 
Finance, Planning and Development, as well as th e private sector, civil society and academia.  
Mozambique's IFSC had been meeting regularly and at least once a month.  Her government had been 
working closely with the lead donor, the United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID), as well as with other interested donors su ch as the EC, the Netherlands and Switzerland, in 
supporting various IF relate d activities and proposals.  She said th at bilateral donors had continued to 
finance activities identified in th e Action Matrix such as reforms in the labour laws in her country, 
which was being financed by USAID.  She informed that the PRSP of her country called "PARPA" was in the process of being revised.  Members of the National IFSC had been participating in the 
committees revising the PRSP.  Trade issues had been tackled under the IF.  Her delegation, including 
the IF focal point and representatives from the privat e sector, had participated in the IF Simulation 
held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September 2005.   Her country had been selected as one of the 
Simulation case study countries.  Her authorities consid ered the Simulation fruitful, in particular its 
discussion on how to better implement the IF.  Th e IF familiarization tour to Geneva for her 
delegation from the capital, sponsored by USAID in  collaboration with the ITC, had also been  WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 effective.  Mozambique's IF focal point, repr esentatives from the National IFSC, representatives of 
the private sector, Ministry of Labour, Ministry  of Planning and Devel opment, Ministry of 
Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Trad e had participated in the tour.  The tour had 
provided participants with an in-depth overview of the objectives and benefits of the implementation 
of IF, experiences of other countries, functions of th e core IF agencies, and had contributed to a better 
understanding of how to overcome the challenges in  implementing the IF.  Her government had been 
finalizing the recruitment of a full time IF coordina tor funded from the IFTF.  A consultant was hired 
for three months to assist in the IF implementation.   The consultant would assist with the formulation 
of IF projects, organize National IFSC meetings and create greater awareness of the IF in her country.  
She said that progress had been made in finalizing the first set of priority actions to be funded from IF 
resources.  Project documents would be finalized in the next few months and included projects on 
improving trade data, supporting a survey of the private sector in her country and improving the fisheries sector in terms of applicable standard s.  There had also been  sector-specific initiatives 
supported by the ITC and UNCTAD.  Finally, she said that her country had provided guidance to 
other IF countries based on its own experience in the IF process.  The national IF focal point had 
attended the pre-DTIS Workshop held in Sierra Leone from 17 to 19 October 2005.  Her delegation 
had provided guidance to the Government of Angola on IF related issues. 
55. The representative of Burkina Faso
 expressed thanks to donors and core agencies for their 
work in promoting the IF in respective LDCs.  Her country had also been benefiting from the IF, which had joined the IF recently.  An IF mission had visited her country.  The preparation of the DTIS 
had begun and her government would organize a Works hop to validate the results of the DTIS.  Her 
country needed the IF to better integrate into th e multilateral trading system.  Burkina Faso could 
benefit from the experiences of other countries in the IF process.  She hoped that more activities 
would be carried out under the IF process.  She woul d make a detailed report in future meetings of the 
IFSC.   
56. The Chairman
 thanked the delegations for their statements.  He noted the positive 
developments in the IF process in the beneficiaries.  He proposed to take note of the statements made.   
57. It was so agreed .  
G. IFTF:  FINANCIAL STATUS REPORT ;  STATE OF FUNDING /TRANSACTIONS INTER ALIA  IN LIGHT OF 
THE JOINT LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS OF THE IFSC AND THE IFWG OF 4 FEBRUARY  2005,  
SOLICITING CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THE IF  
58. The Chairman  invited the UNDP to provide a status report on the IF.   
59. The representative of UNDP  acknowledged the efforts by the Chairman of the IFSC as well 
as the former Chairman of the IFWG for mobilizati on of resources, particularly for Window II of the 
IFTF.  She congratulated the three donors namely  Denmark, Norway and Sweden who had made 
contributions totalling US$5.1 million in Window II of the IFTF since the last IFSC held in June 2005.  In addition, German y had made a pledge for the years 2006-2007.  In addition, she 
acknowledged Italy for making contributions to the IF .  While these contributions had not been made 
to the IFTF, they had nevertheless been made to the IF's work in the form of various contributions to 
individual IF core agencies for their respective IF-r elated activities.  Turning back to the IFTF, she 
said that as of 30 September 2005, Window I had received pledges amounting to US$16.03 million with transfers of US$15.4 million.  The Window II pledges and transfers had surpassed those of 
Window I.  The pledges for Window II stood at US$18.6 million with transfers of US$17.4 million.  
In total, the pledges were US$34.6 million and the transfers were US$32.8 million.  She said that the 
transfer to pledges ratio were as high as 95 per cen t:  better than the last year.  She then made a 
summary of financial transactions under Window I and Window II of the IFTF.  Window I had 
received US$15.6 million including interest adjustme nt of US$0.2 million.  Total funded projects WT/IFSC/M/14 
Page 10  
 
 under Window I stood at US$11.7 million which resulted in an end of period balance of 
US$3.9 million as of 30 September 2005.  Under Wi ndow II, the total financing received including 
interest adjustment was US$17.6 million agains t a total expenditure for funded projects of 
US$10 million which resulted in an end of period balance of US$7.6 million.  This led to a total of funds received of US$33.2 million against a total ex penditure for funded projects of US$21.7 million, 
which resulted in an end of period balance of US $11.5 million.  She said that in 2005, both pledges 
and transfers to Window II had been growing faster than those for Window I, which indicated that the focus of the IF was moving from the diagnostic phase to the implementation phase. 
60. With regard to the disbursement of funds, she said that under Window I, three of the five old 
IF Round table countries namely Gambia, Tanzania an d Uganda had been allocated funds for carrying 
out their respective DTISs in 2004.  Twenty-three LDCs under post-pilot DTIS projects had been 
allocated funds.  Under Window I, in addition to  the funding for the preparation of the DTIS, 
US$1.5 million had been allocated for three global projects:  strengthening of IF focal points, the IF evaluation and IF outreach by the IF Secretariat.   She said that total allocations from Window I 
amounted to US$11.7 million.  In sum, a total of US$15.6 million was available to finance DTISs and 
other Window I activities.  Total approved proj ects amounted to US$11.7 million, which represented 
75 per cent of funds made available under Window I.  As of 30 September 2005, Window I of the 
IFTF had a surplus of US$3.9 million.  So far as she was currently aware, two new DTIS projects 
totalling US$0.6 million were likely to be  approved by second quarter of 2006.   
61. She then turned to disbursement of funds under Window II.  Six LDCs namely Burundi, 
Cambodia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali and Yemen had each received US$1 million, the maximum 
amount available under Window II.  The LPAC in Senegal had approved four projects.  The 
disbursement for those projects had been pending due to some operational issues which were now 
being solved through consultations between the au thorities and the donor facilitator in Senegal.  She 
clarified that Burundi had not received an a llocation of more than one million, although the 
presentation might have suggested this.  She said that  the financial system might have recorded the 
full fact sheet of one of the projects instead of shares allocated under Window II.  Many of the 
Window II projects were being co-funded by other s ources of funding such as financing from bilateral 
donors or UNDP or other development partners.  Th is would be taken into account in the next 
reporting.  She then gave an overview of the impl ementation of Window II.  Total financing available 
for projects was US$17.6 million.  Thirty projects had been allocated funds, totalling US$10 million.  That was 57 per cent of total financing made av ailable under Window II.  She expressed confidence 
that many of the LDCs that had been approachi ng the implementation stage would be able to access 
Window II funds more rapidly than before.  There was a surplus of US$7.6 million, which would be 
able to respond to the funding needs of LDCs entering into the implementation stage.   
62. She continued by saying that with regard to  funding projections until mid year 2006 (second 
quarter of 2006), under Window I there were no pe nding obligations with a current balance of 
US$3.9 million.  The projected funding by the second quarter of 2006 was estimated to be 
US$0.6 million which would leave a surplus of US $3.3 million for Window I.  Similarly, under 
Window II, there were no pending obligations a nd the current balance was US$7.6 million.  The 
projected funding was estimated at US$10.9 million.  Therefore, the projected deficit under Window II for mid 2006 was estimated at US$3.3 million.  This led to a total projected balance in the 
second quarter of 2006 of nil for both Windows together. 
63. She elaborated on the projected funding needs under Window II by the second quarter of 
2006.  Lesotho and Senegal were expected to exhaust their balances of US$0.6 million and 
US$1 million respectively within the next few months .  Djibouti, Guinea, Madagascar and Nepal were 
expected to exhaust their balances totalling US$1. 3 million by mid 2006.  Mozambique as well as the 
seven LDCs expected to validate their DTISs betw een the third quarter of 2005 and the second quarter 
of 2006 namely Benin, Chad, Lao PDR, Rwanda, Sa o Tome & Principe, Tanzania and Zambia were  WT/IFSC/M/14 
 Page 11 
 
 
 expected to exhaust their balances  totalling US$8 million by mid 2006.  She added that the LDCs that 
had been undertaking DTISs recently would benef it from past experiences in the IF process and 
would likely move faster in the implementation stag e.  There had been more support available to these 
countries including support from the UNDP to f acilitate accessing of funds under Window II.   
64. In conclusion, she said that Window I of the I FTF had adequate funds to meet immediate and 
projected requirements for the preparation of new DTISs in 2005 and in early 2006.  Under 
Window II, a high demand for funds was anticipated between the last quarter of 2005 and the second 
quarter of 2006.  The current balance in Window II was US$7.6 million.  The projected funding needs 
amounted to an estimated US$10.9 million, which led to a projected funding gap of US$3.3 million by the second quarter of 2006.  The total projected  balance in the second quarter of 2006 was nil for 
both Windows.  She noted that more LDCs were jo ining the IF which might require more resources 
beyond mid 2006.  She underlined the need for greater predictability of funding.  In this regard, 
UNDP had been developing a multi-year funding fram ework to address the issue of predictability.  
She also noted that the outcome of  the "Aid for Trade" discussions  would have an impact on that 
undertaking. 
65. The representative of Benin
 congratulated the UNDP for its report.  He noted the deficit of 
US$3.3 million under Window II of the IFTF.  He made  an appeal to all donors to make additional 
efforts to bridge that deficit.  There were pr ogrammes under the IF process which were important and 
needed to be implemented.   
66. The representative of Djibouti  thanked the donors for their contribution to the IF.  He also 
noted the shortfall of US$3.3 million under Window II.  He made an appeal to donors to make greater 
efforts so that the IF bore fruit.  If financial mean s were not available, results from the IF would not 
be achieved.  Trade integration had been a difficult area.  LDCs needed means to be able to integrate 
into the multilateral trading system.  The ability and capacity of LDC delegations in Geneva had been 
limited.  If LDC delegations coul d not operate smoothly in Geneva  it would affect the overall 
operation of the IF in respective countries.  He  requested to pay attention to this matter. 
67. The Chairman  took note of the appeals made by the LDCs for more funds.  He thanked the 
UNDP for its comprehensive report.  He proposed th at the Committee take note of the report from the 
UNDP and the statements made. 
68. It was so agreed . 
H. SIMULATION  EXERCISE 
69. The Chairman  invited the representative of the United States to make a presentation on the IF 
Simulation held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 7 to 8 September 2005.  
70. The representative of the United States  thanked the Chairman of the IFSC, the WTO 
Secretariat, LDCs and IF agencies for their part icipation in the Simulation Exercise.  She also 
expressed gratitude to Denmark, Norway and the UK for their contributions in funding participants' 
travel.  She said that up until now the IF had fo cused on the diagnostic phase.  Time had come to 
focus on implementation as well.  She underlined th at the IFWG and IFSC had given their support to 
this hands-on Simulation project.  Country represen tatives in the IF countries who were engaged as 
active strategists in the field had been invited to help explore approaches and recommendations for 
improving IF implementation.  Representatives from LDC Governments and the private sector, donors, IF agencies and five representatives from the in ternational private sector had participated in 
the Simulation Exercise.  Five significant implemen tation challenges had resulted from this exercise.  
These were:  (i) ownership of the IF process;  (ii) coordination among all IF stakeholders;  WT/IFSC/M/14 
Page 12  
 
 (iii) operational factors that affect the IF process;  (iv) resource constraints;  and (v) private sector 
engagement, which had largely been untapped. 
71. She said that three factors had contributed to the current emphasis on IF implementation.  A 
critical mass of LDCs had completed their DTISs and had moved into the implementation stage.  
Seventeen LDCs had begun the impl ementation of phase three (implementation) in the IF process.  
She said that within the IF, a mech anism to share insights about the implementation of the IF did not 
exist.  The past IF evaluations as well as the assessment of the IF by the World Bank had not 
addressed implementation.  The Simulation provided th e opportunity to study the insights gained in 
the IF process.  It had been difficult to learn fro m other LDCs' DTIS reports and Action Matrices as 
contents of those DTISs varied in scope and struct ure.  The IF needed to include all the different 
stakeholders to fully address the challenge of improving implementation.  Participants in the 
Simulation Exercise had ranged from donors, agen cies and the LDCs, undertaking implementation 
efforts with considerable personal commitment a nd varying degrees of success.  The IF process 
currently did not have a mechanism to enable such  individuals to be known to the IF management 
structure and to one another, nor to develop a ne twork.  The Simulation ha d developed a network of 
65 people forming a self-reinforc ing network of champions.   
72. She continued by saying that in consultation with the LDCs, donors and the IFWG, IF 
implementation had been defined as a process of ensuring that Action Matrix priorities were reflected in specific actions that produced ta ngible benefits and results.  She then explained the approach of the 
Simulation.  A Simulation was an exercise, diffe rent from a Conference and mainly consisting of 
three phases.  There had been significant research and analysis done such as collection of data on 
recent insights about the IF which had helped in ma king some key decisions in the Simulation and had 
provided input into the final report.  The initia l research had reviewed the 15 LDCs that had 
completed their DTIS at the time of Simulation and had come up with a composite Action Matrix.  
That Matrix was a useful tool for donors, benefici aries and agencies that showed that certain subjects 
would come up in every DTIS such as assistance fo r sanitary and phytosanitary standards, or trade 
facilitation.  That in turn could help in starting the dialogue with relevant stakeholders.  There had 
been telephone interviews with many IF stake holders including LDC Governments as well as their 
domestic business sector, donors, agencies and the international private sector.  Other Simulation inputs included a compilation of IF best practices and a preliminary evaluation of IF innovations.  
Three representative countries had been chosen name ly:  Malawi, Mozambique and Senegal in order 
to represent the challenges of many IF countries.  She underscored the importance of identifying an IF 
champion within a country.  In addition to Cambodia,  a number of champions ha d also been identified 
in other LDCs.  The donors and agencies team, the international business team and the three country 
teams had explored over a series of four moves the challenges posed by implementation of the IF as well as opportunities for improving implementation.  These participants had worked through a wide 
range of events to come up with key insights.  The report of the Simulation would be put on the IF 
website. 
73. As regards the results of the Simulation, sh e highlighted five significant insights gained 
relating to ownership, coordination, operational fact ors, resources and inclusion of the private sector.  
Concerning ownership, participants found that in Cambodia, the IF had been successful because of 
one key individual, while in Ethiopia the involveme nt in the process of stakeholders across the board 
had helped in consolidating prior ities in the Action Matrix.  In Mozambique, stakeholders all across 
the country had been involved in the IF process.  Inviting the private sector to participate in the 
Validation Workshop had also helped, reinforcing c ountry ownership.  She said that Mozambique had 
been able to move ahead in th e IF process despite elections and a change of government.  She 
underlined the importance of involvi ng all stakeholders from the beginni ng of the IF process onwards.  
She also stressed the importance of identifying an IF national champi on in the early stages of the IF 
process with sufficient authority.  There was a need to address the asymmetrical Ministerial authority 
and to ensure broad participation of  key government Ministries, particularly the Ministry of Finance.   WT/IFSC/M/14 
 Page 13 
 
 
 An important insight gained from the Simulation was that the IF focal point needed sufficient 
resources and enough authority to sustain a leadership  role.  She pointed out that one large disconnect 
in the IF process was the weak linkage between the IF and the PRSP.  LDCs that had been able to 
timely integrate the DTIS and its Action Matrix into  their PRSP had fared better.  The Simulation also 
showed the importance of including Action Matr ices into the PRSP soon after the Validation 
Workshop.  She concluded by saying that the overall finding from the Simulation was that the 
stakeholders needed to be involved in the IF pr ocess from the very beginning, including the private 
sector.   
74. The Chairman  thanked the representative from the US for organizing this useful event and 
proposed that the IFSC take note of the report.   
75. It was so agreed.  
I. CHAIR OF THE IFSC FROM 2006 
76. The Chair of the IFWG  expressed gratitude to the Chairman for his service to the IFSC.  She 
recalled that Ambassador Iversen was first elected  as Chairman of the IFSC in March 2001 and 
re-elected in 2002.  That arrangement had been t acitly extended.  The term of Ambassador Iversen 
would expire in March 2006.  She noted that Amba ssador Iversen would be leaving Geneva soon to 
take up his new assignment in Dublin, Ireland as Ambassador of Denmark.   He had nevertheless 
agreed to stay on as the Chairman of the IFSC until the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  She said 
that a new Chair of the IFSC would need to be  elected from 2006 onwards.  At its meeting on 24 and 
25 October 2005, the IFWG had been advised by the LDCs and donors that their consultations on this 
matter had led to the following result:  (i) the LDCs and donors appreciated the readiness of 
Ambassador Iversen to stay as IFSC Chairman until the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference;  (ii) the 
LDCs and donors had agreed on the nomination of Amba ssador Mia Horn af Rantzien of Sweden as 
next Chairperson of the IFSC from January 2006;   (iii) LDCs had decided to conduct internal 
consultations within the next weeks on the nomi nation of a Vice Chair, who would be an LDC 
representative.  She recalled that as a precedent, wh en electing its Chairman in 2001, the IFSC had 
also elected the then Permanent Repres entative of Lesotho as its Vice Chair. 
77. The Chairman  thanked Members for their confidence in  him to stay on as Chairman of the 
IFSC until the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  He proposed to elect Ambassador Mia Horn af 
Rantzien as Chairperson of the IFSC from January 2006.   
78. It was so agreed.  
79. The representative of Benin , on behalf of the LDCs, extended congratulations to the outgoing 
Chairman.  The LDCs deeply appreciated his tireless efforts in promoting the interests of LDCs in the 
IFSC.  He wished him all the best in his new positi on.  He pledged the full support of LDCs for the 
incoming Chairperson of the IFSC.  He hoped that in the coming weeks, LDCs would come up with 
the nomination of the Vice Chair of the IFSC. 
80. The representative of the IMF  thanked the Chairman for his co mmitment.  He appreciated the 
work of the Chairman in moving the IF forward.  He wished the Chairman all success in his new 
responsibilities.   
81. The representative of Sweden  thanked the Chairman for all his work and insights in the IF 
process.  She said that she would try her best to carry forward the work accomplished by the outgoing 
Chairman.    WT/IFSC/M/14 
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 82. The Chairman
 congratulated the Ambassador of Sweden on her election.  He looked forward 
to the nomination from LDCs for the Vice Chair of the IFSC.   
J. ANY OTHER BUSINESS  
83. In the absence of any other business, the meeting was adjourned . 
  WT/IFSC/M/14 
 Page 15 
 
 
 ANNEX I 
 
The Integrated Framework Steering Committee  
 
Fifteenth Session 
 
1. The Integrated Framework Steering Committee will hold its Fifteenth Session on Wednesday, 
26 October 2005, starting at 10 a.m. in the WTO building. 
2. The items proposed for the agenda are:   
(a) Adoption of the agenda;   
(b) 42nd meeting of the Integrated Framework Working Group:  report by the Chair;  
(c) Extension of the IF Work Programme into 2006; (d) Report of the IMF and the World Bank on the outcome of the meeting of the Development 
Committee of the Bank and the Fund on 25 September, in particular Ministers' endorsement of the proposal for an enhanced IF;   
(e) Future of the IF:  report on the deliberations on this matter in the IFWG; 
(f) Implementation of the IF:  Report by benefi ciaries on follow-up to DTIS:  countries which 
have validated their DTIS are encouraged to re port on the status of the IF process in their 
countries; 
(g) IFTF:  financial status report;  state of funding/transactions inter alia  in light of the joint 
letter from the Chairs of the IFSC and the IF WG of 4 February 2005, soliciting continued 
support for the IF;  
(h) Simulation Exercise:  report by the US;  (i) Chair of the IFSC from 2006;   (j) Any other business.
 
 
 
__________