WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/COMTD/AFT/M/23 
14 May 2012 
 (12-2624) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Twenty-Third Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 29 FEBRUARY 2012 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Dr. Anthony Mothae Maruping (Lesotho) 
 
 
A.  ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ........................................................................................................ 1  
B.  PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2012-2013  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK 
PROGRAMME  .............................................................................................................................. . 1 
1.  Resource Mobilization and Implementation Activities ......................................................... 1  
2.  Mainstreaming ................................................................................................................. ......... 2 
3.  Regional Dimension ............................................................................................................ ...... 3 
4.  Private Sector ................................................................................................................ ............ 3 
5.  Monitoring and Evaluation of Implementa tion and Development Effectiveness ............... 4  
C.  OTHER BUSINESS  ........................................................................................................................ 6  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Agenda, as circulated in  WTO/AIR/3893, was adopted. 
B. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2012-2013  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
1. Resource Mobilization and Implementation Activities 
2. The representative of the International Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), Member of the 
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, highlighted  the role of the Aid -for-Trade (AfT) Initiative 
in assisting Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) and sm all and fragile states to benefit from increased 
trade, economic growth and economic  integration.  He noted the target set by the Organization of 
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to increase the intra- OIC Trade volume to 20 per cent by 2015.  He 
presented a draft AfT project for the Arab States, th e main objective of which was to promote regional 
integration by identifying national and regional needs, establishing national and regional action 
matrices for trade and productive capacity through fo rmulation of an AfT ope rational programme, and 
mobilizing AfT resources to finance country, sub -regional and regional priorities.  The project - 
estimated at US$10 million - would provide a framework for placing Arab countries and the region on 
a sound trajectory of trade reform.  The project w as a work in progress that would be finalized and 
then possibly officially launched at th e UNCTAD XIII Conference in April 2012.1   
3. The representatives of the United Nations Deve lopment Programme (UND P), Qatar on behalf 
of the Arab Group, Oman, the European Union (EU), Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco took 
                                                      
1"http://www.itfc-idb.org/content/itf c-announces-%E2%80%9Caid-trade-aft%E2%80%9D-arab-states-
initiative "  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/23 
Page 2 
 
 
  the floor.  UNDP noted that it would ensure flexibility  rather than a one-size-fits all approach in the 
implementation of the proposed project and would fo cus, in particular, on resource mobilization for 
implementation of trade development interventions  on the ground. Members welcomed the IsDB's 
strong support for the Aid-for-Trade Initiative, and recognized that the project proposal was all the 
more relevant particularly in view of the regiona l integration challenges faced by the Arab region.  
They noted that the project was a work in progress a nd that there was need for further consultations - 
including coordination with other development partners  in the region - so that the final project served 
all countries of the region through concrete results. 
4. The representative of Australia updated th e Committee on its multilateral AfT-related 
support: increased support to the WTO Global Trust Fund for the period 201 2-2015 (US$8 million) 
and contributions to the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) (US$3 million); the International 
Trade Centre (ITC) (US$3 million); and a newly- created Trust Fund for the World Intellectual 
Property Organization (WIPO) (US$2 million). 
5. The representative of India noted India's comm itment to South-South cooperation which had 
the potential to deliver benefits to developing countries and effectively compliment North-South 
cooperation.  She provided a first overview of India's trade-related capacity building activities, 
including the India-Africa Partnership and work of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation 
(ITEC) Programme, both of which would enable coun tries in the immediate neighbourhood as well as 
in Africa, Asia and other regions, to boost thei r trade capacity and take advantage of emerging 
opportunities.  The ITEC Programme had been in existence since 1964 and was one of the key means 
for channelling India's technical assistance to partne r countries.  Under the India-Africa partnership, 
several initiatives had been taken to promote capac ity building, skill transfer and infrastructure 
development, including the establishment of an Ins titute of Foreign Trade in Uganda and a Diamond 
Institute in Botswana.   
6. The representative of the EU referred to three AfT-related projects it was financing at the 
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Deve lopment on AfT monitoring and evaluation:  
managing aid to achieve trade results;  strengthe ning the AfT monitoring framework and assessing 
economic outcomes related to Aid for Trade;  and re gional integration perspective of the AfT process. 
7. The representative of Canada informed of the finalization of its agreement with the African 
Development Bank for an AfT Fund of CAN$7.5 m illion which would focus in particular on trade 
facilitation and on agricultural exports  and international standards.   
2. Mainstreaming 
8. The representatives of Saudi Arabia, Kuwa it, and Turkey provided updates on their 
AfT-related activities and shared information on their AfT experiences on the basis of their 
recently-concluded Trade Policy Reviews (TPR).  Sa udi Arabia noted the development and financial 
assistance it provided to developing countries and LDCs which included a contribution of 
US$300 million through its Saudi Fund for Developm ent to the Global Trade Liquidity Programme, 
US$3 million to the EIF (for the period 2010-2013), US$500 million to the World Food Programme, 
and US$500 million to the "Energy for Poor" Initiativ e.  Kuwait reported on the achievements of the 
Kuwait Fund that contributed to development projects in Arab as well as non-Arab developing 
countries for over five decades. Among its achieveme nts to date, the Fund had provided loans of 
around US$16 billion, had funded over 800 projects, and had provided technical loans and grants 
worth approximately US$370 million.  
9. Turkey noted that it was benefitting significantly  from Aid for Trade in relation to its national 
development objectives, particularly with regard to  training, technical assist ance, education, research 
and academic study.  Turkey was a donor to the EIF and was actively engaged in other development  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/23 
 Page 3 
 
 
  programmes including the South-South Cooperati on Programme (supported by UNDP), the Growing 
Sustainable Business (also supported by UNDP) with a view to achieving the Millennium 
Development Goal targets on poverty eradication and global partnership.  In addition, Turkey was 
also actively taking part in European Union Cro ss-Border Co-operation, OIC, the Partnership for 
Democratic Governance of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation a nd Development (OECD), 
and the Black Sea and Central Asia Outlook. 2  
10. The representative of Nigeria acknowledged the support provided by UNDP in assisting 
developing countries to mainstream trade in their na tional development strategies so as to harness the 
benefits of trade and mitigate possible negative im pacts.  He underlined the importance of specific 
assistance towards assuring coherence between national and regional mainstreaming processes as well 
as the need for additional mainstreaming support w ith greater emphasis on results and effectiveness 
with clear baseline measurable objectives. 
11. The representative of the EU noted the importa nce of mainstreaming Aid for Trade in the 
TPR process which brought not only added value to the process itself, but also additional value to AfT 
strategies by providing for a systematic stocktaking of Aid for Trade for developing countries in 
relation to internal planning, coordination, and transparency. 
3. Regional Dimension 
12. The representative of Lesotho, on behalf of  the African Group, provided an update on 
decisions taken at the African Union Summit on boosting intra-African trade.  These decisions 
included the finalization by 2014 of the Tripartite  Free Trade Area (FTA) Initiative by the Eastern 
African Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Southern African 
Development Community; the completion of FTA's by other African regional economic communities;  
the consolidation between 2015- 2016 of the Tripartite FTA a nd other regional FTAs into the 
Continental Free Trade Area Initiative (CFTA);  and the establishment of the CFTA by 2017.3   An 
Action Plan on Boosting Intra-Afri can Trade had also been agreed.4 
13. The representative of the United Nations Conf erence on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 
noted that it was looking into how to enhance its support to African countries and the African Union 
in implementing the CFTA. 
14. The representative of the Pacific Islands Forum Se cretariat informed of a new regional Pacific 
Trade and Development Facility that would provide regional trade-related assistance to enhance the 
ability of Forum Island Countries (FICs) to more  actively and beneficially participate in the 
international trading system.   The Facility woul d be a general fund to which donors, governments, 
and organizations would be invited to contribute.  The FICs would be  responsible for setting priorities 
for development cooperation and AfT ac tivities implemented through the Facility. 
4. Private Sector 
15. The representative of Senegal reported on the Senegal-ITC-Netherlands mango project which 
aimed to bolster exports of Senegal's mangoes to Europe by focusing on sustainable improvement of 
the export competitiveness of the mango industry in the Niayes area.5  The project had resulted, 
inter alia , in the elaboration of a manual on producers' cooperatives, an analysis of market 
                                                      
2 Statement delivered by the WTO Secr etariat at the request of Turkey. 
3"http://au.int/en/summit/18thsummit/news/18th-ordinary-session-summit-african-union-
announcement "  
4"http://www.au.int/en/sites/default/files/Ac tion%20Plan%20for%20boosting%20intra-
African%20trade%20F-English.pdf "  
5 http://www.intracen.org/Mou -signed-to-increase-mango-exports-from-Senegal/  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/23 
Page 4 
 
 
  opportunities, and had also highlighted potential in information services, trade intelligence and 
monitoring.  
16. The representative of the ITC noted similar pr ogrammes to that reported by Senegal that 
focused on building the skills of exporters to enable  them to meet the requirements of international 
markets being implemented by ITC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (CBI) in 
Bangladesh (in the information technology sector), Kenya (in the fresh fruit sector), South Africa (in 
the automotive parts sector), a nd Uganda (in the coffee sector).6 
5. Monitoring and Evaluation of Implemen tation and Development Effectiveness 
17. The representatives of the United Nations Ec onomic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and 
OECD presented their joint 2011 report "Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness (MRDE)".7  
UNECA noted that the report focused on trackin g development commitments made by African 
countries and their development partners, monitori ng progress, impact of interventions, identifying 
gaps and new priorities.  OECD noted the report' s comprehensive coverage on actions by Africa's 
development partners to deliver on their commitments, what the results had been, and future priorities.  
The report was in line with the themes of the Bu san High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.  One 
key message of the report was that development progress was being increasingly led and financed by 
African governments from their own resources. 
18. Referring to a decision that had been taken at the 2010 G-20 Seoul Summit about a study on 
financing Africa's infrastructure, the representa tive of Ethiopia asked what stage the study had 
reached.  In response, OECD informed that this was a work in progress which had been followed up 
under the French G-20 Presidency by the establishmen t of a high-level panel which had reported to 
the Cannes G-20 Summit.8  UNECA noted that the issue of in frastructure had been raised at the 
recently held African Union Summit at the level of the NEPAD9 Heads of State and Implementation 
Committee meeting as well as during the discussion with regard to the facilitation of regional 
integration on the African continent.  It was an area which UNECA and OECD hoped to address in 
more detail in their next report. 
19. The representative of the EU highlighted the im portance of the MRDE project and noted the 
importance of institutional mutual accountability and cooperation which were key elements as far as 
the mobilization of Official Development Assistance was concerned. 
20. The representative of the OECD provided an overview of Fourth High-Level Forum (HLF-4) 
held in Busan, South Korea from 29 November to  1 December 2011 and on the recently held joint 
OECD-DAC and Working Party of the Trade Committee (WPTC) on Aid for Trade.10  T h e  
High-Level Forum had led to an inclusive agr eement on the future of global cooperation for 
development and had also highlighted the challe nges of aligning diverse approaches, resources and 
experience, all of which were key for effective development.  The Forum had concluded with a 
broadly endorsed outcome document - The Busan Pa rtnership for Effective Development Cooperation 
that, inter alia , emphasized the importance of South-South cooperation, the implication of the greater 
willingness of the private sector to invest in a ra nge of developing countries, new approaches towards 
fragile and post-conflict states, and the formation of a new partnership fo r development cooperation.11  
A joint OECD-WTO dialogue on Aid for Trade had been  held in the margins of HLF-4.  Referring to 
                                                      
6 http://www.intracen.o rg/ByCountry.aspx    
7 http://www.uneca.org/gpad/publica tions/mdre2011/ MRDE2011EN.pdf   
8 http://www.g20-g8.com/g8-g20/root/bank_objects/HLP_-_Full_report.pdf   
9 New Partnership for Africa's Development. 
10 http://www.aideffectiveness.org/busanhlf4/   
11"http://www.aideffectiveness.org/busanhlf4/i mages/stories/hlf4/OUTCOME_DOCUMENT_-
_FINAL_EN.pdf "   WT/COMTD/AFT/M/23 
 Page 5 
 
 
  the OECD-DAC WPTC on Aid for Trade, he said that the meeting had been structured around two 
themes: issues of monitoring and evaluation of Ai d for Trade and issues related to deepening 
coherence and connecting Aid for Trade to the broader trade and development agenda. 
21. The representative of Australia noted the importance of OECD's monitoring and evaluation 
work for improving the effectiveness of Aid for Trad e and said that it would lead to more meaningful 
and efficient results frameworks and would enhance development outco mes in Aid for Trade.  It was 
consistent with Australia's own efforts to m ove towards better measuring and showing results, 
increasing transparency and the performance management of its aid programme. 
22. The Secretariat reported on the Workshop on Ai d for Trade and Sustainable Development and 
Green Economy that had been held that morning.   The aim of the Workshop, which had been 
organized in close collaboration with the WTO Trade and Environment Division (TED), was to 
examine the contribution which Aid for Trade can  make to sustainable development and green 
economy.  Presentations made during the first session of the Workshop included:  by the Director of 
the WTO TED who touched on the themes covered in the publication "Harnessing Trade for Sustainable Development" and underlined  the key role the WTO has to play in ensuring 
environmental measures and green growth policies ar e not disguised protectionism;  by the OECD on 
its work on green growth and the relationship w ith Aid for Trade;  and by the United Nations 
Environment Programme (UNEP) on the theme of "Why a Green Economy Matters for Least-
Developed Countries".
12  OECD's presentation highlighted the pitfalls of a development trajectory 
built on "pollute now, clean up later" and UNEP hi ghlighted how LDCs were well placed to adopt 
green economy measures because of their low levels of  infrastructure development, notably in energy 
generation.  UNEP argued that investment now would put LDCs on a sustainable development 
trajectory with long-term returns which would more  than offset the higher short-term investment 
costs. 13    
23. Members' and Observers' comments focused on:  the significant investments needed for clean 
technology, infrastructure, and regulatory complia nce needed to achieve a green economy and how 
Aid for Trade could be an important vehicle for mobilizing technical and financial support;  the 
central role of the WTO in disciplining envir onmental protectionism a nd green economy policies 
which might constitute non-tariff barriers;  and the need for developing countries to take 
environmental-related measures that are compatible with their development stage and that are not 
beyond their institutional and fi nancial capacities.  One Member  noted that environmental 
conditionalities should not be imposed.  The transfer of technology (and creating incentives) was 
judged important for developing countries by various speakers to allow them to take advantage of the 
trade opportunities related to green growth.  The role of patents in the transfer of technology was also 
raised. 
24. In the second session, Denmark referred to DANIDA's experience of Integrating Green 
Growth Objectives into National Development Po licy and Programming.  The presentation focused 
mainly on lessons learned from, and drivers for success of, DANIDA's programmes and support 
provided to Honduras and Guatemala in the developm ent and strengthening of green value chains, 
many of which could also apply to other countries and to Aid for Trade in general.14  ITC presented 
information on its Trade, Climate Change and Environment Programme which provided support in 
(i) training to help comply with market require ments for environmentally friendly products and 
services; (ii) trade promotion to help strengthen market linkages between exporters in developing 
                                                      
12 http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/pub lications_e/brochure_rio_20_e.pdf   
13 Information on the Workshop, including the agenda and copies of presentations, can be found on the 
WTO website at http://www.wto.org   
14 http://um.dk/en/danida-en/   WT/COMTD/AFT/M/23 
Page 6 
 
 
  countries and buyers in developed c ountries; and (iii) public information studies of a practical nature 
to guide companies in the green economy marketplace.15  
25. Members' comments emphasized, inter alia :  the need for development projects to support 
rural farmers in agricultural production that allowe d them to meet their internal demand as well as 
producing for the external market;  the importance of venture capital funds in the different projects 
supported by DANIDA;  the importance of the role of women - as well as the need to include other 
disadvantaged groups - in the different programme a nd projects;  and the issue of impact assessment.   
26. In his closing remarks, the Chair had conclude d that the Workshop had demonstrated that:  
trade was intrinsic to the economic  development pillar of sustainabl e development and that the WTO 
had a central role to play in ensuring environm ental measures and green growth policies were not 
disguised protectionism;  and sustainable developm ent objectives were starting to influence the design 
and delivery of AfT implementation.  LDCs were considered well-placed to adapt to the green 
economy, but like other developing countries, were faced with inhibiting factors such as cost and 
technology access challenges;  the evidence of the contribution which Aid for Trade could make to 
sustainable development in practice had already be seen, but much more needed to be done. 
27. The representative of UNCTAD informed of sever al AfT-related meetings scheduled for the 
coming months and presented an outline of th e provisional programme for UNCTAD XIII. 
28. Highlighting the importance of sustainable development and green economy, the 
representative of Benin expressed regret that other organizations which were also actively engaged on 
this topic - for example, UNCTAD, which had recently  held a similar workshop - had not participated 
in the WTO Workshop.  Noting that Aid for Trad e could be useful in mobilizing support and 
resources in the area of trade and environment, he said that environmental-re lated subsidies should be 
eliminated and that the WTO could play a useful role  in this regard.  Focus should be on opportunities 
and not impediments.  Transfer of technology was an  important issue to take into account in this 
respect.  He said that environmental-related cond itionalities and obligations that were beyond their 
level of development and institu tional and financial capacities should not be imposed on developing 
countries.16 
29. The representative of the EU reported on two th ematic reviews it was currently undertaking 
on trade-related assistance and on private sector deve lopment, the final evaluations of which would be 
completed by the end of the year. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
30. No item was raised under "Other Business". 
31. The Chairman informed that the next regular CTD-AfT meeting was tentatively scheduled to 
take place in mid-May.  The AfT session would be accompanied by a Workshop on Aid for Trade and 
Trade Finance.  Details of the meetings would be announced at a later stage.   
32. The meeting was adjourned. 
__________  
                                                      
 15"http://www.intracen.o rg/uploadedFiles/intracenorg/Content/A bout_ITC/Where_are_we_working/M
ulti-country_programmes/TCCEP/Brochure.pdf " 
16 The full statement  made by Benin at the WTO Workshop on Sustainable Development and Green 
Economy is available - in audio format - on the WTO website at 
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/devel_e /a4t_e/wkshop_feb12_e/wkshop_feb12_e.htm