WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/18 
4 March 2010 
 
 (10-1195) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  
AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME 
 
Background Note prepared by the Secretariat1 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This note has been prepared to update Me mbers on progress in implementation of the 
2010-2011 Aid-for-Trade (AfT) Work Programme.  Th e background note follows the same structure 
as the Work Programme found in document WT/COMTD/AFT/W/16.2   
II. RESOURCE MOBILIZATION 
2. The World Bank launched a new Trade Facilita tion Facility (TFF) in April 2009.  The 
US$40 million multi-donor trust fund aims to he lp developing countries – particularly the 
least-developed and sub-Sahara Africa – improve th eir competitiveness and reduce trading costs, both 
of which are necessary for economic recovery.  Th is will be achieved through measures to improve 
infrastructure, transport logistics and customs procedures.  The TFF supports numerous activities in 
low-income countries, including the implementation of practical initiatives in key areas such as border 
management improvement, institu tional development, trade procedures, logistics services and 
gateway infrastructure;  development of trad e corridors and other regional facilitation activities 
around the world;  mobilization of resources from development banks and donors;  and 
implementation of trade facilitation provisions of in ternational trade agreements.  Information on the 
World Bank's work in the area of Aid for Trade can be found at http://www.worldbank.org .   
3. Launched in November 2008, the Inter-Ameri can Development Bank (IaDB) Aid-for-Trade 
Trade Strategic Fund aims to help Latin America and the Caribbean to integrate into the global 
economy and benefit from liberalized trade and increased market access by channeling grant 
resources to overcome supply-side constraints.  Th e Fund aims to provide an operational framework 
to implement global priorities in the region, pr oviding donors an opportunity to meet standing 
commitments with increased development effectiveness.   At the global level, it is expected that the 
Fund will contribute to fostering the harmoni zation and coordination of multilateral donors' 
interventions at both national and regional levels, in line with the Paris Declaration.  Information on 
the IaDB's AfT-related activities can be found  at http://www.iadb.org/INT/aid for trade/. 
4. During the Seventh Ministerial Conference, vari ous delegations highlighted the importance of 
a replenishment of the African Development Fund fo r the mobilization of AfT resources in Africa.  
An ADF-11 Mid-Term Review (MTR) was held in Helsinki, Finland on 20 and 21 October 2009 and 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. 
2 The Fourteenth Session on Aid for Trade of th e Committee on Trade and Development will be held 
on 17 March 2010.  At the meeting, the different partne rs and organizations will provide an update of the 
information contained in this Note. WT/COMTD/AFT/W/18 
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  a consultation meeting for the replenishment of th e African Development Fund (ADF-12) will be held 
in Cape Town, South Africa, on 22 and 23 February  2010.  Further information can be found on the 
African Development Bank website at http://www.afdb.org/en/
.   
III. MAINSTREAMING  
5. The World Bank is currently developing a Gr oup-wide Trade Strategy. The aim of the 
strategy is to deliver more effectively on Aid for Trade.  Bank staff are developing a strategy that 
focuses on several sets of activities: export developm ent and competitiveness;  trade finance;  trade 
facilitation and logistics;  regional integration;  a nd trade policy, as well as publicly available data and 
tools to facilitate policy-making, analysis and eval uation.  In each of these areas, the strategy would 
discuss the main development challenges, the typ es of deliverables in financing and technical 
assistance, and inter-linkages with other cross- cutting development issues (such as agriculture, 
infrastructure, gender, etc.) as well as explore partne rships with other organiza tions working in related 
fields.   
6. In the coming months, the Bank will hold sever al public consultations on these initial ideas 
with its clients, development part ners, and stakeholders, to provide an opportunity to raise issues of 
concern and ideas on ways the Bank might better fu lfil its poverty reduction mandate through Aid for 
Trade.  This process will culminate in the preparation of a full draft strategy paper to be presented to 
the World Bank Board in the autumn of 2010.  On  18 March, the Bank will host a public consultation 
at the WTO to which the Geneva trade community will be invited, including academics, civil society 
groups, and other international organizations.  Furt her information can be found at the World Bank 
website http://www.worldbank.org . 
7. During the Seventh Ministerial Conference in December 2009, the Director-General hosted a 
High-Level event which showcased progress made in  operationalizing the Enhanced Integrated 
Framework (EIF) and which reconfirmed the br oad political support which it enjoys.  The EIF 
became operational in July 2009 wh en the necessary key administrative instruments were put in place.  
Currently 47 Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) are now  at different stages in the process:  35 have 
completed DTISs (Diagnostic Trade Inte gration Study:  a diagnostic of their trade priorities) and some 
are currently updating them;  another 12 LDCs are in  the process of writing or preparing to write their 
first DTIS.   
8. Effective project delivery on the ground of the EIF started in 2009.  To date, 12 Tier 1 
projects have been approved for funding from the EIF Trust Fund (Yemen, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, 
Liberia, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Uga nda, The Gambia, Zambia, Burundi).  More are in 
the pipeline.  Tier 1 projects are aimed at strengthening LDCs' capacity to manage the EIF process on the ground, leading to improved mainstreaming of  trade into national development strategies.  
Additionally, pre-DTIS projects for Bhutan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Timor Leste and 
Togo have been approved, as well as DTIS project s for Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo 
and Togo, bringing the total number of projects to 19 and funds committed to a total amount of 
US$12.9 million.  In 2009, the EIF interim Boar d drew up detailed technical and fiduciary aspects 
guiding the formulation of Tier 2 projects and it is  expected that these will soon become operational.  
Tier 2 projects under the EIF are funded through bila teral, regional or multilateral donors or the EIF's 
own Trust Fund and address priorities identified by an LDC in its DTIS Action Matrix.  Tier 2 project 
development and implementation remain the primary focus for the EIF in 2010.   
9. In addition to approving projects, through the Executive Secretariat – in joint collaboration 
with other partners – the EIF Capacity building programme for recipient countries has been initiated 
with the first regional workshop for the Pacific c ountries due to take place from 16-18 March 2010 in 
Port Villa, Vanuatu.  This will be followed by si milar events in Asia in June, and for West and 
Central Africa, and for Eastern and Sout hern Africa in the second half of 2010.  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/18 
 Page 3 
 
 
  10. Furthermore, as part of advancing the work on monitoring and evaluation, a scoping exercise 
and initial capacity building have been undertaken  in the following countries:  Yemen, Rwanda, 
The Gambia, Liberia, Cambodia, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone.  This same exercise is in the 
pipeline for Burundi, Lesotho, Central African  Republic, Zambia, Lao PDR, and Nepal.   
11. As of 28 February 2010, the EIF Trust Fund stands  at US$93 million.  In order to ensure that 
the EIF delivers to the expectation of all, during the December 2009 Ministerial meeting held on the 
EIF, Ministers of Trade underlined the importance of continued predictable funding from donors as well as effective delivery by the recipient countries in  order to attain the desired results.  The EIF 
Board acknowledges and appreciates the continuous support of EIF donors and welcomes the recent 
disbursements from Canada, Sweden and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  The EIF Executive 
Secretariat is currently working on a resource mobilization strategy to  identify and determine 
resources required for the programme in the future, taking into account the need to meet the demand 
coming from LDCs.   
12. In January 2010, the interim Board took a decision to transit to a full Board which is expected 
to be in place by April. The full Board will be represented by Senior O fficials from LDC and donor 
capitals and will focus on strategic aspects of the programme.  Further information on the EIF can be 
found at http://www.integratedframework.org
 . 
13. One specific element of the AfT Work Programme is  the systematic integration of an analysis 
of Aid for Trade into the Trade Policy Review (TPR) process.  Six pilot TPRs (Belize, China, 
Honduras, Malawi, the United States and the joint re view of Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali) were 
chosen.  Work is progressing on each.  For the TPRs of Belize and Honduras, assistance is also being 
given by the IaDB.   
14. On 17 March 2010, a workshop is being organized to examine the role that Aid for Trade can 
play in addressing supply-side constraints and trade-re lated infrastructure at a thematic, sectoral level.  
The workshop will address Aid for Trade and Ag riculture and focus on how trade is being 
mainstreamed into national and regional polici es and donor support for the agriculture sector in 
developing countries.3   
IV. IMPLEMENTATION 
15. One of the key recommendations of Mobilizing Aid for Trade:  Focus Asia and the Pacific 
Report and Recommendations, jointly prepared by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) and the 
WTO in November 2007, was the formation of a Regional Technical Group (RTG) on Aid for Trade 
for Asia and the Pacific. Co-chaired by Japan and Cambodia, the RTG comprises members from the 
WTO, AsDB, other development agencies in the regi on, and donor and recipient countries involved in 
formulating and implementing AfT policies.  
16. The RTG serves as a coordinating body and a regional forum for discussing AfT issues and 
proposals;  sharing good practices;  taking stock of available analyti cal work on Aid for Trade in the 
region;  building partnerships among actors and stake holders;  and formulating an integrated approach 
to operationalizing Aid for Trade in the medium-t erm in line with the Paris Principles on Aid 
Effectiveness.   
17. A second RTG meeting, co-hosted by the AsDB  and the United Nations Economic and Social 
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP ) was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 12 and 
13 November 2009.  The members discussed the stra tegy and work plan for taking the AfT initiative 
forward in the region and the key elements of th e RTG's report on Aid for Trade which would have 
                                                      
3 A background note for the Workshop has been circulated in document WT/COMTD/AFT/W/17.   WT/COMTD/AFT/W/18 
Page 4  
 
  three main parts:  (i) Trade and Growth in Asia-Pacific;  (ii) Aid for Trade:  the Asia-Pacific Story;  
and (iii) Way Forward. 
18. The third RTG meeting is expected to be held  in Tokyo, Japan in May 2010 and co-hosted by 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan and the As ian Development Bank.  The agenda will consider a 
draft RTG report, RTG activities for 2010-2011 incl uding possible presentation of the RTG report at 
the WTO, and building new partnerships programmes and projects on Aid for Trade.  AsDB serves as 
the secretariat to the RTG and maintains a website with resources, projects and events on the AfT 
initiative in the region ( http://www.aric.adb.org/aid-for-trade-asia/
). 
19. A first consultative brainstorming meeting to discuss the launch of an AfT Roadmap for the 
ESCWA4 region took place in Beirut, Lebanon on 11 and 12 January 2010.  The meeting was 
organized by the International Islamic Trade Fina nce Corporation (ITFC) (a member of the Islamic 
Development Group), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia 
(UNESCWA) and the United Nations Developmen t Programme (UNDP).  The United Nations 
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Trade Ce ntre (ITC) and the Organisation for Economic 
Co-operation and Development (OEC D) all attended the meeting. 
20. The meeting agreed that an AfT Roadmap for the ESCWA region should be developed which 
will identify national and regional needs, assist member countries to establish national and regional 
priorities, support member countries to mainstream these priorities in their development strategies, 
and support the mobilization of resources from within and outside the region to address these priority 
needs.  Various phases are forese en in the Roadmap, including a sensitization and analytical phase 
which is expected to be conducted from the second to f ourth quarter of 2010;  an Expert meeting to be 
held in the first/second quarter of 2011;  and a Mini sterial meeting to be held in the third/fourth 
quarter of 2011.   
21. An ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) AfT Review meeting was held 
in Abuja, Nigeria on 27 and 28 January 2010.
5  Building on the results of the Regional Review for 
Africa held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2007,  the Review centred around presentation of regional 
and sectoral ECOWAS-wide programmes and strategies.  It served as an opportunity to review the support currently received by the region and future support needed for the ambitious trade agenda for 
the ECOWAS region.  More information on AfT -related activities undertaken by ECOWAS and on 
the Review Meeting itself can be found at http://www.aidfortrade.ecowas.int
. 
22. On 10 and 11 March, an Expert Workshop on an AfT Roadmap for the United Nations 
Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA)6 will be held in Bishkek, 
Kyrgyz Republic.  The SPECA initiative is designe d to identify trade development needs through 
national assessments and regional consultations.  The Expert Wo rkshop will consider needs 
assessments commissioned by UNDP in SPECA countries.  Preparations for a Ministerial meeting in 
Baku, Azerbaijan in July 2010, will also be discussed.   
                                                      
4 The ESCWA region comprises 14 countries:  Bahr ain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan , Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, 
Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Sy ria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. 
5 Current ECOWAS member countries are:  Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, 
Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.  
6 SPECA economies include Afghanistan, Azerba ijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/18 
 Page 5 
 
 
  V. MONITORING AND EVALUATION 
23. A meeting of the OECD Joint Development A ssistance Committee and the Working Party of 
the Trade Committee on Aid for Trade (DAC/WPTC) took place on 10 November 2009 to discuss the performance assessment framework of Aid for Trade.   The OECD is focusing its work on making Aid 
for Trade more effective by developing best practice on how to:  (i) evaluate Aid for Trade;  (ii) make 
Aid for Trade more results oriented;  and (iii) a ddress binding constraints to trade capacity building. 
24. The November 2009 meeting included a session on evaluation.  Presentations were made by 
representatives of USAID (United States Agency fo r International Development), SIDA (Swedish 
International Development Corporation Agency ), DFID (UK Department for International 
Development), EIF, World Bank, OECD and the EC
7 who shared their thoughts, approaches and 
methodologies on the evaluation of Aid for Trade.8  The OECD Secretariat outlined a scoping note on 
how to evaluate Aid for Trade and presented the DAC Evaluation Resource Centre (DEReC), which 
contains evaluations relating to trade, in frastructure and private sector development.9  Following the 
meeting, the OECD is commissioning a meta-evaluation of Aid for Trade.10  This evaluation will look 
at a combination of cross-regional national case studies and different thematic areas.  The 
meta-evaluation will complement earlier work done on this topic by the OECD.11 
25. Also discussed at the joint DAC/WPTC m eeting was a scoping paper on "Managing for 
Results in Aid for Trade", which briefly describ es the background and sets out the rationale for 
undertaking the work on identifying good practices in making Aid for Trade more results-oriented.  A 
paper on "Diagnostic Tools for Identification of Bind ing Constraints to Trade Expansion" was also 
discussed.  This paper examines how trade reform can feed into a country's development strategy by:  
increasing trade;  diversifying exports;  maximizing the linkages with the rest of the economy;  and 
increasing adjustment capacities.  The paper has no w been finalized and is available on the OECD 
website at http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2009doc.nsf /LinkTo/NT0000701E/$FILE/JT03275544.PDF  . 
26. To facilitate dialogue on improving the effectiven ess of Aid for Trade, the OECD has recently 
created an online Aid-for-Trade Community Space.  The OECD Aid-for-Trade team has developed 
this site to facilitate dialogue on improving the effect iveness of Aid for Trade.  The site will act as a 
forum for the informal steering group on evaluation.  During an initial stage, the site is accessible by 
DAC/WPTC delegates and the OECD Aid-for-Trade team. 
27. OECD's joint DAC/WPTC programme of wo rk on Aid for Trade 2011-2012 will focus on 
three issues:  continued monitoring of progress in the delivery and implementation of Aid for Trade;  
linking the initiative to the wider trade and develo pment agenda;  and engaging non-OECD members 
through a policy dialogue on Aid for Trade.   
28. The United Nations Economic Commission for Afri ca (UNECA) is planning an Expert Group 
Meeting and Workshop on Aid for Trade and Africa's Trading Capacity:  Supply, Demand and Performance is scheduled to take place in June 201 0.  The purpose of the meeting is to enhance the 
                                                     
 
7 "On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon amendi ng the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty 
establishing the European Community (done at Lisb on, 13 December 2007) en tered into force.  On 
29 November 2009, the WTO received a Verbal Note (WT/L/779) from the Council of the Eu ropean Union and 
the Commission of the European Communities stating that, by virtue of the Treaty of Lisbon, as of 
1 December 2009, the European Union replaces and succeeds the European Community." 
8 Presentations are available on th e OECD Aid-for-Trade website at http:// www.oecd.org/dac/aft  
9  More  details on DEReC can be found at http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluationnetwork/derec  
10 A meta-evaluation is evaluation that aggregates findings from other evaluations. 
11 See: Trade Related Assistance - What Do Recent Evaluations Tell Us? (2007): 
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/3/37326353.pdf  and Aid for Trade: Making it Effective (2006) 
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/14/37198197.pdf  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/18 
Page 6  
 
  capacity of African countries to map the AfT demand with supply and how to assess its effectiveness 
in order to optimize the supply-side capacities nece ssary in realizing potential gains from bilateral, 
regional and multilateral trade agreements.  Furt her information on UNECA's AfT-related activities 
can be found at http://www.uneca.org
.   
29. An AfT knowledge network proposal has been prepared by the UNDP.  The proposal builds 
on the work done by the OECD regarding a feasibility study for such a network.12  The aim of the 
knowledge network is to enable the trade and development community – including practitioners, 
policymakers, donors, researchers, capacity builder s and private entrepreneurs – to share experiences 
and information with the objective of enhancing the effectiveness of Aid for Trade.  Further 
information on UNDP's AfT-related activities can be found at 
http://www.undp.org/capacity/aid.shtml .   
VI. PRIVATE SECTOR 
30. The ITC has been coordinating and carrying out work to promote the role of small- and 
medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises with in the AfT initiative.  More information on ITC 
AfT-related activities can be found at http://www.intracen.org/AidforTrade/ . 
 
__________  
 
                                                      
12 "An Aid for Trade Knowledge Network: Feasibility Study – Main findings and Issues for 
Discussion", 30 June 2008 (OECD document COM/DCD/TAD(2008)2).