RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
15 April 2011 
 (11-1936) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Nineteenth Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 16 FEBRUARY 2011 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Erwidodo (Indonesia) 
 
 
A.  ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B.  PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK 
PROGRAMME ............................................................................................................................... 1 
1.  Resource Mobilization.......................................................................................................... ....1 
2.  Mainstreaming .................................................................................................................. ........2 
3.  Regional Dimension – Implementation...................................................................................4  
4.  Monitoring and Evaluation...................................................................................................... 6 
5.  Private Sector ................................................................................................................. .........11 
C.  OTHER BUSINESS ......................................................................................................................12  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  informed that the agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3693.  He said  that the Organization for Economi c Co-operation and Development 
(OECD) had requested that the sub-item on the Expe rt Workshop on Implementation of Aid for Trade 
be considered at the next meeting of th e Committee on Trade and Development (CTD). 
2. The agenda , as amended, was adopted . 
B. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
1. Resource Mobilization 
3. The representative of the World Bank  reported on the successful conclusion to its IDA-16 
replenishment that had resulted in a final fundi ng package of US$$49 billion which represented an 
increase of 18 per cent on IDA-15.  IDA was one of the world's largest sources of aid to the poorest countries and was key to promoting l ong-term growth of low-income c ountries.  It was also the World 
Bank's main Aid-for-Trade vehicle and it was expe cted that the successful IDA replenishment would 
better enable the Bank to deliver Aid-for-Trade  projects on the ground.  She also provided 
information on the World Bank Group-wide Strategy noti ng that a final draft of the Strategy would be 
posted on the Bank's website for comments.  Initial feedback from the consultations that had been 
held indicated a strong stakeholder consen sus surrounding the five proposed pillars on 
competitiveness, trade facilitation, tr ade finance, co-operation, data and statistics.  The representative 
also referenced two new Bank regi onal strategies.  "Africa's futu re and World Bank support to it" WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
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  discussed the Bank's approach to its partners hip with African betw een 2011 and 2016 and had 
identified two areas of focus (competitiveness and employment, and vulnerab ility and resilience).  
The "Arab World Initiative" focused on economi c integration, infrastructure projects and 
microenterprise development.  Other Bank activities included its private sector outreach on Aid for 
Trade which included the hosting of a number of ses sions with the private sector to help them 
understand Aid for Trade and how they could partne r with the donor community to help make trade-
related aid more effective.  She noted that the first session would take place in Paris on 28 February 
followed by a session in Washington in March.  Th e Bank Geneva office continued to provide a link 
with the analytical inputs coming from World Bank hea dquarters and of particular note in this regard 
were upcoming events on Trade Facilitation, wi th the dissemination of a book entitled Border 
Management Modernization, on the topic of Soverei gn Debt and the Financial Crisis, and a discussion 
on a forthcoming book on Managing Openness. 
2. Mainstreaming 
4. The representative of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Secretariat  provided an 
update of the EIF's activities, in particular w ith regard to mainstreaming and Least-developed 
Countries (LDCs), as well as a status report concerning Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects and financing.  He 
informed that to date US$23 million had been receive d by the Trust Fund.  LDCs had benefited, or 
would be benefitting from, a number of Tier 1 project s.  Thirty-one projects had been approved by the 
Board including seven for those countries that ha d just entered into the programme, three DTIS 
programmes, and 21 studies suppor ting national implementation un its who had to implement 
approved projects.  He noted that for 2011, the EIF Executive Board was giving priority to the 
development of Tier 2 projects.  In this rega rd, some 20 projects based on the priorities of the 
diagnostic trade integration studies (DTIS) were be ing prepared and were at various levels of 
development.  As regards communication issues, he informed Members of the new website that the 
EIF intended to launch in the first quarter of 2011 where information would be posted in English, 
French, and Portuguese. 
5. Turning to capacity building and other EIF activitie s, he referred to the three workshops that 
had been held in 2010 which included events in Va nuatu for LDCs from the Pacific region, in Nepal 
for LDCs from the Asian region, and in Mali which had grouped LDC countries from West and 
Central Africa and Haiti.  He noted that a works hop was taking place in Lesotho for LDCs from West 
and Southern Africa.  Activities for 2011 included th e completion of the EIF Five-Year Strategic Plan 
as well as the implementation of a new communications  strategy;  the finalization of a compendium 
which would serve as a framework document groupi ng all legal and operational instruments within 
the Integrated Framework;  and continuation of th e EIF capacity building programme.  Together with 
some of its partners, the EIF was also working on modules for the formulation of projects to be 
implemented during the course of 20 11, initially in a pilot phase whic h would then be transmitted to 
all relevant countries.  In connection with mainst reaming, he said the EIF was working with the 
UNDP and the International Chamber of Comme rce on the preparation of a module on the 
mainstreaming of gender in trade.  A joint annual workshop of the EIF Executive Secretariat and the 
Trust Fund had also been held where discussion had focused on the progress made to date, the 
difficulties that remained, and EIF activities and proj ects for 2011.  The latter would include the EIF's 
participation in the upcoming Fourth United Nati ons Conference on the Least-Developed Countries 
(LDC-IV), and its publication of Aid for Trade being prepared for the Third Global Review.   
6. The representative of Bangladesh , on behalf of the LDCs , said that Aid for Trade was an 
important initiative for trade capacity buildin g, skills development and productive capacity 
enhancement of developing and least-developed c ountries. It was essential that the initiative was 
adequately resourced, implemented and monitored.  He noted that mainstreaming was a key tool for 
effective resource utilization and coherent policy planning and implementation and it was therefore 
important that Aid for Trade was effectively main streamed into initiatives undertaken at national,  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
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  regional and multilateral levels.  The LDCs welcom ed the continued work on integrating Aid-for-
Trade analysis into the Trade Policy Review (TPR) process and w ould remain engaged in the TPR 
exercise to gauge progress in the integration process,  particularly as concerned LDC members.  They 
also welcomed the report on progress and activities under the EIF's 2010 and 2011 programme and 
had noted, in particular, the increase in the volume of funding and the number of donors for the EIF 
Trust Fund.  He reiterated the need for sustained efforts for mobilizing additional resources under the 
EIF Programme in order to deliver on the trade cap acity building needs identified in the DTISs and 
said that the LDCs looked forward to the completion of the EIF's Five-Year Strategic Plan and the finalization of its monitoring and evaluation framework.  
7. The representative of Dominica
, on behalf of the Small, Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) , 
provided an overview of a conceptual proposal th e SVEs were developing with regard to the 
establishment of an EIF-type mechanism for non-LD Cs.  He recalled that the Aid-for-Trade Task 
Force recommendations had urged that Members "explore the necessity of establishing a similar 
(referring to the LDC enhanced EIF), but separ ately funded, in-country process for non-LDCs 
"International Development Assistance (IDA)-only" countries, if such mechanisms do not already 
exist or can be improved upon;  urge agencies, donors and governments in other developing countries 
to work together to establish similar processes if they do not already exist.  These processes should be 
modelled to the specific circumstance and needs of the country concerned, building on what already 
exists where possible and appropriate."1  Noting the difficulties and challenges faced by SVEs with 
regard to achieving mainstreaming, they were s uggesting that an EIF-type mechanism for non-LDCs 
be established which would assist SVEs in address ing these capacity limitation so that they could 
achieving affective mainstreaming.   
8. The suggested SVE framework would foster gr eater partnership and coordination at the 
national level (within and between government and stakeholders) and at  the regional and international 
level between the partner countries and donors.  The aim of such a framework would be to assist 
SVEs in mainstreaming trade into their national deve lopment strategies in an effective manner;  assist 
in the delivery of trade-related technical and financ ial assistance in response to SVEs specific needs;  
and build and strengthen SVEs cap acity production and export capacity .  In terms of modalities, the 
framework could include, inter alia , the establishment of national a nd/or regional mechanisms to 
enable SVEs to define, prioritize and articulate need s related to strengthening capacity to trade, and 
the establishment of mechanisms for greater interac tion and coordination at th e national, regional or 
international level among donors in the dissemination, receipt, evaluation and consideration of project 
proposals and requests for assistance from SVEs.  The in-country process of the framework could 
include elements such as a nationa l coordinating committee, focal point, national implementation unit, 
and a donor facilitator.  Where regional arrangeme nts and institutions were already in place, a 
regional element to the framework c ould be contemplated.  The objectiv e would be similar to that of 
the national level with the adde d dimension of strengthening re gional integration and capacity 
building at the regional level. 
9. The successful development and implementation of such a framework would require secure, 
predictable and multifaceted financial and non-fi nancial support to complement existing SVE 
resources as well as coordination and consulta tion within and between SVE governments and 
multilateral and regional financial institutions.  Th e SVEs looked forward to comments and feedback 
from Members on this conceptual proposal as it w as further developed and intended to submit a 
formal proposal to the CTD following furthe r internal discussions and consultations. 
10. The representative of Trinidad and Tobago  said that her delegation endorsed the proposal to 
establish an EIF-type mechanism for SVEs noting th at, when it had been completing its Aid-for-Trade 
questionnaire, it had become clear that a national Aid-for-Trade strategy was essential in identifying 
                                                      
1 WT/AFT/1, 27 July 2006. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
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  national Aid-for-Trade priorities as well as monitoring and evaluating the flows and impact of Aid for 
Trade.  Having a clear strategy that identified national aid priorities and objectives significantly 
increased the likelihood of greater aid effectivene ss.  Trinidad and Tobago were therefore seeking 
assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB) to develop a national Aid-for-Trade 
strategy.  The proposed SVE Aid-for-Trade fra mework would assist those countries, including 
Trinidad and Tobago, which did not have an aid management platform or a development assistance 
database to coordinate and monitor concessional a nd financing flows, with the articulation and 
submission of project proposals thereby improving the coordination between donors and recipients at 
the national and regional levels. 
11. The representative of Barbados  said that Barbados also endorsed the proposal to establish an 
EIF-type mechanism for SVEs and looked forwar d to the comments and suggestions on how to go 
forward with this proposal.  As stated by Trinidad  and Tobago, it was not only in the interest of SVEs, 
but also in the interest of many other countries, to  attempt this project in terms of mainstreaming Aid 
for Trade into development programmes. 
12. The representative of the Secretariat  indicated that an Aid-for-Trade strategy was being 
developed for Belize with the assistance of the IaDB   and that Jamaica had also requested the same 
assistance.  The concrete priorities that Dominica, on behalf of the SVEs, had raised, especially in 
terms of implementation steps, were the exact issu es that the IaDB were aiming to address in the 
assistance they were providing to the Caribbean and Latin American SVEs.  The IaDB had prepared 
guidelines for the development of a national Aid-fo r-Trade Strategy which would be circulated 
shortly. 
3. Regional Dimension – Implementation 
13. The representative of the Secretariat  gave an overview of the thematic workshop on SVEs and 
Aid for Trade that had been held that morning.  Discussion in the first se ssion of the workshop had 
focused on the regional approach to Aid for Trade fo r the Caribbean.  Presentations had been made by 
the CARICOM Secretariat, the Pacific Islands Fo rum Secretariat (PIFS) and AusAid which had 
focused on the regional prioritization and delivery of  Aid for Trade in the Caribbean and the Pacific 
including the challenges and opportunities which Ai d for Trade presented for deeper regional 
integration and more effective development assist ant.  Questions and comments from the floor had 
focused on efforts to align climate change fina ncing and Aid for Trade, general support for the 
importance of regional integrati on and regional priority settings and implementation amongst SVEs.  
The importance of addressing the structural vulnera bilities of SVEs and of Land-Locked Developing 
countries (LLDCs) was reaffirmed, as was the important role of the private sector in priority setting, 
mainstreaming and the development of national Aid-for-Trade strategies.   
14. The second session had focused on Aid for Trade and Implementation in SVEs and had 
examined the impact of Aid for Trade in SVEs  from the industry-level and economy-wide level 
perspectives.  Presentations by the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) 
and the Commonwealth Secretariat illustrated, r espectively, a successful example (Caribbean Rum 
Programme) of how demand driven Aid for Trade could work for the private sector and the 
effectiveness of Aid for Trade in enhancing e xport capabilities of SVEs (Commonwealth study on the 
effectiveness of Aid for Trade in SVEs).  Questions and comments from the floor addressed issues 
such as the impact on the cost effectiveness of production and the volume of exports, the role of 
national Aid-for-Trade strategies in promoting more  focused Aid-for-Trade interventions on country, 
and region-specific needs in sectors of dynamic comparative advantage.   
15. Key messages from the workshop included the ro le of market-led private sector driven policy 
responses to the challenges of adju stment, the opportunities to use Ai d for Trade to leverage private 
(foreign) investment and the importance of flexible  partnership between reci pients and development  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
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  partners.  The Commonwealth Secretariat's study on the effectiveness of Aid for Trade in SVEs had 
concluded that Aid-for-Trade f acilitation had the most significant impacts.  Aid to economic 
infrastructure also had positive impacts on exports, but the effect of Aid for Trade in other categories was less clear.  Other key messages included the importance of maintaining Aid for Trade to SVEs 
given their structural disadvantages, the need to  scale up Aid for Trade for Trade Facilitation and 
infrastructure, the importance of operationalizing Aid for Trade for adjustment costs in SVEs, and the 
need to align Aid-for-Trade inte rventions to the specific constrai nts faced by SVEs.  The need to 
undertake greater analysis on the relationship betwee n SVE's trade deficit, indebtedness and insertion 
into the multilateral trading system was noted and the limited correlation between per capita income 
and a country's productive capacity and export perfo rmance was suggested as supporting the need for 
greater alignment between the notion of vulnera bility and the crafting of SVE's Aid-for-Trade 
programmes. 
16. The representative of Barbados
 said that her delegation supported the remarks made by 
Dominica on behalf of the SVEs.  Barbados welcom ed the assistance that was being provided to SVEs 
to help them achieve their development objectives th rough the growth and transformation of trade and 
trade-related activities.  She noted the significant ch allenges faced by SVEs and the fact that these 
could not be overcome without the financial a nd technical assistance and support of development 
partners.  The Aid-for-Trade Initiative was now  globally accepted, as was evidenced by the 
continuing commitment to the Initiative demonstrated by the G-20 at its meetings in Seoul November 
2010, and these promises must now be turned into reality.   
17. She acknowledged the important resources that the IaDB had provided for the advancement 
of the Caribbean region's trade agenda.  This incl uded the Bank's collaboration in the organization of 
the Aid-for-Trade workshop held in Barbados whic h had been successful in gaining insights, for 
example, on setting trade priorities and embedding th em into national plans and strategies, dealing 
with capacity constraints at a national level, ensu ring dialogue between govern ment and stakeholders, 
building national frameworks, and conducting needs assessment at a national level to help prepare 
strategies for trade capacity building and integra tion into the global economy.  Although some 
progress had been made, there was still much to be done.  For example, middle-income developing countries whose economies were classified as sm all and vulnerable needed to be further 
accommodated especially as far as access to grant funds  was concerned.  She explained that many of 
these countries were highly indebted and that access to loans was less helpful th an access to aid.  Aid 
was therefore essential for the Caribbean, particularly since it had been classified as one of the most 
highly indebted regions of the world.  One solution currently being considered was to try and engineer 
a modification in the modalities of some internati onal lending agencies toward SVEs with a view to 
their treating requests from SVEs with greater priori ty in respect of Aid-for-Trade matters.  The 
mainstreaming of trade into national development policies and improvements in areas such as trade 
facilitation and network infrastructure were also impor tant to SVEs to enable them to achieve their 
identified objectives.  Efforts to support the ma instreaming of Aid for Trade in SVEs' national 
development programmes needed to be sustained a nd Barbados looked forward to enhanced efforts 
from its development partners as well as the con tinued support of the WTO in this regard.  
18. The representative of Jamaica
 supported the remarks by Domini ca on behalf of the SVEs and 
Barbados regarding the successful pursuit of the Ai d-for-Trade programme wh ich broadly covered the 
interests of Jamaica.  The Hong Kong mandate on Ai d for Trade called for Aid for Trade that helped 
developing countries address supply-side capacity a nd trade-related infrastructure to help them 
implement and benefit from WTO agreements.  Hi s delegation welcomed the work being done to 
advance the Aid-for-Trade Initiative and, in particul ar, what was being done in the Caribbean region. 
The Aid-for-Trade Forum held in Barbados and the SVE workshop held that morning had offered 
important opportunities to advance the Aid-for-T rade agenda for Caribbean countries and had 
galvanized regional attention for more intensive work  on Aid for Trade.  Referring to the indicators of 
increased resource mobilization for Aid for Trade,  he noted the importance of ensuring that the WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
Page 6 
 
 
  channelling of adequate flows of Aid for Trade to the Caribbean and SVEs was made a high priority.  
Efforts in this regard needed to take into acc ount the conditions on the ground in potential beneficiary 
countries (e.g. absorptive capacity, the debt profile of targeted recipients) as these had implications for 
the type of funding that could be effectively a pplied.  A significant number of SVEs were highly 
indebted middle-income countries that faced challeng es in light of their debt ceiling and, in some 
cases, had difficulties in accep ting loan-based assistance.   
19. The representative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)  
reported on the review meeting for UN Special Pr ogramme for the Economics of Central Asia  
(SPECA) countries held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 1-2 De cember 2010.  He recalled that the process to 
develop an Aid-for-Trade Roadmap for SPECA countries2  had started in 2008 following requests to 
WTO, UNDP and UNECE by the Governments of A zerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan to ensure greater 
inclusion of SPECA countries in the WTO Aid-for-Trade Initiative.  SPECA countries' Aid-for-Trade 
national needs and priorities had since been identifie d and a number of events had been held to launch 
the SPECA Aid-for-Trade Roadmap.  These included a regional expert meeti ng held in Bishkek, 
Kyrgyzstan in March 2010 to review the nationa l assessments and start the discussion on regional 
needs and priorities, a regional assessment of Aid -for-Trade needs and priorities, a ministerial 
conference3 held in Baku, Azerbaijan in December 2010 to agree on regional priorities and a way 
forward, and the holding of a SPECA Project Working Group on Trade to examine the regional 
mechanism for inter-governmental input to the process.   
20. The Baku Conference held resulted in a Ministerial Declaration which elaborated a strategic 
framework for guiding the Aid-for-Trade pro cess in the SPECA countries and established a SPECA 
Aid-for-Trade Implementation and Monitoring Council whose mandate was to ensure that the national 
and regional trade development priorities identif ied by SPECA countries were adequately supported 
by projects and funding.  The Council would also pr omote the creation of synergies between national 
and regional trade policies, as well as between donors and implem enting agencies;  ensure co-
operation and the sharing of information on regiona l trade development efforts;  identify gaps 
between existing funding and identified priorities;   identify bankable projects that met country 
priorities and assist in finding resources for project  implementation;  revise Aid-for-Trade activities 
and priorities in line with evol ving trade and economic developmen ts;  and address strategic Aid-for-
Trade issues in the region.  The first mee ting of the SPECA Aid-for-Trade Implementation 
Monitoring Council was planned for July 2011 and w ould focus on the action matrices containing all 
the SPECA countries' Aid-for-Trade national and regional needs assessments that were being 
reviewed by UNECE.  
4. Monitoring and Evaluation 
21. The representative of the Secretariat  provided an overview of the training event held for the 
Pacific Island Countries (PICs) in Nadi, Fiji on 9- 10 December 2010 which had been organized with 
the financial and logistical support of, respectively,  AusAid and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat 
(PIFS).  The first day of the event had focused on introductory presentations on Aid for Trade and the 
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) process as well as on Aid-for-Trade flows to the Pacific.  The PIFS 
showcased the work it was undertaking in the region  on Aid for Trade and demonstrated how PIFS 
were integrating Aid for Trade within its work pr ogramme.  The event also provided an opportunity 
                                                      
2 SPECA economies include Afghanistan, Azer baijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. 
3 Information on the Ministerial meeting, includ ing presentations and Ai d-for-Trade national and 
regional assessments and other related project concept notes are available at 
http://www.unece. org/trade/SPECA-AfTB aku2010/welcome.html .   
  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
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  for participants to develop case story ideas and a number of themes were identified such as trade-
related infrastructure, SPS issues, export dive rsification and productive capacity, process for 
monitoring and evaluating Aid for Trade, storage and transport and water and sanitation.    
22. He then referred to the regional Aid-for-Tr ade Training Event and Fo rum for the Caribbean 
held in Barbados on 25-27 January 2011 which had been organized in partnership with the IaDB and 
the CARICOM Secretariat.  The Forum had increased  awareness and knowledge of the Aid-for-Trade 
Initiative and relevance to the Caribbean region.  It had also assisted in preparing the region for the 
Third Global Review and in promoting a dialogue amongst relevant regional global partners on the 
region's Aid-for-Trade priorities and needs.  In addition, it allowed regional and international 
organizations (OECD, IICA, OAS, STDF, the Comm onwealth Secretariat and the WTO) to interface 
with member states and Secretariats in the region.  Regional private sector actors also participated in 
the event, providing an elaboration of the private sect or's role in the prioritisation and delivery of Aid 
for Trade.    The Forum addressed the global picture of Aid for Trade, including Aid-for-Trade flows, 
the region's needs and priorities, a private sector  perspective on Aid for Trade, presentations by 
countries on their national Aid-for-Trade strategies , presentations by STDF, IICA, OAS, IaDB and the 
Commonwealth Secretariat on case stories and assistance for the region, a presentation by the 
CARICOM Secretariat on regional Aid-for-Trade projects and sessions on Caribbean member states' case stories and questionnaires.  The Forum resulted  in the elaboration of over 35 case stories at 
various stages of completion and allowed for an extremely useful intra-region debate on Aid-for-
Trade needs, the notion of vulnerability and gran t financing for SVEs, capacity constraints and 
bottlenecks to trade, regional integration and the n eed to collaborate more effectively with the private 
sector.  Belize and Jamaica had profiled the work they were undertaking with the assistance of the 
IaDB in developing national Aid for Trade strategies and the CARICOM Secretariat had presented a number of priorities for regional Aid-for-Trade proj ects, specifically in the areas of maritime 
transportation and ICT.  
23. The representative of the Secretariat
 provided a brief report on the Aid-for-Trade meeting that 
had taken place in Abuja, Nigeria on 19-21 January 2 011.  The meeting, which had been organized by 
the ECOWAS Commission, with the financial suppo rt of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and 
the active participation of the United Nations  Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), had 
demonstrated ECOWAS's continued commitment to dr iving the Aid-for-Trade agenda forward in the 
West African region.  The event benefitted from th e participation of the West African Economic and 
Monetary Union (WAEMU) as well as the West A frica Trade Hub.  Participation by ECOWAS 
member states was high and the event was successful in generating a total of 15 replies to the partner 
country Aid-for-Trade questionnaire and 17 Aid-for-T rade case stories, the majority of which had 
since been formally submitted.  The meeting had al so been extremely useful in terms of taking 
forward the conclusions from the ECOWAS Aid-fo r-Trade review held in January 2010 and had 
demonstrated that work was on-going at a techni cal level to try and advance the Aid-for-Trade 
Initiative in the region.  In conclusion, he noted th at the event could be used as a successful model to 
replicate with other RECs and regions in Africa. 
24. The representative of Dominica said that the Caribbean event had provided an opportunity for 
participants to present case stories or case stor y ideas and to receive on the ground, hands-on 
assistance from the IaDB and the WTO Secretariat in terms of the preparation and finalization of the 
case stories.  This had been reflected in the re latively high number of case stories that had been 
submitted by countries from the Caribbean region.  At the Regional Forum, Belize and Jamaica had 
shared their experiences on the preparation of a natio nal Aid-for-Trade strategy which had highlighted 
the importance of such an exercise and had resulte d in many of the Caribbean countries subsequently 
expressing their interest in developing national Ai d-for-Trade strategies or, in the case of the 
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OEC S), a regional Aid-for-Trade strategy.   WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
Page 8 
 
 
  25. The representative of the European Union  acknowledged the valuable work being done on 
Aid for Trade by the WTO and the OECD in the lead  up to the Third Global Review.  He said that 
both the input to and the outcome from the Global Review remained very important to the EU, 
particularly since it was the largest contributor of Aid for Trade.   
26. Referring to the SVE workshop, he said that the event had provided an opportunity to learn 
more about SVE's specific needs and how developm ent partners were responding which were pre-
requisites for making Aid for Trade more effective.  The workshop had dealt with, inter alia, regional 
integration and the impact Aid for Trade could have at an industry level and on the industry 
partnership with the public sector which were two important areas for the EU that deserved special 
attention.  He noted that the EU had much experience as regards increased integration and 
harmonization and saw the advantages of acceler ated regional integration among developing 
countries.  The involvement of the private sector in this regard was essen tial for an enhanced and 
coherent national growth strategy.  
27. Turning to the EU's Aid-for-Trade related activiti es, he said that as well as its on-going work 
on direct country Aid-for-Trade ac tivities, the EU was currently in the process of preparing its own 
annual Aid-for-Trade monitoring report which would be published in April 2011.  The EU was also 
actively involved in the work on Ai d-for-Trade performance indicators and, together with its member 
States, were finalising input to the Third Global Revi ew.  He said that in addition, and as in previous 
years, the EU was carrying out an extensive consultati on of its field offices in order to ensure that its 
responses were well substantiated.   
28. Concerning the EIF, the EU welcomed the fact that the programme was now fully 
operational, that the EIF Secretariat was becoming adequately staffed and that a much improved 
website was in place.  His delegation noted the incr ease in the number of approved Tier 1 projects, the 
fact that more projects were in the pipeline, and th at work on Tier 2 proposals had also started.  The 
EU looked forward to seeing the first of these projects being rolled out shortly.  He noted that 
important work still remained to be done on the EIF M&E framework and on the design of training 
modules and said that many of the questions being di scussed with regard to Aid for Trade were also 
relevant for the EIF.  It was therefore important to maintain good linkages, such as best practices and 
monitoring and evaluation, between the EIF and the Aid-for-Trade Initiative. 
29. Referring to the training workshop for the Pacific Island Countries, the representative of 
Australia  said that Australia was pleased to have b een able to fund the workshop and noted that 
feedback suggested that it had been a useful exerci se.  The follow-up workshop held that morning on 
the Aid-for-Trade needs of SVEs ha d also been useful in featuring the Pacific region which, she said, 
was not always included in global Aid-for-Trade disc ussions.  Her delegation wished to encourage the 
WTO Secretariat to continue these efforts, especially  in the context of the analysis that would be 
undertaken for the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade.  Emphasizing the importance of the 
inclusion of the Pacific in Aid-for-Trade discussi ons, she noted that in addition to geographical 
isolation, shortage of trade-related infrastructure,  high transport costs, small dispersed populations and 
small markets that limit economies of scale, the va st distances between the Pacific Island Countries 
limited their effective regional integration.  As a result, human and institutional capacity constraints 
evident in the region were exacerbated and the ability  to participate effectively in the multilateral 
trading system seriously limited.  Australia was committed to improving the development outcomes in 
the Pacific and saw Aid for Trade as a critical element of achieving faster progress towards the 
Millennium Development Goals. 
30. The representative of Bangladesh , on behalf of the LDCs , noted that monitoring and 
evaluation was critical in order to assess the effec tiveness of Aid for Trade and should be undertaken 
from the perspective of both cooperating partners  and recipients so as to have a comprehensive 
overview and understanding.  In this context, the LDCs attached importance to the focus on outcomes  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
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  and impacts of Aid for Trade as envisaged for the Third Global Review.  While seeing merit in the 
case-story approach, the LDCs stressed the need fo r a comprehensive and realistic scenario emerging 
from the entire Review process.  They encouraged a ll relevant Members and stakeholders to actively 
respond to the call for case stories and questionnaires and urged the Secretariat to provide guidance to 
those Members who required assistance with their c ontributions.  In closing,  he noted the various 
regional training activities that had been organized and emphasized the need for evaluating the impact 
of these activities so as to make them more re sponsive and customized to the needs of the 
participating Members.  
31. The representative of Jamaica  informed that it had submitted its case stories and had already 
introduced in the M&E discussions the on-going work being undertaken with the support of the IaDB 
in relation to its national Aid-for-T rade strategy.  Jamaica wished to  express its strong support for the 
M&E exercise and was of the view that the less ons learnt, challenges, and successes presented in the 
case stories could contribute to the progressive enhancement of on-going Aid-for-Trade measures 
since they offered insight in how to shape the wa y forward, including how to enhance Aid-of-Trade 
projects.  It was important to ensure that Aid for Trade fulfilled its purpose of assisting SVEs and 
other developing countries to realize often illusive gains from trade that their participation in the 
global trading system was expected to deliver.   
32. The representative of the PIFS , speaking also on behalf of the PICs , noted that the training 
event that had been held for the PICs had been hi ghly valued by participants which was reflected in 
the number of case stories that had been – or that were to be – submitted.  The training event had 
focused on the needs of each par ticipating country and had highlighted examples of success stories 
and the lessons that could be shar ed with other SVEs.  The PIFS lo oked forward to continuing and 
strengthening SVE engagement in  the Aid-for-Trade initiative. 
33. The representative of the Secretariat  provided a preliminary overview of the status of 
submissions of completed questionnaires and case stor ies.  With regard to the 2010 questionnaire, he 
noted that the response rate was similar to that for the 2008 ques tionnaire.  Some delegations had 
submitted their 2008 and 2010 responses, others who had not replied in 200 8 had responded to the 
2010 questionnaire, and a number of delegations who had replied in 2008 had not done so for the 
current exercise.  Of note was the increase in th e number of responses to the South-South partner 
questionnaire and the excellent response rate from the African and Latin American and Caribbean 
countries which, he said, was a reflection on the success of the regional training activities that had 
been carried out by WTO in collaboration with the AfDB, the IaDB, UNECA, and regional 
secretariats, including ECOWAS and CARICOM.  A number of responses had also been received 
from countries and economies of the Arab and Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, and Central and 
Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the latter having been assisted by the UNECE who had prepared a 
Russian translation of the partner country questio nnaire.  He recalled the additional category of 
questionnaire that had been specifically addressed  to regional economic commissions (RECs) and 
noted that a total of nine responses had been subm itted thus far.  There was also an encouraging 
response from bilateral donors to the donor questionnaire.   
34. Turning to the case stories, he  said that the number of case stories submitted had exceeded all 
expectations with over 250 having been received to date.  Some members who had not replied to the 
questionnaire had presented case stories and there had been a good response from partner countries – 
notably from African and least-developed countries – donors, South-South partners, RECs, as well as 
from academia, NGOs and civil society.  He noted that over 45 per cent of the case stories had either 
been submitted by African countries or by other or ganizations writing about Aid for Trade in Africa.  
The other main regions covered in the case storie s were Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia 
and the Pacific.  Over 70 per cent of the case st ories received were about projects or programmes, 
with several referring to the Integrated Framework,  and others covering, for example, methodologies 
and processes.  There was also a good regional a nd geographic distribution among the case stories WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
Page 10 
 
 
  with projects in East Africa, West Africa and the Caribbean being the most profiled.  The issue of 
trade facilitation, including customs modernization, ha d also been profiled in many of the case stories. 
35. Given the large volume of material, he said that the WTO and OECD would discuss over the 
coming weeks how best to go about the analysis of both the questionnaires and case stories with a 
view to trying to reflect this as well as possible in the Aid for Trade at a Glance publication to be 
prepared for the Third Global Review  in July.  In addition to that p ublication, other analyses would be 
undertaken, including one by the UNECA of the case stories that had been submitted from and about 
Africa.  He added that Members – as well as IGOs – might also be interested to profile the case stories which had been submitted on their projects as a submission for the Third Global Review. 
36. In conclusion, he said that the final d eadline for responses to the questionnaires and 
submission of case stories was being extended to 23 February 2010.  Contributions received by that 
date would be reflected in the joint WTO-OECD anal ysis but it would not be possible to include in 
the analysis those submitted after the deadline.  He informed that all submissions – questionnaires and 
case stories – would be posted on a dedicated website
4 which it was hoped would be operational in 
early March. 
37. Referring to the statements by Dominica and Barbados, the representative of the Dominican 
Republic , said her delegation, too, supported the framewo rk for SVEs and was interested in the fact 
that the concept of vulnerability had been analy sed at the Aid-for-Trade training event held in 
Barbados.  Noting the Dominican Republic's res ponse to the questionnaire, and other national 
experiences, she said that in order for developing countries to respond to the need for financing for 
trade and development they needed predictability of  financing as well as support in dialogues with 
potential donors about development and vulnerability.  The Dominican Republic had also submitted a 
case story which referred to its experience after having signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with 
Central America and the United States concer ning telecommunications, services, consumer 
association and support of USAID.  As a result of  the FTA, the Dominican Republic had successfully 
introduced digital portability wh ich in its view was important to enhance competitiveness.   
38. The representative of Kenya , on behalf of the African Group , noted with appreciation the 
support the Group had received from the Secretariat, including on matters of technical cooperation and monitoring activities, and welcomed the active involvement of the Group's member countries in 
the M&E process.  The number of African countries who had already responded to the WTO-OECD 
questionnaire and call for case stories demonstrated their commitment and determination to effectively and efficiently implement the Aid-for-T rade Initiative.  With regard to the case story 
analysis, he said the African Group commended the optimum utilization by the Secretariat and the 
OECD of the information provided.  It would theref ore be appropriate to group, synthesize, classify, 
and, where possible, analyse the c ase stories according to the areas to which they related in order to 
identify and demonstrate best practices as well as highlight any problems.  This would ultimately 
enable lessons to be drawn and possible solutions to be found.  The African  Group would continue its 
constructive engagement in the process of implemen ting Aid for Trade, contributing to the success of 
the Initiative as well as making it an effective implementation tool. 
39. The representative Colombia
 said that Colombia fully supported the Aid-for-Trade M&E 
exercise and was convinced that in order to improve the development of Aid for Trade it was 
important to measure and evaluate results.  Co lombia had therefore submitted a response to the 
questionnaire as well as two case stories.  One of the case stories provided an example of a project on 
external trade that Colombia had jointly undertaken  with the EU to strengthen its export capacity and 
the recently-signed EU-Colombia FTA.  The second project, about electronic certification of origin 
                                                      
4 http://www.aid4trade.org .   WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
 Page 11 
 
 
  between Colombian and Chilean exporters, had been developed with the assistance of the IaDB.  Due 
to its success, the project was being extended to Peru and other countries of the region.   
40. The representative of Trinidad and Tobago  provided information on the questionnaire and 
case story it had submitted for the Third Global Review .  In its response to the questionnaire, Trinidad 
and Tobago had noted that, since its 2008 submission, the ranking of its Aid-for-Trade priorities had 
been reviewed due to a combination of factors wh ich included changes in national trade policy, public 
sector reform initiatives, and the identification of new development priorities.  The introduction of 
trade facilitation as one of the main areas of fo cus had emerged as a critical area which would 
complement and serve as a fillip for national efforts to diversify Trinidad and Tobago's exports base 
and the further growth of competitiveness.  Noting th e fact that export diversification now ranked as 
Trinidad and Tobago's top Aid-for-Trade priority, she said that their case story reflected the 
experience of the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of  Services Industries (TTCSI) which had sought 
Aid-for-Trade funding to embark on a Services Tr ade Mission to Martinique and Guadeloupe in 
July 2010.  The project, financed by the Caribbean Export Development Agency through its Grant Assistance Scheme Program from funds obtained from the European Union's 9
th European 
Development Fund for CARIFORUM Countries5, allowed for participan ts to attend meetings, 
business forums and various networking sessions to develop new market opportunities and/or 
collaborative business arrangements.  The mission had also provided participants with the opportunity 
to share information and expertise for the furt her development of creative and cultural sectors 
between the two parties.  The case story included  information on the challenges that had been 
encountered during the project implementation a nd a number of important lessons which other 
potential donors and recipients could take into  account when designing similar reimbursement 
schemes.   
41. The representative of Chinese Taipei  noted that one of the key elements of its development 
aid policy was to provide tailor made assistance that  suited the local environment of partner countries.  
With this in mind, Chinese Taipei had submitted two case stories for the Third Global Review.  One 
was about an oriental vegetable project in Honduras where it had engaged the private sector and had 
successfully assisted in the establishment of suppl y chains.  The second case story was about a Pepén 
Papaya Export Project in Guatemala which relate d the successful experience on market exploration 
and export expansion.  Chinese Taipei looked forw ard to studying in detail other Member's case 
stories and believed that with a common effort th e Third Global Review meeting would be successful. 
42. Noting Kenya's comments on behalf of the African Group with respect to how the case story 
analysis would be approached, the representative of the Secretariat  indicated that, given the excellent 
response rate and volume of material received, th e joint WTO-OECD publication for the Third Global 
Review would contain an initial analysis of the in formation submitted by Members.  The Third Global 
Review would not exhaust the u tility of the case stories and additi onal events and analyses may be 
organized prior to the Review meeting itself.   
5. Private Sector 
43. The representative of the International Trade Centre (ITC)  referred to the assessment it had 
conducted of the impact of private sector mainstr eaming efforts on demand and utilisation of Aid-for-
Trade funds for Uganda, which had been presented to  the CTD the previous year, and announced that 
it planned to extend these assessments to ot her countries.  The assessments would entail 
questionnaire-based surveys, addressed to enterp rises and business associations, on the effectiveness 
                                                      
5 CARIFORUM countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, 
Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haïti, Jamaica, M ontserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent 
and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/19 
Page 12 
 
 
  of various Aid-for-Trade initiatives on their busin ess competitiveness.  ITC was seeking collaboration 
from the ACP in this initiative and hoped to comp lete the survey before the Third Global Review. 
44. The Chairman  informed that the next regular CTD m eeting on Aid for Trade was scheduled to 
take place on 12 April.  Details would be announced at  a later stage.  He said that the Secretariat 
would continue its consultati ons with Members, both indivi dually and in groupings, on the 
preparations for the Global Review. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
45. No item was raised under "Other Business". 
46. The meeting was adjourned . 
__________