RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
31 August 2010 
 (10-4506) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Sixteenth Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 19 JULY 2010 
 
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. Statement by the Director-General .........................................................................................1  
2. Resource Mobilization.......................................................................................................... ....6 
3. Mainstreaming .................................................................................................................. ........7  
4. Regional Dimension – Implementation...................................................................................8  
5. Monitoring and Evaluation....................................................................................................11  
6. Private Sector ................................................................................................................. .........15  
C. OTHER BUSINESS .......................................................................................................................16  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  informed Members that the agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3555.  The representative of Tanzania  said that, under the agenda item on "Regional 
Dimension – Implementation", it wished to report on a High-Level Workshop on Aid for Trade for 
East African Community (EAC) countries that had recently taken place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 
2. The agenda , as amended, was adopted . 
B. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
1. Statement by the Director-General 
3. The Director-General  outlined the process and way forward with regard to the next 
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) exercise leading to the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade.  He 
noted that the CTD Aid-for-Trade thematic sessi ons closely followed the objectives of the 2010-2011 
Aid-for-Trade Work Programme.  Further progress in  the implementation of the Aid-for-Trade Work 
Programme would be made over the coming months.   
4. He recalled that the Second Global Review of Aid for Trade in July 2009 had taken place 
against the backdrop of an unprecedented contracti on in global trade and noted that the WTO had 
proved its worth as a global insurance policy against pr otectionism.  Actions taken to stave off the risk 
of a global depression had proven successful;  tr ade was on the rebound and economic growth was WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
Page 2  
 
  returning, strongly in some regions of the devel oping world.  The return to growth, however, was 
uneven and remained fragile.  His remark made at  the Second Global Review, that "if Aid for Trade 
was urgent before, it is imperative now", still rang true.   
5. An important factor that had changed since the last Global Review was the budgetary position 
of many OECD donor countries.  Stimulus was giving way to fiscal responsibility.  The need for 
sustainability in finances was prompting comprehens ive reviews of public spending.  He highlighted 
that fiscal consolidation was the likely outcome if p ublic expenditure was seen to be neither efficient 
nor effective.  Some argued that official deve lopment assistance (ODA) was different because of the 
moral compact towards the world's poor which under pinned it, while others argued argue that this 
compact conferred a moral duty to ensure that aid wo rked.  There were also some that questioned the 
very premise of aid, arguing that it was ineffectiv e in achieving its stated objectives.  Aid for Trade 
could not turn a blind eye to this growing "account ability culture" and he said  he had consistently 
stated the need to focus attention to evaluating the impact of aid for trade interventions in developing 
countries.  His argument had been simple and consis tent;  for the Aid-for-Trade Initiative to maintain 
political support, it needed to be demonstrated clearly and convincingly that Aid for Trade was 
working on the ground.   
6. The Director-General recalled that the parame ters of success had succinctly been set out by 
the WTO Aid-for-Trade Task Force in 2006.  These were:  to enable developing countries, 
particularly LDCs, to use trade more effectiv ely to promote growth, development and poverty 
reduction and to achieve their development objectiv es, including the Millennium Development Goals 
(MDGs);  to help developing countries, partic ularly LDCs, to build supply-side capacity and 
trade-related infrastructure in order to facilitate th eir access to markets and to export more;  to help 
facilitate, implement, and adjust to trade reform and liberalization;  to assist regional integration;  and 
to assist smooth integration into the world tradi ng system and to assist in implementation of trade 
agreements.  While the parameters of success were clear, missing was the narrative, and he said that 
this could be provided through case stories.  This  was a necessary first step and one which should 
generate not just the body of evidence needed but al so act as a spur to local and regional dialogues.  
He therefore launched a call to the Membership, observers and observer organizations to report on 
their Aid-for-Trade experiences so as to ensure that this narrative was the cornerstone of the next 
Global Review in  2011.  The narrative shoul d reflect the diversity which underpinned the 
Aid-for-Trade partnership and should  be coloured not by just one end of the spectrum, but represent 
the full kaleidoscope of opinion which stretched across recipients, donors, south-south partners, 
international financial institutions and developm ent organizations, academia and civil society. 
7. On the timing of the Third Global Review, he sai d there were two simple reasons for holding 
it in 2011.  First, it was simply too important to wa it any longer to demonstrate impact and he did not 
want to see Aid for Trade "credit crunched" because it  could not be shown to work.  Second, pressure 
was mounting from all sides – not just from government s in rich countries, but also from citizens in 
poor ones – to show results.  To relieve this pressu re, the Membership had to share its experience, 
expertise and results.  He was impatient to begin this  process and was certain that all agreed that with 
the right process in place, the concerns th at had been raised would fall away.  
8. This was not the first time he had talked of th e need to show results.  It had already been 
discussed at the First Global Review in 2007, and one of the strong conclusions emerging from the Second Global Review in 2009 was the need to highlight the impact of Aid for Trade.  He did not 
want the Aid-for-Trade initiative to become a vi ctim of its own success, with decision makers who 
voted on aid budgets looking at the progress made on Aid for Trade, ticking the box as "job done" and 
moving on.  Instead, he wanted them to see the scal e of the job still to be done and to perceive the 
initiative as one which brought tangible results, which me rited additional, sustainable, predictable and 
effective financing.  The Aid for Trade at a Gl ance 2009 publication had cited examples of tangible 
results from regional programmes, notably the Mesoamerican integration corridor, the Phnom  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
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  Penh-Ho Chi Minh City Highway and the North South Corridor and he wanted to build a body of 
such evidence to show that Aid for Trad e was achieving the Task Force objectives.  
9. The Director-General stated that progress si nce the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 
2005 had been noteworthy.  Aid-for-Trade flows ha d increased year-on-year and in 2008 had reached 
an historic high of US$41.7 billion.  Despite pressure  on public finances, signs were positive that this 
commitment was being sustained.  At the recent G-20 Summit held in Toronto, leaders had committed 
themselves to maintain momentum for Aid for Trade, and the Chair of the G-20 Summit to be held in 
Seoul in November 2010 had already indicated a strong interest in making sure that the Summit had a strong development focus, including on Aid for Trade.  
10. On the demand side, the last monitoring exercise conducted jointly by the OECD and WTO 
had shown growing awareness of the need to mainstream trade into national and regional 
development policies and progress towards achieving th is goal.  He fully expected to see further 
encouraging news emerging from the next mon itoring exercise, notably among least-developed 
countries as a result of the operationalization of the Enhanced Integrated Framework.  Regions not 
previously profiled by Aid-for-Trade events were being covered and implementation of the 
2010-2011 Aid-for-Trade Work Programme was on sch edule.  The progress achieved thus far was 
reason to be proud, but the positive effects of this co llective endeavour had not yet been shown.  This 
was why reporting on outcomes and impacts should be at the core of the Third Global Review of Aid 
for Trade in order to sustain this progress and to allow the G-20 to maintain momentum. 
11. Operationalization of Aid for Trade lay in the hands of the partner countries, donors, regional 
economic communities and partner or ganizations.  Feeding results from the practice of Aid for Trade 
to the Aid-for-Trade initiative depended on the Membership and the partners in this collective 
endeavour.  It meant hearing the voice of the consumer as well as the service provider.  The WTO's role in this undertaking was to provide a platfo rm for assessment and debate, owned by both donors 
and recipients.  There might be good reasons fo r both sides to see things differently and these 
predictable differences should be discussed, debate d and narrowed down.  In his view, this was a 
precondition for real ownership which was the only way to boost future progress of Aid for Trade in a 
shared assessment of realities on the ground.  Clearly  the next big platform will be the Third Global 
Review to be held in the middle of 2011.   
12. In closing, he wished to reiterate his call to the Membership to provide the narrative on 
Aid-for-Trade impacts and outcomes.  This was ess ential to take the implementation of the initiative 
to the next level.  It would be through the Member ship's engagement that a balanced outcome would 
be achieved.  Engagement by the Membership was the answer to the concerns they had raised.  It was 
recognized that the case stories were an interim, but  necessary, step, to ensure that momentum of the 
initiative was not lost while the more tec hnical work moved ahead in earnest.   
13. The representative of Benin
, on behalf of the African Group , expressed appreciation for the 
efforts that were being made in the operationalizati on of Aid for Trade and said that in the context of 
the Third Global Review it would be important to monitor the Aid-for-Trade initiative at the global 
level.  The African Group, in principle, had no obj ection to the Review being held in 2011 but would 
appreciate inclusive and transparent consultations as to the final date.  The Global Review was the end 
of a process that began at a national level and that also took into account regional reviews and other 
elements such as responses to the OECD/WTO questionnaires .  Another element that was important 
for the Third Global Review was to have up-to-date in formation that gave the actual state of play and 
real impact of the economic crisis.  Holding an evaluation of Aid for Trade in 2011 might not be that 
productive because data was only from 2009.  In  conclusion, he said the African Group was 
concerned that a situation was arising where M& E were being undertaken with the pre-agreed 
objective that Aid for Trade worked.  He was keen to see the real situation on the ground examined. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
Page 4  
 
  14. The representative of Pakistan
 asked whether foreign direct investment (FDI) would also be 
one of the areas covered in the Third Global Review since that, too, played an important role in capacity development.  As a result of FDI, Viet  Nam, for example, had increased its exports, and 
China had made considerable progress towards MDG1  by lifting 627 million people out of poverty.  
She said it would also be important to highlight coun tries' best practices and policies as well as the 
role and responsibility of the private sector which al so led to good interventions in some countries. 
15. The representative of Canada
 reiterated Canada's commitment to the Aid-for-Trade initiative 
and said that Canada was a strong supporter of M& E as a key vehicle for improving results.  Canada, 
too, would have appreciated inclusive and transp arent consultations as to the timing of the M&E 
process and the Third Global Review.  He was concerned that the new timeframe would not allow 
sufficient time to be able to show concrete results. 
16. The representative of Zambia , on behalf of the Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) , said that, 
as had been highlighted by the Director-General , Aid for Trade was an important initiative for 
developing and least-developed countries' trade capacity  building.  It was therefore crucial that the 
initiative was adequately resourced, implemented and m onitored for effective results and impacts.  In 
the preparations leading up to the Third Global Re view consideration should be taken of the activities 
that were taking place in developing and least-dev eloped countries.  The programmes that had been 
implemented and financed should be appropriately monitored, a nd impact and results measured 
against the amount of resource capacity provided by the individual countries as well as assistance 
provided by other cooperating partne rs.  The LDCs therefore appreciated that the call for case stories 
and narratives on the implementation of Aid-for-Trade initiatives would form part of the input to the 
Third Global Review. 
17. The representative of Viet Nam  said his delegation appreciated the progress that had been 
made in implementing Aid for Trade as well as the pe rsonal engagement of the Director-General in 
moving the Aid-for-Trade process forward.  As the Director-General had hi ghlighted, it was critical 
for both donors and recipients to now show that Aid for Trade was working and evaluation was an 
important part of this.  The Workshop on Mon itoring and Evaluation of Aid for Trade (hereafter 
"M&E Workshop") had been very informative about  how Aid for Trade was being implemented and 
the challenges that lay ahead.  Viet Nam shared th e view that a "cocktail approach" – i.e. using case 
stories as well as traditional methodology – was needed  in evaluating Aid for Trade.  In Viet Nam's 
view, the impact evaluation should not look at the outcomes per se  but rather at the whole process of 
trade capacity building and how trade was being main streamed in the development agenda.  Viet Nam 
would be pleased to share its own case stories in the M&E exercise. 
18. The representative of Switzerland  said that Switzerland was fully committed to the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative and to exploring ways to fu rther enhance the effectiveness of Aid for Trade.  
It was important that the next Gl obal Review contributed to the e ffective implementation of Aid for 
Trade on the ground in Africa, Asia and Latin Ameri ca.  Referring to the rescheduling of the Third 
Global Review, he said that his delegation would have appreciated if Members could have been 
consulted on the changed timing in the work progra mme.  He expressed concern that there would be 
little time for Members to substantially prepare for the review – in particular with regard to the 
submission of serious case stories which was a costly and time-consuming exercise – and to accurately demonstrate how and where Aid for Trad e was working.  While Switzerland welcomed the 
chosen focus of the Third Global Review – i.e. on outcomes and impacts of Aid-for-Trade – there 
remained many methodological challenges on how to b est measure the impact of Aid for Trade that 
would need further technical discussions.   
19. The representative of China
 noted the continuing momentum on the work on Aid for Trade 
and said that this would play an important role in  the recovery from the economic crisis.  Members 
should therefore remain actively engaged in the ex ercise.  The M&E Workshop had demonstrated to  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
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  Members that the focus should not only be on Aid-for-Trade figures but also on the impact and 
effectiveness of Aid for Trade.  The proposed case story approach therefore deserved further 
discussion and work.  Referring to the Third Global Review, he said that China would make the 
necessary preparations to update information and to  share experiences with the whole Membership.  
China hoped that Members would be consulted before  a final decision was taken on the date of the 
Third Global Review.  
20. The representative of Norway  said that in the current economic environment it was important 
to keep a focus on what was happening as regards Aid-for-Trade flows and whether they were being 
used efficiently.  However, like others, Norway be lieved there was also a need to show concrete 
results.  Her delegation, too, was concerned that  the necessary critical mass of data would not be 
available in time for the Third Global Review and sh e said that  Norway would have liked to have 
seen an inclusive consultation process on the re-scheduling of the Review. 
21. Responding to some of the questions that  had been raised, the Director-General  recalled that 
briefings had been held on the timing of the ne xt Global Review of Aid for Trade with various 
country groupings, including, for example, the In formal Group of Developing Countries, the Small 
and Vulnerable Economies, the African Group, the Casai donor Group, and the OECD/DAC 
Committee.  He reiterated that the rationale for ho lding the Global Review in 2011 was due to the 
special circumstances that had aris en due to the economic crisis and the fact that heavy budgetary 
reviews were taking place which ha d resulted in major cuts.  This could put at risk the efforts – 
including with regard to resource mobilization – th at had been made in Aid for Trade over the last 
five years and it was therefore a political imperative that this be factored into the Aid-for-Trade 
mandate.  Holding the Third Global Review in 20 11 still did not guarantee that Aid for Trade would 
not be affected by budgetary cuts and it was ther efore the responsibility of Members to ensure that 
sufficient attention was put on Aid for Trade so that  it did not become another victim of the crisis. 
22. Turning to Aid-for-Trade figures, he said that global figures took time to collect and analyze 
and that there was always a time lag between the co llection of data and making that data available.  
This had been the case for the 2008 figures and woul d likewise be the case for the 2009 figures which 
would be available only by mid-2011.  It was one of the main reasons for complementing what was 
being done on global figures with other elements.  The time was now right to move from the pledging 
culture to something more impact oriented so that  the case for Aid for Trade could be made.  This 
would be a tremendous methodological challenge of  which the case story approach would be a first 
step, to be complemented at a later stage with more sophisticated data.  Time was of the essence. 
23. Referring to the comment by Pakistan, he under lined that Aid for Trade was part of ODA and 
that, while there were other factors that could be  taken into consideration when linking impact to 
Aid-for-Trade funding, the mandate for the Aid-for-Tra de initiative had been set by the decision made 
in Hong Kong and the subsequent 2006 Aid-for-Tra de Task Force recommendations.  He appreciated 
that factors other than Aid for Trade needed to be  considered in the complex evaluation process, but 
underscored the scope of the Aid-for-Trade manda te.  He said it was important not to create 
ambiguities which would cause difficulties of understanding with Members or with other stakeholders. 
24. The Chairman
 informed that a detailed paper prepared by the OECD on the 2008 
Aid-for-Trade figures had been circulated in  document WT/COMTD/AFT/W/21, and that in 
paragraphs 7 and 8 of the paper, preliminary disa ggregation of flows betwee n grants and concessional 
loans had been outlined.   WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
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  2. Resource Mobilization 
25. The representative of the African Development Bank (AfDB)
 provided an overview of the 
outcomes of the 2010 Annual Meetings of the Af DB and the African Development Fund (ADF) and 
of the Bank's operations relating to resource mobilization.  At the 2010 Annual Meetings, 
shareholders had approved a general capital increase  which had tripled the institution's resources to 
nearly US$100 billion.  The increase, which had been brought forward by two years to allow for 
crisis-related lending, including support to the pr ivate sector, would allow the Bank to appropriately 
respond to the needs of African countries, including lo w-income countries, and help them return to the 
previous high rates of growth.  It also represente d a vote of confidence in the Bank and recognition of 
the efforts undertaken in response to the critical economic environment.   
26. The Bank's Medium Term Strategy (MTS) 2008- 2012, which guided the Bank's activities in 
the long term, was predicated on continued solid gr owth in most African countries and defined the 
Bank's role in supporting that growth through better  infrastructure, stronger private sector, robust 
institutions and greater economic integration.  He  added that the Bank's commitment had also been 
reinforced during the Annual Meetings with the re-election of President Donald Kaberuka for a 
second five-year term.  The ADF was the Bank's concessional window.  It promoted economic and 
social development in 38 low-income African c ountries through the provision of concessional loans 
and grants, including to the private sector, to fi nance projects and programmes, as well as technical 
assistance for studies and capacity-building activities.  He noted that the ADF-11 replenishment for 
the Fund's 2008-2010 operations ha d concluded in December 2007 at a record level of US$8.9 million 
and that consultations on the ADF-12 replenishment cycle were currently taking place with the next 
one expected to be held in September 2010.  U nder ADF-12, the Bank would continue to focus on 
regional operations, particularly to provide regiona l infrastructure, capacity building, and regional 
public goods.  To that end, the Bank management  had proposed an increase from 17.5 per cent to 
20 per cent in the ADF envelope for regional operatio ns, under which a large percentage of trade and 
regional integration activities were funded.  Repl einishment of ADF-12 had implications for the 
resources that could be deployed by the AfDB on Aid-for-Trade related projects and programmes.   
27. The Bank was also implementing measures to improve the selection and prioritization of 
regional operations, their quality and results m easurement, and their monitoring and reporting 
mechanisms.  Regional Integration Strategy Papers (RISPs) were be ing developed, in consultation 
with beneficiary countries, regional economic co mmissions (RECs), local stakeholders and other 
donors, which would contribute to programming de cisions.  The Bank's Evaluation Department was 
also undertaking a review of regional operations to  assess their effectivenes s, relevance, efficacy, 
efficiency and sustainability and to advise Manageme nt on possible improvements.  In conclusion, he 
said that the Bank remained committed to enhancing its capacity to deliver and measure development 
impacts and reiterated that it would continue workin g closely with its regional member countries on 
the Aid-for-Trade agenda and, where required, woul d assist them in the preparations for the Third 
Global Review. 
28. The representative of Rwanda  welcomed the AfDB's statement and said that when developing 
RISPs it would be important to identify constrai nts as well as responses to ensure the effective 
implementation and achievements of regional integra tion.  Rwanda would continue to work closely 
with the Bank in this regard. 
29. The representative of Gabon , as Coordinator of the African Group , said that resource 
mobilization was an important component of Aid for Trade because it conditioned how the initiative 
could be appropriately implemented.  The Afri can Group had always underlined the need for the 
mobilization of predictable, additional, sustainabl e and effective resources, and would continue to do 
so.  In addition to resource mobilization, all stakehol ders had to ensure the effective release of further 
aid which should be disaggregated from the overall package of development aid, including in respect  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
 Page 7 
 
 
  to grants and loans.  There should be sources other than the OECD Credit Reporting System from 
which stakeholders and recipient countries could be nchmark and compare aid flows.  It was essential 
to safeguard partner countries' conf idence and one way of doing this was to provide the technical tools 
to break down how funds were bei ng implemented on the ground and to  differentiate between grants 
and loans.  Providing a simple manual or practical guide would allow all stakeholders to have access 
to programme information and to be aware of th e amounts granted under Aid for Trade, including for 
regional activities and for technical cooperation. 
30. The representative of the World Bank  reported on meetings about the 16th replenishment of 
the Bank's International Development Association (IDA).  IDA was the principle vehicle through 
which the Bank provided Aid for Trade and its successful replenishment was essential to the World 
Bank Group's efforts to increase concessional Aid for Tr ade.  The last IDA replenishment in 2007 had 
allowed the Bank to mobilize US$43 billion worth of concessional assistance to low-income countries 
and active discussions were underway on the 16th replenishment.  Various funding options were being 
considered and a number of issues and themes had been  raised, including the importance of growth in 
IDA fund activities, regional trade, the promotion of foreign investment to IDA countries, and the fact 
that economic growth in developing countries allowed for growth in donor countries.   Transparent, 
fair and wide burden-sharing approaches to IDA-16 as  well as the establishment of a permanent crisis 
response window to deal with countries that had suffered catastrophic disasters had also been discussed.  In addition, support had been voiced for a further strengthening of the results management 
system and the communication of results to the broader audience.   
31. Referring to the World Bank presentation at the M&E Workshop, he noted that the adoption 
of a more structured results framework was central  to the World Bank Strategy for Trade that was 
currently under preparation.  During the IDA repl enishment discussions, the importance of themes 
such as gender, climate change, and fragile and conflic t affected states, as well as the impact of the 
financial crisis on developing countries had also been identified by donors.  Much work still needed to 
be done on all these key issues before an agreemen t on IDA replenishment could be concluded.  
Discussions would continue during the annual Wo rld Bank meetings in the autumn and it was 
anticipated that they would be su ccessfully concluded by the end of 2010.  In conclusion, he said there 
was widespread general support for the important role  that IDA played in Aid for Trade and in other 
aspects of development assistance, particularly am ong new development partners such as China.   
3. Mainstreaming 
32. The representative of the WTO Secretariat
 informed that the fourth and final thematic 
workshop for 2010 – on Aid for Trade and Mainstreami ng – was tentatively scheduled for 25 October.  
Mainstreaming was one of the key pillars of the Ai d-for-Trade initiative and effective mainstreaming 
of trade into national and regional development pr ogrammes promoted country ownership and created 
demand for Aid for Trade.  Referring to the 2009 questionnaire process leading to the Second Global 
Review of Aid for Trade, he said it was clear from the feedback received that mainstreaming was a 
priority area for many countries.  The October workshop would be divided into two sessions.  The 
first would build on the preliminary results of the Aid-for-Trade component of the Trade Policy Review (TPR) exercise, the role that regional development banks (RDBs) could play in both 
supporting and monitoring the TPR exercise, and the role of the EIF Secretariat with regard to 
mainstreaming in least-developed countries.  The second session would address, inter alia , gender and 
trade mainstreaming.  He informed that the ITC ha d expressed an interest in hosting an event on the 
margins of the workshop that would showcase the work it was undertaking on mainstreaming in the 
private sector.  The draft programme for the workshop  was currently being developed and inputs from 
Members, especially through Group coordinators, would be welcome. 
33. The representative of Zambia
, on behalf of the LDCs , said that the LDC Group welcomed the 
developments that had been made so far on mainst reaming, including the pla nned thematic workshop, WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
Page 8  
 
  and had taken note of the progress made so far in the TPR process.  Mainstreaming was an important 
tool for effective resource utilization and cohere nt policy planning and implementation.  For this 
reason, it remained critical for Aid for Trade an d should be included in national, regional and 
multilateral initiatives.  For LDCs, mainstreaming w ould support the work being undertaken in the 
context of the Enhanced Integrated Framework towards leveraging additional resources to support 
trade capacity building needs identified in Di agnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS). 
4. Regional Dimension – Implementation 
34. The representative of the AfDB
 reported on the preparatory meeting held in Douala, 
Cameroon on 30 June and 1 July 2010 which was the initial step in a process that would lead to a first 
Central African Aid-for-Trade Review.  The objectiv e of the meeting, which was divided into four 
working sessions, was to provide an opportunity to  the Central African RECs – CEMAC (Monetary 
and Economic Community of Central Africa) and ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African 
States) – and their member countries to develop an  Aid-for-Trade Roadmap for Central Africa.  The 
first session provided an overview of the status of the Aid-for-Trade initiative in Geneva and how it 
was being translated on the ground, especially with re gard to trade-related infrastructure.  It provided 
a clear mapping of the existing and proposed infrastru cture in Central Africa which should be used to 
identify gaps in both physical infrastructure and in funding.  This was followed by a discussion on how to integrate infrastructure and trade facilita tion at the regional level.  A third session addressed 
trade-related gaps and the prioritization of  activities based on clearly defined criteria 
(e.g. implementation of existing trade agreements, synergy between physical infrastructure and trade 
facilitation elements, and coordination at the nati onal and regional levels including with and among 
development partners) with a view to obtaining the greatest impact from donor financing.   
35. Based on the discussions, a Central Africa Aid -for-Trade Roadmap had been developed and 
adopted.  The Roadmap, which clearly assigned responsibilities, defined follow-up activities and 
established a time-frame for conclusion of the vari ous stages of the process,  comprised the following 
steps:  (i) an assessment of the status of trade stra tegies at the REC level and the various projects that 
supported them;  (ii) a stock-taking of the obstacl es encountered at national level in implementing 
these strategies and the identification of actions to be taken by the various governments to address 
them;  and (iii) a matching of priority regional proj ects with strategic interests and funding cycles of 
development partners.  The Aid-for-Trade Strategy  would be further developed with a view to 
organizing a Central Africa Regional Aid-for-Trade Review in late 2010. 
36. The representative of Gabon
, as Coordinator of the African Group, and on behalf of the 
Central African members in particular , said that the preparatory meeting had delivered concrete 
results leading to the approval of a consensus-based Roadmap.   It was the start of a process that would 
lead to a regional review of Aid for Trade in Cent ral Africa.  In addition to the activity for Central 
Africa, he said that the AfDB and partner institutio ns should also take into account in their future 
activities the West African region which had been identified in the 2010-2011 Aid-for-Trade Work 
Programme as requiring special assistance.  The African Group considered that the following key 
issues should guide future work:  the regional dimension had to be a cardinal principle in 
implementing Aid for Trade in Africa so as to cons olidate the regional integration process currently 
underway;  and all initiatives should foster and strength en interaction among all stakeholders so as to 
lay the groundwork for partnerships that would lead to specific results.  
37. The representative of Nigeria  reported on its trade and capacity development reform 
programme, the aim of which was to strengthen Nigeria's capacity to analyze and formulate trade 
policies to enable it to better benefit from an open and integrated trade regime and to participate in 
regional and global trade agreements.  Technical assi stance with respect to the reform programme was 
being provided by the United Nations Developmen t Programme (UNDP) following a formal request 
by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2009 within  the framework of the UN Chief Executive Board  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
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  (CEB) Inter-Agency Cluster on Trade and Productive Ca pacity.  The assistance was expected to build 
on and deepen the second United Nations Deve lopment Assistance Framework (UNDAF II) for 
Nigeria for 2009-2012.  Nigeria's request had focused on seven categories of activities:  (i) trade policy advocacy;  (ii) trade policy development;  (iii) enhancing the competitiveness of supply 
capacity;  (iv) compliance support infrastructure and services;  (v) physical trade infrastructure;  
(vi) legal and regulatory frameworks in relatio n to bilateral, regional and multilateral trade 
opportunities;  and (vii) trade facilitation and trade -related financial services.  As a result of that 
request, the UNDP had fielded a scoping mission to Nigeria in February 2010 to consider how best UNDP could support Nigeria – in particular the Fe deral Ministry of Commerce and Industry – in 
operationalizing the proposed programme with a vi ew to strengthening trade and productive capacity 
in the non-oil sector within the framework of a na tional strategy that would enable Nigeria to fully 
benefit from the Aid for Trade Initiative.   
38. The seven categories of activities covered in Ni geria's request had been re-examined during a 
scoping mission in meetings with key stakeholders .  Three pillars around which the proposed trade 
and productive capacity reform programme coul d be structured had been identified:  
(i) mainstreaming trade into national development st rategies;  (ii) enhancing trade competitiveness;  
and (iii)  institutional and human resource capacity development.  More work needed to be done to 
elaborate the three pillars and to provide a ro admap and sequencing for undertaking the required 
reforms.  Key follow-up activities included the appoint ment of a Chief Technical Adviser (CTA);  the 
preparation of a roadmap by the CTA detailing the activities involved, the timeframe and cost of implementation;  and the preparation of a resource mobilization strategy.  Nigeria's Federal Ministry 
of Commerce and Industry was following up with the UNDP country office and other development 
partners to expeditiously launch the programme. 
39. The Trade and Productive Capacity Reform Progr amme would assist Nigeria to build on and 
deepen the role of trade policy in the current UN DAF II which up to now had largely been anchored 
on a 7-Point Agenda, the National Development Plan  and the Vision 2020.  Nigeria appreciated the 
support and cooperation provided by UNDP and app ealed to Members and other development 
partners to assist in the successful implementati on of the development-oriented project through the 
mobilization and provision of t echnical and financial resources.
1 
40. The representative of the UNDP  said that UNDP was committed to supporting the trade 
reform process in Nigeria in partnership with ot her agencies in the UN CEB Inter-Agency Cluster on 
Trade and Productive Capacity as well as other bilateral and multilateral partners.  For that support, it 
was essential that the Federal Government of Nigeri a, particularly through the Finance and Planning 
Ministries, demonstrated their strong commitment to the initiative.  Di scussions were already 
underway in capital and UNDP looked forward to be ginning implementation of the various elements 
of the initiative.  The representative also informed  the Committee about an on-line course that UNDP 
and UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Traini ng and Research) were jointly organizing on the 
Human Development Impact Assessment of Trade Policy.2 
41. The representative of Tanzania  reported on a High-Level Workshop on Aid for Trade for 
EAC countries held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 14 and 15 June.  The workshop had reviewed and 
assessed the challenges faced by EAC countries in  obtaining and utilizing Aid for Trade and had 
identified and prioritized what Aid-for-Trade suppor t was needed.  It had also contributed to the 
development of an EAC Aid-for-Trade strategy.  Key issues identified included the need for more 
transparency on Aid-for-Trade flows, recogn ition that institutional weaknesses remained in 
mainstreaming and that institutiona l strengthening was essential for ownership.  The private sector 
should be an integral part of Aid-for-Trade pl anning and implementation.  Consistent and timely 
                                                      
1 The full statement by Nigeria was subseque ntly circulated in WT/COMTD/AFT/W/23. 
2 http://www.unitar.org/ pft/elearning/undp_hdia . WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
Page 10  
 
  actions by national governments were  important for effective use of  Aid-for-Trade support.  There 
was a need for country-specific case stories on Aid for Trade to share experiences.  The meeting had 
felt that Aid-for-Trade flows should be additional to ODA commitments and that  recipient countries 
needed to be more proactive in the monitoring exercise.  South-South cooperation should be 
strengthened. 
42. Aid for Trade was critical for productive capacity development.  The EAC Secretariat needed 
to engage more effectively with its member states in the coordination of Aid for Trade and there was a general need for better coordination between nati onal and regional institutions, particularly in 
identifying needs and priorities at country and regional  levels to avoid overlaps  and ensure continuity.  
Interaction between government ministries and be tween the government and donors was needed to 
better understand the effective use of Aid-for-Trade  funds.  Policy discussion on Aid for Trade needed 
to be expanded to include parliamentarians and ci vil society organizations.  It was important that 
donor funding built on reviews of existing projects.  There was a need for synergy between Aid for 
Trade and climate change adaptation support related to the trade sector.   
43. The representative of Japan
, in his capacity as co-Chair of the Asian Development Bank's 
(AsDB) Regional Technical Group (RTG) , informed that RTG's first report, which included an 
evaluation of current implementation of Aid for Tr ade in the Asia-Pacific region, would be shared 
with the CTD at its October meeting. 
44. Referring to the World Bank IDA funds, the representative of Barbados  noted that a number 
of countries – including, middle-income, small, and developing countries – were not eligible for these 
funds because of their per capita income and had theref ore not been able to maximize the use of this 
Aid-for-Trade facility.  She suggested that a different  window be used to filter Aid-for-Trade funds to 
countries which had a higher per capita income but  where trade had contracted dramatically.  
Barbados, for example, was one of the many sm all island economies which had lost preferential 
facilities and suffered trade contractions in the region  of 20 per cent.  It was therefore important not 
only to provide funding for Aid for Trade, but al so to ensure that in itiatives such as competition 
policy, systems development, improved port and cu stoms efficiency, and improved product activity, 
were "branded" as Aid for Trade in national development plans.   
45. The representative of Zambia , on behalf of the LDCs , said that Aid for Trade remained an 
important tool for growth and development for de veloping countries and LDCs.  The recent work 
undertaken by various regional and international organizations and the statements made at the present 
meeting had demonstrated that there were deficienci es in the growth attained  by most developing and 
LDCs in the period prior to the economic crisis, including a lack of adequate resource flows to 
productive sectors and trade-related infrastructure.  Th e growth attained by most LDCs had failed to 
have real impact on poverty reduc tion and overall development.  Mo st LDCs had largely remained 
producers of raw materials with limited progress made towards diversification.  The economic crisis 
had accentuated the structural deficiencies faced by LDCs and LDCs believed that Aid for Trade 
could play an important role in assisting devel oping countries and LDCs to address some of their 
emerging growth challenges related to trade.  This could only be attained if Aid-for-Trade initiatives 
were adequately resourced, sequenced and implem ented according to national and regional priority 
needs.  The process ahead should therefore take into account the recommendations arising from the 
regional reviews on Aid for Trade. 
46. The representative of the United Nations Conf erence for Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  
introduced its recent publication "Economic De velopment in Africa Report 2010 – South-South 
Cooperation:  Africa and the New Fo rms of Development Partnership"3, the main message of which 
reported that South-South coopera tion offered new opportunities for transforming African economies.  
                                                      
3 http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=13329&intItemID=3373&lang=1 .  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
 Page 11 
 
 
  It was noted in the report that trade and invest ment relations and financ ial flows with southern 
partners were rapidly increasing and that the econo mic crisis was reinforci ng the importance of South-
South relations for Africa.  In the context of  Aid for Trade, finance that was going towards 
infrastructure development was particularly impor tant and World Bank estimates for 2006 had shown 
that more flows for infrastructure were coming from emerging economies.  Coordination of southern 
flows with northern flows was important and was best  done at the recipient country level.  Recipient 
countries should therefore have aid management po licies in which they coordinated these types of 
flows.  UNCTAD was prepared to provide inputs to all aspects of the Aid-for-Trade initiative 
including, inter alia , the Third Global Review, any South-Sout h regional review that was organized, 
and the OECD/WTO Aid for Trade at a Glance publication. 
5. Monitoring and Evaluation 
47. The Deputy Director-General  reported on the M&E Workshop held that morning and said that 
the first session of the workshop had focused on th e state of existing knowledge on evaluating Aid for 
Trade.  The Director-General had delivered openi ng remarks and the OECD had made a presentation 
which discussed the methodological difficulties in measuring and attributing outcomes.  In its 
presentation, the World Bank had echoed some of these concerns and had focused on how the Bank 
was responding to this challenge.  The United St ates had provided preliminary results from an 
ongoing cross-country evaluation which had reported some positive findings, particularly on trade 
facilitation and projects involving public-private partnerships.  The presentation by UNECA had 
focused on the case for both the regional dimension and partner countries' voice in all aspects of 
project evaluation, including design, delivery, a nd implementation.  Comments from delegations had 
focused on the need for the Aid-for-Trade evaluation framework to be simple and to benefit from the 
input of the private sector, civil society and RECs.  The importance of joint M&E, specifically the 
inclusion of partner countries, had been reinfo rced, as had been the n eed to use results-based 
management approaches at the start of a project cycle.  Coordination amongst donors was seen as key 
to an effective outcome and some members had s uggested the need to harmonize evaluation tools and 
M&E systems.  Some participants, in particular LDC members, had emphasized the importance of aid 
for budgetary support and the need to reinforce the link between Aid for Trade and the enhanced 
Integrated Framework.  The importance of provi ding aid to support regional integration and in 
particular intra-African trade that was emphasized by the AfDB was repeated by a number of Members. 
48. In the second session, the representative of th e OECD had provided an overview of the 
framework for the next M&E exercise as outlined in JOB/DEV/2 and JOB/DEV/3.  He discussed how 
existing elements of the M&E framework would be  updated and focus on case stories, which would 
build a body of evidence on impact and outcomes.  This evidence would be profiled at the Third 
Global Review.  He also provided an indicative ti metable for the process leading to the Third Global 
Review in 2011.  Members supported the need to broaden the discourse on M&E to include case 
stories and additional suggestions were provi ded on improving the case story approach, the 
monitoring of flows, the questionnaire process and th e preparation of the fact sheets.  Members had 
requested additional information on the prepara tion of the case stories and had asked whether 
assistance would be available to prepare them.  She said that responses to some of these questions had 
been provided in the course of the afternoon's CT D-AfT session.  Members had also emphasized the 
need to ensure that the case stor ies were representative, both across the Membership and the different 
categorizations of Aid for Trade.  Some concerns  had been expressed about the timing of the Third 
Global Review and the need for sufficient time to  deliver the necessary results.  These concerns had 
already been addressed by the Director-General.   
49. The Workshop had been instructive in (i) outlining the state of existing knowledge on 
Aid-for-Trade impacts and outputs and the fact that this knowledge was evolving – and the 
methodological difficulties faced in this regard;  ( ii) outlining a process to build a body of evidence on WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
Page 12  
 
  impacts and outcomes which could be profiled at th e Third Global Review;  and (iii) preparing the 
formats for the case story approach which would fo rm the basis of the Third Global Review.   She 
emphasized that, as had been pointed out by the Di rector-General and a number of delegations, the 
success of the case story approach would depend on  the inputs provided.  This approach was in 
keeping with the Member-driven nature of the WT O and would ensure that the outcome was truly 
owned by the broad partnership that was Aid for Tr ade.  Echoing the Director-General's comment, she 
said that the answer to most of the concerns ra ised at the Workshop was to be found in Members' 
engagement in the process.   
50. She then briefly outlined the process as it had emerged from discussions.  JOB/DEV/2 would 
be updated to include Members' comments and would be issued as an official  call for case stories in 
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22;  the OECD and WTO would use the summer break to work on the next 
generation of the self-assessment questionnaire exer cise and it was expected that the questionnaires 
would be sent to Members in early October at the la test;  the deadline for the submission of both case 
stories and completed questionnaires was January 20 11;  the case stories would be published on-line 
and would be the focus for both the Aid for Trade at a Glance publication and the Third Global 
Review;  and, finally, the Aid for Trade at a Gl ance publication would also include updated country 
fact sheets.  She said that she had been impressed  by the engagement show n by all Members, partner 
organizations and observers, which was a good sign for the work ahead, and emphasized that working 
in the spirit of partnership which underpinne d the Aid-for-Trade initiative required an iterative 
process.   
51. The representative of Indonesia
 said that M&E issues deserved a comprehensive discussion, 
in particular with regard to the constraints that might still exist in evaluating the impact of Aid for 
Trade.  It was important that evaluations were driv en by the need to learn lessons as much as by the 
need for accountability.  Indonesia supported the conducting of case stories, with clear sets of indicators, at the regional and national level which would allow stakeholders to share their 
experiences.  This, in Indonesia's view, was the mo st accurate means of determining the impacts and 
effectiveness of Aid for Trade and of identifying improvements to be made.  At the global level, 
countries should contribute by reporting on the de livery, allocation, progress and results of Aid for 
Trade.  In this regard, Indonesia believed that one  of the most important indicators of evaluating 
results that most reflected the effectiveness of Ai d for Trade was to identify the extent to which 
partners' needs and donors' responses had matched.  Th is played a crucial role in the formulation and 
implementation of programmes and projects.  He re iterated Indonesia's support in the M&E of Aid for 
Trade as well as in the approaches and efforts which had been outlined  and undertaken.  For its part, 
Indonesia would contribute to the successful eval uation and reporting on outcomes and impacts of 
Aid for Trade. 
52. The representative of the European Union
 said that the M&E Workshop was a critical 
element in the successful implementation and developm ent of Aid for Trade.  A useful framework had 
been set up over the past few years which consiste d of monitoring Aid-for-Trade flows based on the 
OECD Creditor Reporting System (CRS), on qualit ative issues through donor and partner country 
questionnaires, and country fact sheets which comp lemented what was already happening at national 
levels.  Although more transparency had been ac hieved and the information and contributions 
collected and shared had supported accountability and e ffectiveness, there was even more to be done.  
While, overall, the EU supported the next step s proposed for the M&E exercise, it wished 
nevertheless to underline that the proxy system developed by the OECD to measure Aid-for-Trade 
flows was a pragmatic approach and that the de bate should move to other things than seeking 
alternative approaches to this system.  The EU  stressed that, if non-ODA flows were reported, it 
would be important to ensure that very clear  distinctions were ma de between ODA and non-ODA 
flows so that confusion did not arise between the two.  The next round of the questionnaire exercise 
should see a stronger focus and detailed questions on aid effectiveness, in particular in the area of 
joint efforts, experience of joint programming and delivery, number of programmes in individual  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
 Page 13 
 
 
  countries, and in-country coordination structures.  The questionnaires should he lp assess whether real 
progress was being made on these issues over a time period.  It would also be important to include in the partner country questionnaire, and perhaps in the country fact sheet, some questions on national 
M&E systems which were essential for progress. 
53. The EU agreed with the additio n of the case story approach to  the Aid-for-Trade monitoring 
framework so as to shed light on issues refe rred to in the WTO Aid-for-Trade Task Force 
recommendations.  However, the document could re inforce certain issues such as the notion of a 
double objective for the case studies, i.e. ensuring input not only to the global review but also to technical level exchanges on more, or less, succ essful practices among stakeholders.  This second 
objective would not necessarily need to follow the same tight schedule required for the Global Review 
and would allow more time for an in-depth analys is and exchange which would be important given 
that the new date for the Third Global Review woul d put pressure on preparations for the discussions.  
Whilst the EU was pleased to see the reference to the WTO Aid-for-Trade Task Force, it would also 
like to see addressed some of the issues that ha d emerged more clearly since the Task Force 
recommendations were made (e.g. poverty impacts, a nd binding constraints).  The EU also wished to 
see a clearer reference to how this would help de veloping countries assess and adjust their trade 
integration strategies so that they had the desire d impact on trade flows and development and specific 
attention paid to LDCs.  Referring to the case st ories, she asked why the exercise was open only to 
partner countries and donors/agencies.  She informed that the EU and its member States were already 
carrying out some work for the collection of case stor ies and would be happy to share its experiences 
once the exercise was finalized.  The EU would conti nue to work on M&E as a tool to strengthen the 
impact of Aid for Trade and believed it was essential th at other stakeholders participate in this work.  
In conclusion, she said that the EU would provi de further and more detailed comments as the M&E 
work continued. 
54. The representative of Zambia
, on behalf of the LDCs , said that it was clear from the 
discussions at the M&E Workshop that much work w as needed to build capaciti es and to ensure that 
the in-country or regional Aid-for-Trade planning pr ocess was done with clear and measurable targets 
that were commonly understood by both the cooper ating partners and the recipients who would be 
working towards achieving a common goal.  The distinction between various types of aid and 
disaggregating aid according to areas of support and country regions was important for this exercise 
and should continue to form part of the Aid-for-Tra de M&E process.  It would also be important to 
ensure that the set of indicators and the process used  in monitoring and evaluating Aid for Trade were 
comparable and easy to measure in terms of impact  and results.  The LDCs emphasized the need for 
capacity building which was very important for ow nership and also for ensuring proper M&E of the 
impact of aid, especially in the recipient countries and among trade officials. 
55. The representative of Benin , on behalf of the African Group , referred to the recently-held 
UNECA Expert Group Meeting and Workshop on Aid fo r Trade and Africa's Trading Capacity.  He 
said that some of the studies presented at the event were in line with what had been discussed at the 
M&E Workshop and had provided valu able information on Aid for Trade demonstrating the African 
continent's pro-active contribution.  The African Gr oup hoped that in their future work stakeholders 
would take into account the results of the work coming out of the Expert Group Meeting and Workshop.  The M&E initiative was one of the pilla rs for the operationalization of Aid for Trade 
which enabled dialogue to move forward, commitm ents to be renewed and the efficiency and 
effectiveness of Aid for Trade to be improved.  One of the basic elements of the M&E of Aid for 
Trade was the joint OECD/WTO Aid for Trade at a Glance publication which analyzed the replies to 
the self-assessment questionnaires.  The African Group c onsidered that this analysis provided a solid 
basis for discussion.  One concer n that the African Group had was the timetable for the Third Global 
Review that was now scheduled for July 2011 and the fact that it had not been consulted on the new 
date.  Another concern related to the Aid-for-Tra de flows and the mobilization of resources which 
should be predictable, additional, sustainable, a nd effective.  The flows were politically conditioned WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
Page 14  
 
  and there was a problem with the disaggregation of the flows.  Any additional financing, including 
South-South cooperation financing, should also be duly recognized and capitalized.  The African 
Group believed it was essential that if the benefici ary countries could not refer to other sources that 
were complementary to the OECD CRS, they should at least have the technical tools to enable them 
to disaggregate grants and loans, using the OECD  CRS as a basis, in order to ensure that the 
Aid-for-Trade flows went into tangible projects in the field.   
56. With regard to the framework that was e nvisaged for the present M&E exercise, it was 
important that partner countries participate throu ghout the whole process – i.e. from the first stage 
right through to the impact assessment stage – wh ile at the same time ensuring that providing the 
necessary assistance did not become too heavy a burde n.  The viability of the Aid-for-Trade initiative 
depended on the demonstration of positiv e causality between the reports and the results in the field.  It 
was for this reason that the African Group shared the view that the M&E system should continue to be 
fine-tuned through, for example, results-based manage ment, indicators and case stories.  Referring to 
document JOB/DEV/2, the African Group saw the logi c of following a template for the case stories to 
ensure comparability, but noted that the need fo r homogenous and harmonized indicators had not been 
stressed.  There was also no mention of how to di saggregate the different levels of information and 
data (i.e. national, sectoral and pro duct) with partners who were very varied and diverse.  The African 
Group wished to know what were the modalitie s for the Third Global Review, including when 
countries were supposed to begin the process.  In conc lusion, he said that in order not to prejudice the 
credibility of the conclusions that  might be reached on the M&E ex ercise, the WTO should play a 
central role to ensure neutrality and objectivity.  Both successes and failur es should be presented so 
that Members' could learn from each other's experiences. 
57. The representative of Dominica
, on behalf of the Small a nd Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) , 
said that the SVEs agreed that M&E was an importa nt part of the Aid-for-Trade process and that it 
should be carried out at various levels.  Tec hnical assistance should be provided to developing 
countries so they could develop the capacity to pa rticipate in and undertake M&E.  Effective M&E 
should be present throughout the life cycle of the Aid-for-Trade process and the project itself.  
Although SVEs recognized that both donors and benefici ary countries needed to play a role in M&E, 
it was important that this did not itself become  a burdensome process for countries with already 
limited capacity.  SVE's supported the call for harm onization and coordination of  M&E processes. 
58. The representative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)  said 
that Aid for Trade had a vital – and growing – im portance as a means to improve Africa's trading 
capacity while at the same time supporting the region al integration processes.  As the main technical 
body assisting Africa in its integration progress, UNECA  organized and participated in events aimed 
at improving the understanding of Aid for Trade and, in collaboration with the WTO, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the AfDB, also undertook research activities related to Aid for Trade.  UNECA had actively contributed to the recently held "High-Level Workshop on Aid for Trade for 
EAC Countries" and preparatory meeting for the Central African Aid-for-Trade Review.  UNECA 
itself had organized an "Expert Group Meeting and Wo rkshop on Aid for Trade and Africa's Trading 
Capacity: Supply, Demand and Performance" which had been held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 
31 May to 2 June 2010 to examine selected studies on methodologies to assess the effectiveness of Aid for Trade.  The Expert Group Meeting had provided a forum for dialogue among development partners, African countries, RECs, transit and transport corridors, academia, inter-governmental 
organizations, and international finance institu tions on how Aid for Trade could support regional 
integration processes in Africa.   
59. Common threads of discussion at the thre e events had produced a number of 
recommendations and suggestions.  These included that the definition of Aid for Trade should be based solely on grants and OECD reports and statis tics should therefore provide disaggregated data of 
the share of ODA destined to Aid for Trade.   Member states were urged to express their  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Aid-for-Trade needs clearly in their national deve lopment strategies and dialogue with development 
partners.  Development partners  were urged to respond positively by assisting the mainstreaming 
process, through greater consultations with benefici ary countries.  The allocation of Aid-for-Trade 
resources should respond to nationa l and regional development prioriti es.  Development partners were 
urged to allocate more Aid-for-Trade resources to  small African economies.  Member states were 
urged to create or enhance the enabling envir onment to encourage increased private sector 
involvement in both intra-African and world trade.  Member states were also urged to prioritize the 
setting up of national mechanisms and to strengthen their capacities, with the support of development 
partners, to follow-up and coordina te Aid-for-Trade issues at the national, regional, continental and 
global levels.  Part of the Aid-for-Trade res ources should be earmarked for building the necessary 
consensus and convergence in RECs' trade policy goa ls and development part ners were urged to 
continue to mobilise "more and better" resources to support regional integration processes taking due 
account of the special needs of landlocke d countries and the vulnerable economies. 
60. UNECA Member states were urged to lead the planning and M&E of Aid for Trade and to 
involve all stakeholders at nati onal and REC levels to ensure pr oper ownership of Aid-for-Trade 
programmes and projects.  M&E systems should also  recognize the growing influence of emerging 
South-South partners.  It was considered impor tant that M&E should not overburden already over-
stretched national administrations  which should benefit from appropriate assistance to face the costs 
of M&E processes.  RECs' capac ities in the M&E process should be strengthened and management-
for-development-result frameworks should be intr oduced into the trade objectives of national 
development and regional development plans.  A case study approach should be used to ensure 
collection of a body of evidence on outcome and impact  of projects.  Member states requested that 
UNECA, in collaboration with AUC, AfDB, and other regional institutions, furt her develop and share 
their own M&E experience and expertise.  UNECA and AfDB, as well as development partners, were 
requested to offer support to member states and RE Cs in the case study approach;  and, finally, 
development partners were ur ged to unify their different Aid-for-Trade frameworks and 
methodologies to facilitate reporting and evaluation. 
61. The Deputy Director-General  clarified that the call for case stories was addressed to all 
members of the Aid-for-Trade partnership and was not limited only to WTO Members.  She emphasized the Member-driven nature of the exercise  but said that this should not exclude the views 
of other partners, such as, for example, the private sector or civil society. 
6. Private Sector 
62. The representative of the International Trade Centre (ITC)
 reported on its export development 
strategies and forthcoming meeting to be held on the margins of the African Unit Summit.  She 
recalled that ITC's Strategic Plan for 2010-2013 asserted that National Export Strategies (NESs) were a complement to PRSPs (Poverty Reduction Stra tegy Papers), DTISs, UNDAFs (United Nations 
Development Assistance Frameworks), Country  Assistance Strategies, as well as national 
development plans.  They were also effective t ools for developing a public–private sector dialogue 
and a prioritized action plan to create an enabling environment for private-sector export development.  
NESs were comprehensive in scope and enab led prioritization across three competitiveness 
dimensions – supply-side capacities,  the business environment, and  market entry – which were 
aligned to the country's broader developmen tal objectives of poverty reduction, employment 
generation, gender equity, environmental sustaina bility, and regional integration.  ITC provided 
technical assistance so that policy- makers, institutions and enterprises we re able to formulate, manage 
and implement their country's NESs.  The strategies  specified clear priorities that culminated in a 
detailed five-year plan of action and implementa tion management framework and identified broad 
objectives, specific activities, targets, and impact measures, indicating what exactly needed to be 
done, by whom, by when and with what resources.  Formal public-private dialogue platforms through, 
for example, the establishment of national Export C ouncils with legal recognition and authority were WT/COMTD/AFT/M/16 
Page 16  
 
  an essential part of this process in order to provide  continuity and mainstreaming of the private-sector 
voice.  ITC was providing assistance in the design of NESs and their implementation management in a number of countries, including in Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia.   
63. ITC also continued to innovate and evolve its portfolio of strategy support tools, the latest 
addition being a methodology for export strategies th at were sensitive to envi ronmental sustainability 
and climate change which would be piloted in two countries later in y ear.  Important lessons from this 
work included that:  "home-grown" solutions work;  picking "winners" does not work;  trying to emulate success stories from other countries is likely to fail;  implementation of the strategy presents the greatest challenge;  and an export strategy  provides a country, its decision-makers and its 
institutions with a roadmap for export developm ent and competitiveness, providing an effective 
Aid-for-Trade delivery architecture for internati onal organizations seeking to provide assistance. 
64. In conclusion, she informed th at an African Private Sector Forum, organized by ITC in 
collaboration with the African Union Commission a nd the UN Global Compact, would take place in 
Kampala, Uganda on 22-23 July 2010 to put in place an effective platform for facilitating private 
sector advocacy for the promotion of national, regional and global business partnerships.  This 
platform would enhance the role of the private sect or as "beneficiaries, partners and advocates" for 
economic growth and competitiveness, through more m eaningful participation in international trade. 
The outcome of the Forum would be presented to  the AU Heads of State and Government Summit. 
65. The Chairman
 informed that the next regular session of the CTD, and the fourth dedicated 
thematic workshop – on Aid for Trade and Main streaming, were tentatively scheduled for 
25 October 2010.  Details would be announced at a later stage. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
66. There were no items raised under "Other Business". 
67. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
__________