RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
16 December 2009 
 (09-6542) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Twelfth Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETINGS OF 12 OCTOBER AND 3 NOVEMBER 2009 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Shree B.C. Servansing (Mauritius) 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................1  
B. DRAFT AID -FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME ...............................................................................1  
C. OTHER BUSINESS .......................................................................................................................16  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The agenda contained in Airgram WTO/AIR/3426 was adopted  without any changes. 
2. The Chairman  informed Members that the purpose of the meeting was to provide delegations 
with the opportunity to consider and discuss the draft Aid-for-Trade Work Programme 2009-2011 
(JOB(09)/100) in an open-ended meeting of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD). 
3. He then recalled that the work on Aid for Tr ade derived from the Coherence mandate as well 
as the mandate given to the Director-General by the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  
Procedurally, therefore, it was not necessary for the new work programme to be adopted by the CTD.  
However, since the work programme concerne d, amongst other things, resources mobilized by 
Members for the benefit of other Members, in his view it was desirable that the Membership had full 
ownership of the document and that a full discussion should therefore take place in the CTD.  He 
commented that Aid for Trade involved a broad range of different actors and different categories of WTO Members and proceeding in a spirit of partnershi p was highly desirable, particularly if Members 
were to build on the engagement shown during th e Second Global Review of Aid for Trade.   
4. Concluding his introductory remarks, he said th at, as many Members were aware, he, in his 
capacity as CTD Chair, had consulted widely w ith various groups of de legations and partner 
organizations in advance of the present meeting to  obtain initial feedback to assist in updating the 
draft work programme.  He hoped that the present meeting would provide further guidance towards 
further revising the draft. 
B. 
DRAFT AID -FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
5. An outline of the draft Aid-for-Trade Work Programme 2009-2011 was presented.  It was 
explained that it had been drafted to reflect the outcome of the Second Global Review and thus was 
structured around five main headings:  Resource m obilization, mainstreaming,  implementation (with a 
particular focus on the regional dimension), monito ring and evaluation, and the private sector.  The 
important role of the CTD as a forum for showc asing best practices and generating knowledge in WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 2  
 
  relation to specific thematic Aid for Trade related issues had also been highlighted in the work 
programme. 
6. The structure of the work programme broadly followed the comments made by the 
Director-General at the conclusion of the Sec ond Global Review and was intended to build on the 
momentum generated at the Review as well as on some of the elements that had emerged, specifically 
in terms of the participation of Members.  It w as important to note that the Aid-for-Trade initiative 
was a partnership with a broad range of actors a nd that dialogue with Members and Members' views 
were therefore essential.  The document set out a multi-year programme and gave a clearly signposted 
roadmap of activities covering a two-year process l eading up to the Third Global Review.  The idea, 
therefore, was to move ahead on the work progra mme and update regularly the roadmap of activities 
which would be held to implement the work programme.   
7. The section on resource mobilization had been in cluded in the work programme as a means of 
keeping Aid for Trade high on the political agenda , following on from the positive signs that had 
emerged at the First and Second Global Reviews of  Aid for Trade and taking into account the new 
economic realities that were coming into play particularly in the context of competing priorities and 
budgetary pressures.  Mainstreaming also had a key role to play in respect to keeping the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative on the political agenda by making sure that there was the demand for Aid for 
Trade.  Much progress had already been made in this area as could be seen by the responses to the 
Aid-for-Trade questionnaire, and the Trade Policy Re view (TPR) process could also be used as a tool 
in this regard.  Referring to the section on the regi onal dimension and implementation, the WTO's role 
was to showcase implementation and was clearly only very marginally involved in the actual 
implementation of Aid for Trade.  The draft work programme therefore set out a proposed approach in 
terms of how to move ahead in showcasing where implementation was taking place and where it was still needed, focusing on regions which had not previ ously been profiled.  In addition, thematic-based 
events would be organized to look at what some  of the new emerging actors – particularly the 
South-South donors – were also doing in the area of Aid for Trade.   
8. Monitoring and evaluation was also an importa nt element of the work programme especially 
when thinking ahead to the Third Global Review wher e the idea would be to try and show results and 
what was working .  Tracking Aid-for-Trade flows was one way of achieving this, but more focus was 
needed on generating results;  hence the inclusion of a reference in the draft work programme to 
case-study approaches.  The inclusion of the section on the private sector stemmed from the fact that 
there was a clear need to involve this particular sector in the Aid-for-Trade  work.  The draft work 
programme reflected some suggestions of how the involvement of the private sector could be taken 
forward but any further ideas that Members had in th is regard would be welcome.  Finally, the CTD 
obviously had an important role to play in encourag ing the sharing of information and best practices 
between Members and international organizations, and the suggestion had therefore been made to 
organize specific thematic CTD meet ings in order to generate knowle dge and to share this with as 
wide an audience as possible. 
9. The Chairman
 then invited Members and Observers to comment on the draft work 
programme. 
10. Members commended the Secretariat for its effort s in the preparation and development of the 
draft work programme.  They also expressed appreciation for the opportunity to consult, discuss and provide feedback on its content. 
11. The representative of China
 said that, in principle, China supported the work programme but 
wished to contribute to its further improvement.  He referred to the current global economic downturn 
and said it was an important background against whic h the Aid-for-Trade work was taking place.  For  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
 Page 3 
 
 
  this reason, China hoped that the overview text in  the work programme could be strengthened to 
reflect the new economic realities in which countries were operating. 
12. China believed that the references to South- South cooperation did not properly reflect the 
fundamental difference between South-South coopera tion and traditional aid assistance provided by 
developed Members.  China therefore requested that the current text be revised to reflect that the 
commitment to provide Aid for Trade was the respons ibility of developed countries, i.e. the traditional 
OECD donors, and that South-South cooperation w as voluntary.  South-South cooperation should be 
within the capacity of the developing countries th at provide it and should constitute only a limited 
complement to traditional aid assistance.  With rega rd to the reference to TPRs, China was willing to 
share its experience of Aid for Trade – as it had already done, for example through its recent donation 
of US$200,000 for Aid for Trade – but believed th at, since the work programme covered the period 
up to 2011, other major developed countries which would also be undergoing TPRs during that time 
should be added to the list so that they, too, ha d the opportunity to fully share their experiences and 
commitments on Aid for Trade.   
13. He then referred to the text on OECD mon itoring and reporting mechanisms and formats and 
the intention to further refine the text by adding reporting by non-OECD members.  China had serious 
concerns with regard to the validation of monito ring and reporting in OECD formats because, like 
certain other developing Members, it had limited resources and difficulties in collecting data.  He 
recalled that these difficulties had been emphasized  in China's response to the Aid-for-Trade 
questionnaire and said that China felt that the OE CD reporting mechanism was not one that could 
simply be borrowed and used by everyone.  Furthe rmore, as mentioned by the Secretariat, China 
considered that the CTD should play the central role  as regards the work related to Aid for Trade and 
for that reason did not consider it appropriate for th e OECD to be requested to report to the General 
Council. 
14. In conclusion, he said that China hoped that developing Members' views with regard to 
South-South cooperation could be taken on board when planning the South-South cooperation events 
as envisaged in the roadmap.  Reiterating the comme nts his delegation had made in the past with 
regard to the technical difficulties of developing Members in collecting information as well as data, he 
said that the level and intensity of developing Members to undergo their reviews of South-South 
cooperation should not be the same as that of developed Members. 
15. The representative of Dominica , on behalf of the Small a nd Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) , 
said that SVEs welcomed the initiative to set out a two-year work programme on Aid for Trade since 
they believed it was important to continue the wo rk and momentum as regards the implementation of 
the Aid-for-Trade mandate.  Recalling the Second Globa l Review of Aid for Trade and the subsequent 
report made by the Director-Gen eral at the July General Council meeting, he said that SVEs 
concurred with the assessment that the Review ha d been successful in taking stock of the overall 
progress achieved since 2005 and also of highligh ting the need for additional and substantive 
commitments from donors.  In this respect, he not ed that a greater level of ownership of the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative had been reflected, for exampl e, by the fact that contrary to 2007 far more 
SVEs had responded to the 2008 OECD-WTO Aid-for-Tra de questionnaire.  As stated at the Second 
Global Review, Aid for Trade continued to be a cr ucial component of the development strategy for 
SVEs.  It was an integral but complementary pa rt of the development dimension of the Doha 
Development Agenda (DDA) negotia tions as could be seen, for example, in the trade facilitation 
negotiations.  However, SVEs wished to reiterate that Aid for Trade should not be seen as a substitute 
for the benefits that should be gained by devel oping countries, including SVEs, from greater market 
access for their exports to developed countries and from the provision of adequate and meaningful 
special and differential treatment in the DDA negotia tions and outcomes.  In addition, progress on Aid 
for Trade should not be dependent on progress and conclusion of the DDA as the former transcended 
the latter. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 4  
 
  16. Turning specifically to the draft work progra mme, he said that SVEs supported the objectives 
set out in the document which reflected the priorities for future work that had been identified at the 
Second Global Review.  SVEs fully subscribed to the goal of not only maintaining and honouring the 
current levels of commitments, but also impr oving them.  Securing additional commitments of 
financial resources would be important, particularly  given the current global economic climate and the 
signs of a turnaround.  However, SVEs wished to re iterate the need to addr ess the issue of access to 
concessionary loan financing by some SVEs.  Because of their classification as high- or middle-income developing countries, some SVEs we re not able to access concessionary funding.  It 
needed to be recognized that th ese countries faced many of the cons traints and bottlenecks associated 
with production and trade that warranted thei r ability to access such funds.  The reviews and 
preparations leading up to the Second Global Review had revealed that there could be an information 
gap between the availability of funding and info rmation on how those funds could be accessed by 
developing countries.  This would, of course, have an impact on disbursements.  There was therefore 
a need to improve the information flow on av ailability and procedur es for accessing funds. 
17. With regard to the regional dime nsion, SVEs welcomed the sugge stion for a thematic focus to 
regional events in 2011 including, for example, on  particular issues faced by SVEs, and looked 
forward to an elaboration of this in the 2011 section of the roadmap.  With respect to implementation 
of regional initiatives and projects, SVEs believed there was need to ensure that all countries within 
the region were benefiting from such initiatives.  On monitoring and evaluation, there continued to be 
conceptual differences of view at the national le vel regarding the definition and identification of 
Aid-for-Trade flows.  This had implications partic ularly for monitoring and evaluation and, to some 
extent, mainstreaming efforts.  There was theref ore need to build consen sus on the Aid-for-Trade 
concept at the national level.  Referring to the role  of the private sector, SVEs considered that a 
structured, ongoing and systematic dialogue was ne cessary between the private and public sectors at 
the national and regional level.  This was an im portant element in the process of mainstreaming, 
implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.  Many countries lacked st ructured frameworks and 
mechanisms within which such di alogue took place relying on ad hoc situation-driven occasions for 
engaging the private sector.  Sharing of experiences  and best practices would be a useful means of 
addressing this limitation.  Work with other orga nizations such as the ITC and UNCTAD could also 
help countries in establishing structures at the national and regional level for private sector participation. 
18. In conclusion, SVEs wished to reiterate th at they saw trade as a tool to harness the 
development of their countries.  One of the characteristics of SVEs was the openness of their 
economies which meant that the potential transmission  effect of trade on the development potential of 
SVEs was extremely high.  However, due to structur al and other limitations, this was not automatic.  
Targeted interventions in terms of trade-capacity  building measures were therefore needed.  He 
referred to the fact that in the OECD-WTO Aid for Trade at a Glance 2009 report there were not 
many SVE countries within the top 25 beneficiaries,  and said that this statistic underscored the need 
for greater attention to be paid to the Aid-fo r-Trade needs of SVEs by the international donor 
community.  SVEs looked forward to further enga gement and dialogue as the work programme and 
roadmap was revised and then finalized. 
19. The representative of Chile
 congratulated the Secretariat for the high standard of the 
document which it considered to be very positive an d which, in general terms, it supported.  Chile 
shared the comment made by Chin a that there was a greater responsibility to be taken by developed 
countries when it came to providing Aid for Trade.   For developing countries, the responsibility was 
more subsidiary and was voluntary taking into acc ount the individual country's possibilities.  Like 
China, Chile, too, would like to see more countries a dded to the list of pilot TPRs.  Chile would have 
been pleased to have had a chapter on Aid for Trade in its recently-finalized TPR but understood that 
this had not been possible for th e current exercise.  Referring to the first bullet of the section on 
objectives, Chile requested that the word "develop ed" be inserted in the text referring to Members  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
 Page 5 
 
 
  honouring their financial commitments.  As regards monitoring and evaluation, Chile agreed with the 
modalities as suggested by the Secretariat and also be lieved that a network to share information would 
be a constructive and useful way, for example, of illustrating, inter alia , the ownership of Aid for 
Trade.  Lastly, on the regional dimension, he said th at in the roadmap there did not appear to be any 
activity planned in the Latin American region a nd asked that reference to an Inter-American 
Development Bank initiative on credit bonuses wh ich was linked to tria ngular cooperation be 
included in the updated version of the list. 
20. The representative of Barbados  said his delegation fully supported the statement made by 
Dominica on behalf of the SVEs and wished to emphasize a few key issues.  The draft work 
programme ably reflected the outcome of the discuss ions at the Second Global Review and served as 
an important platform to allow delegations to pl an and prepare for the upcoming CTD meetings on 
Aid for Trade and other related meetings.  At the Second Global Review, Barbados had delivered 
remarks at the Ministerial level on behalf of the SV Es emphasizing the importance of Aid for Trade to 
SVEs and suggesting a number of ideas for the way forward.  His delegation was pleased to see that 
many of these ideas had been included in the work  programme, such as, for example, a thematic 
approach to future work, in partic ular possible thematic work on SVEs, and enhancing the role of the 
private sector.  As already indicated by the SVEs, it would also be important to look at strengthening the role of the private sector at a local level to allow for inputs on international priorities .  Barbados 
was also pleased to see a further development of the regional dimension of Aid for Trade and the 
creation of a forum to elaborate on South-South cooperation. 
21. Barbados believed that the WTO had done an excel lent job on Aid for Trade thus far.  This 
work had become even more integral and important  to developing countries in light of the current 
economic slowdown and the WTO should therefore main tain and strengthen the spotlight on Aid for 
Trade, especially as it related to additionality of funds, supporting the effective delivery of Aid for 
Trade and assisting countries and regi ons to strengthen their ownership of  Aid for Trade, in particular 
by mainstreaming trade in their development and economic plans.  The WTO should also build on its 
role as a coordinator to bring together trade and development specialists and to promote the 
Aid-for-Trade framework through the technical and financial assistance and capacity building that 
would be required if developing countries were to effectively implement many of the future 
agreements under the DDA, for example in the ne gotiations on trade facilitation.  The WTO could 
also serve to galvanise support within the regi onal banks and regional or ganizations which would 
engender ownership at the re gional level.  In this regard, he said  that the WTO might wish to consider 
providing a forum where regional banks and regional organizations – especially regional integration 
secretariats – could meet to discuss their respectiv e Aid-for-Trade priorities and projects and where 
member states could be provided with an opportunity  to interface with these actors.  With respect to 
the work on monitoring and evaluation, SVEs  suggested that partner feedback – through 
questionnaires and national, regiona l and thematic case studies – should be the primary basis of a 
monitoring and evaluation framework.  The idea fo r a knowledge network was also something that 
should be pursued.  In conclusion, he said that SV E's welcomed and firmly supported the roadmap. 
22. The representative of Cameroon
, on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) 
Group , said that the ACP Group welcomed the draf t Aid-for-Trade Work Programme 2009-2011 and 
the annexed roadmap which provided useful orienta tion and guidance for Members' deliberations on 
the way forward.  He noted that many ACP member  states were facing serious challenges in meeting 
their economic development targets because of many-fold reasons ranging from those related to 
economic structures to those related to trade libera lization.  He explained that some ACP member 
states were small preference-dependent while others  were highly indebted economies facing serious 
challenges, in particular given the current gl obal economic downturn.  Many ACP countries were 
suffering – or might suffer – from preference erosion as a result of multilateral and regional trade 
liberalization and economic reform processes in e xport markets.  Furthermore, many ACP member 
states were part of regional integration processes that not only required policy adjustments but also WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 6  
 
  considerable investments.  Despite the serious ch allenges facing ACP member states, he said that the 
levels of aid were insufficient to meet the deve lopment objectives of many ACP countries, to enhance 
the competitiveness of their productive sectors and stim ulate exports.  In addition, aid delivery – and 
volumes – were not sufficiently predictable, resulting in a reduction in the ability of many ACP member states to ef fectively carry out comprehensive and long-term Aid-for-Trade planning.  
Procedural requirements to access aid were also often cumbersome.  The ACP Group therefore 
stressed the need for sufficient, additional, predictable and easily accessible Aid for Trade in order to 
be able to carry out sustainable economic de velopment plans, implement trade adjustment 
programmes to mitigate the negative impact of pref erence erosion, and enha nce regional integration 
processes. 
23. Whilst acknowledging the importance of mainst reaming trade into national development 
plans as articulated in the draft work programme, many developing countries, including ACP member 
states, needed assistance to carry out such mainstreaming processes and it should be ensured that such 
assistance was provided.  The ACP Group welcomed the inclusion of national Aid-for-Trade strategies in TPRs and hoped that this would be  a useful tool through which to examine the 
mainstreaming process.  The Group also suppor ted enhancing the monitoring and evaluation 
mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of Aid for Trade and enhance transparency but said that the 
financing and management of such monitoring mechan isms should not lead to a diversion of funds.   
24. The representative of Brazil
 said that her delegation attached great importance to the 
discussion on the work programme which would dir ect the work on Aid for Trade over the next 
two years, and believed that significant progress had been made to date  by both developed and 
developing countries in advancing the Aid-for-Trade  initiative.  She said that, overall, Brazil was 
satisfied with the work programme and the goals set out over the next few years, but that a few 
points - which echoed to a large extent those raised by China – merited further scrutiny. 
25. The first point related to South-South c ooperation which she said although encompassed 
trade-related issues in fact related to all effort s among South partners with a view to overcoming 
difficulties which hindered their development.  In recent years Brazil had been trying to improve 
cooperation with its South part ners through a voluntary initiative which stemmed not only from 
shared realities but also from the need to translate solidarity into  practical action.  The main 
underlying idea of South-South cooperation was equalit y which, by its very nature, meant there was 
an emphasis on partnership.  Based on that understa nding, Brazil wished to encourage a revision of 
the text that suggested that developing countries and non-OECD members take steps that would in 
fact move them away from the voluntary framework envisaged for the South-South cooperation.  In 
Brazil's view, a successful balance had already been struck between developing and developed Members' responsibilities concerning Aid for Trade which it hoped would not be upset .  The second 
point concerned the reporting of Aid-for-Trade flow s to the OECD.  In this regard, she said that 
although Brazil was trying to improve its own data  collection system, like other developing countries, 
it, too, was faced with constraints, one exampl e being the fact that Brazil's activities were not 
coordinated throughout the different ministries .  The third point related to mainstreaming and TPRs as 
a mechanism to examine the mainstreaming process.  In this regard, Brazil suggested that developed 
countries also be added to the list of pilot TPRs so  as to improve the Aid-for-Trade sections of TPRs 
across the board for the benefit of all Members.   
26. Finally, she reiterated Brazil's willingness to discuss with other interested Members the 
convenience of holding a review on South-Sout h cooperation which might prove to be a good 
opportunity to discuss important issues such as ways to handle triangular cooperation.  Brazil was aware that, in the current economic situation, all wo uld be faced with many challenges in maintaining 
the good work done so far on the Aid-for-Trade in itiative.  The work programme would therefore 
have to reflect this and at the same time lead to  the work being carried out in a comparative manner.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
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  27. The representative of India  expressed his delegation's general satisfaction with the draft work 
programme.  Supporting the comments made by Chin a, he stressed that the details regarding 
South-South cooperation, including elements for the proposed thematic event in 2010, should be 
developed by the Secretariat in c onsultation with developing countries.  It should be recognized that 
South-South cooperation was a complement to th e Aid for Trade provided by traditional OECD 
donors and multilateral funding agencies and was a volun tary activity dependent on the capacity of 
the developing country concerned.  On monito ring and evaluation, it would therefore not be 
reasonable to accept the same rigorous data su bmission requirements from developing countries as 
from OECD countries.  India therefore requested that  these points be factored into the revision of the 
work programme. 
28. The representative of the European Communities  reassured the Chair and Members of the 
EU's continued commitment to Aid for Trade, both in Geneva and in the field where implementation 
took place.  Her delegation appreciated the informal consultations held by the Chair on the draft work 
programme, and, continuing in a similar vein, looke d forward to an enhanced and regular dialogue on 
Aid for Trade with beneficiary partner countries and donors – including emerging donors. The EC 
was confident that an enhanced dialogue, both within the CTD and also in more informal 
settings - including the possible expansion of th e Director-General's Aid-for-Trade Advisory 
Group - would allow for a shared vision and agenda for Aid for Trade in the years to come.  The 
particular nature of Aid for Trade, which was pa rt of Official Development Assistance (ODA), should 
be recognized, as should the supportive role that the WT O could play at the global level.  She said her 
comments would focus on three main areas of th e work programme – the role of the WTO, 
mainstreaming, and the regional dimension – where her delegation still had concerns. 
29. First, the work programme as it stood focused on the roles of the WTO and the OECD which 
unintentionally gave the impression that Aid-for-T rade implementation was managed from Geneva.  
While discussions in Geneva under the WTO's coheren ce mandate had raised the profile of trade and 
development, implementation of Aid for Trade was not  initiated or driven out of Geneva but rather 
through country-led coordination in the field.  In add ition, the EC was of the view that the role of the 
WTO should mainly be one of awareness raising, exchange of information on lessons learnt, and 
monitoring, all at a global level, whereas implementation took place at national level driven by countries' specific circumstances in the field.  Her delegation therefore wished this aspect to be better 
reflected in the work programme.  Second, the EC welcomed the emphasis that had been put on 
mainstreaming which clearly was a necessary comp lement to donors' commitment to mobilize and 
improve the levels of resources.  However, alt hough progress had been made on mainstreaming, it 
was still not systematically apparent in partner co untries' requests to donors in the field.  It was 
important to note, in this respect, the significant ro le of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) as 
a tool for mainstreaming trade in least-developed countries (LDCs), where the WTO, too, played an 
active role together with other players, including in ternational agencies.  Third, the EC welcomed the 
important focus put on the regional dimension of th e work programme particularly since the regional 
integration processes that were underway could be ve ry important drivers for Aid for Trade.  The key 
to success in this area was to ensu re that regional partner organiza tions and stakeholders directly 
involved in regional integration steered this pro cess to allow for a genuine bottom-up approach.  
Reviews should therefore be organized around events  and processes that were already happening in 
the region and that took trade promotion and regional  integration forward, involving also, of course, 
the actors that were directly implementing regional strategies and programmes in the field.  In 
conclusion, she said that her delegation looked fo rward to a continued and productive exchange on 
Aid for Trade. 
30. The representative of Honduras
 said the fact that Honduras had replied to the 2008 
OECD-WTO Aid-for-Trade questionnaire and that it was among the list of pilot TPRs, illustrated the 
importance and relevance it placed on the Aid-for-T rade initiative as a means of providing possible 
solutions to the challenges it faced with respect to its development strategies.  Honduras welcomed WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 8  
 
  the initiative to include an analysis of Aid for Tr ade in its next TPR which would favour dialogue and 
recognition that Aid for Trade was an important el ement as far as national economic and social areas 
were concerned.  Without the support of economic  resources by donors, finding solutions to the 
problems faced by Honduras would simply not be possible and her delegation therefore wished to 
encourage that efforts regarding Aid for Trade be  continued in the Central American region.  
31. The representative of the United States
 said that, as could be seen by the active engagement at 
the present meeting, Aid for Trade was a very im portant topic for all Members, donors – traditional 
and new – and partners, making it a partnership between and among its  participants.  Aid for Trade 
covered 25-30 per cent of all ODA.  The draft work programme was a good starting point for planning the way forward, but her delegation nevertheless wished to raise some concerns. 
32. First, the US supported the EC comment that Aid for Trade was happening primarily in the 
field.  The US was concerned about the focus of th e work programme, and wished to stress the fact 
that assistance was designed, funded and implemented at a country or regional level.  There was therefore a need to ensure that the right work  was done in Geneva to support – and not detract 
from - the work that was carried out in the field.   The WTO was not a development agency and, 
except for its training programmes on WTO agreemen ts, did not deliver programming.  The WTO's 
unique convening role to support Aid for Trad e in Geneva needed to be harnessed, leaving 
capital-based officials and donor agencies to implemen t programmes in the field.  The US considered 
that the WTO's strengths lay in the global monitori ng of Aid for Trade, providing a forum for sharing 
case studies and best practices, and keeping a focus on mainstreaming of trade in donor and partner 
development strategies.  The CTD had an important role to play in this respect, and her delegation 
was pleased to see that dedicated and thematic sessi ons on Aid for Trade were planned for the coming 
year.  Because Aid for Trade was cross-cutting, covering activities from heavy infrastructure to 
capacity building, trade-related activ ities often appeared in "transport"  or "agriculture" programmes.  
The US hoped that the thematic CTD sessions coul d bring information on such programmes to the 
audience in Geneva.  Finally, the US would welc ome further consultations on these and other points 
made by Members. 
33. The representative of Ecuador
 appreciated the work that had been done by the Chair and the 
Secretariat to ensure full compliance of the Hong Kong Declaration, including on Aid for Trade, and 
was pleased to see that the outcomes of the Se cond Global Review of Aid for Trade had been 
reflected in the draft work programme.  His delega tion agreed with the statements made by China, 
Chile, and India .  He noted that Ecuador had participated in  the informal consultation process as well 
as in other meetings such as the CTD and the recen tly-held Informal Group of Developing Countries, 
and wished to reiterate Ecuador's comment regard ing the importance of strengthening the role of 
developing country Members' sm all- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) so they could more 
effectively contribute to the multilateral trading syst em.  With regard to better taking advantage of 
South-South cooperation through th e exchange of best practices, Ecuador could offer its own 
experience and contribution in this area of planning for development.  The effective implementation 
and capacity of national development policies helped  promote sustainable, integral and democratic 
government reform which contributed to transparen t and effective public management thereby leading 
to faster and sustainable human development. 
34. With regard to the methodology contained in th e work programme and the role of the Global 
Review of Aid for Trade he wished to reca ll the 2006 Aid-for-Trade Task Force and its 
recommendation that Aid for Trade should focus on the needs assessment of countries by sector, on 
donor response, and on the liaison between donors and developing countries.  Ecuador believed that 
the assessment methodology followed to date had not en abled a full exchange of views, particularly as 
concerned a discussion on needs assessment and the role that Aid for Trade should play for its 
beneficiaries, i.e., developing-country Members.  Ecuador therefore considered that the work 
programme leading up to the Global Review shoul d promote a change in methodology and include  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
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  more regular and frequent thematic and interac tive discussions that produced tangible results.  
Inter-sessional permanent working groups could, for example, be held within the framework of the 
CTD, to deal in more depth with objectives and to  come up with the necessary mechanisms to make 
those objectives operational.  Alternatively, more ac tive and coherent particip ation of stakeholders 
could be promoted through smalle r discussion groups.  Finally, wh ile reiterating its thanks to the 
Secretariat for the excellent work done in prep aring the work programme, Ecuador appealed for 
further suggestions to democratize the process.  In this respect, Ecuador was of the view that Aid for 
Trade should reflect the emerging needs of the de veloping countries that participated in the 
multilateral trading system. 
35. The representative of Japan  said he wished to confine his comments to resource mobilization 
and monitoring.  On resource mobilization, Japan believed that donors had to honour their 
commitments and assist people on the ground.  In this respect, while South-South cooperation was 
highly appreciated and provided additional resources, given its complementary nature such 
cooperation should also fit into the component of exis ting efforts in the field, especially, for example, 
as regards partner countries' owners hip of national development strate gies and the aid provided within 
that framework.  Japan therefore commended those that had already begun to refine their data 
collection and looked forward to appropriate progress reports.  On monitoring and the work that 
should be done in Geneva, he said that, as well as using to the best advantage the existing WTO tools 
– such as the CTD or TPRB, etc., – it was also necessary to monitor and evaluate by sharing best 
practices or lessons learned.  As had already b een suggested, from a regional perspective, one idea 
would be to organize dedicated sessions for a them atic debate and to share lessons learned on the 
ground.  Another would be to use the TPRs as a tool to further strengthen the monitoring of Aid for 
Trade.  In conclusion, he said that Japan appreciat ed the Secretariat's efforts to coordinate with 
Members and looked forward to further discussi ng the work programme in the coming weeks. 
36. The representative of Norway  associated her delegation with the statements made by the EC, 
US and Japan.  Norway agreed that the work pr ogramme should better reflect that coordination and 
implementation of Aid for Trade took place in the field and that the role of the WTO should therefore 
be further clarified and identified.  Furthermore, it was essential to recognize that Aid for Trade was a 
joint partnership where all those involved needed to engage and take responsibilit y.  In this respect, it 
was crucial that Members were involved in the wo rk on Aid for Trade, including in the design of 
future Aid-for-Trade work programmes and Globa l Reviews.  Although Norway appreciated the 
consultation process that had taken place, there s hould nevertheless be scope for Members' further 
involvement, including a special focus on involving beneficiaries which would strengthen 
developing-country ownership.  No rway believed that the Director-General's Aid-for-Trade Advisory 
Group was, for example, constrained by the fact that Members were not represented and suggested 
that an enlargement of the Advisory Group or th e creation of a different consultation forum for 
informal discussions should be considered.  To  allow for a wider discussion and dialogue between 
different groups, such a consultation forum shoul d involve beneficiaries and donors, including 
emerging donors who did not participate in the regular donor fora. 
37. Norway also wished to note that the WTO was not, and should not be, a development 
assistance organization.  There was therefore a need  for closer dialogue between the development and 
trade communities to best tailor assi stance to needs on the ground and to mainstream Aid for Trade 
into development activities at large.  Finally,  Norway believed it was important to strengthen 
cooperation at the country level, and that, where pres ent in a country, the EIF could be used as a tool 
for this purpose.  Her delegation looked forward to  a revised version of the work programme and 
remained committed to continuing to co ntribute to the Aid-for-Trade agenda. 
38. The representative of Jamaica  said that her delegation supp orted the statements made by 
Dominica on behalf of SVEs and Cameroon on behalf  of the ACP Group.  Jamaica also supported the 
statement by Barbados with regard to the fact th at the conclusions of the Second Global Review of WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 10  
 
  Aid for Trade had been faithfully reflected in the draft work programme.  Her delegation wished to 
highlight the importance of mainstreaming trade in national and regional economic planning, the 
importance of greater participation of the private se ctor in the coordination of development assistance, 
and the issue of additionality and increased support to regional integration processes.  Jamaica would 
like to see a continued building of the momentum cr eated by the regional consultation processes.  One 
key point for Jamaica, which had also been raised by Dominica, was the need for greater attention to 
the specificities of different countries and regions in order to find the best fit for each country and to ensure that no one was overlooked or excluded from access to Aid for Trade.  From the Geneva perspective, Jamaica continued to support a str ong role for the Secretariat and the CTD in this 
endeavour and fully supported the draft work programme.  In conclusion, she said that both the 
Secretariat and the Chair could count on Jamaica' s continued support in moving the Aid-for-Trade 
agenda forward. 
39. The representative of Switzerland
 said his delegation shared the same views as the EC, US, 
Japan, and Norway, but also wish ed to emphasize the issue of implementation.  Like others, 
Switzerland believed that implemen tation should happen on the ground a nd that the reference to the 
role of the WTO therefore needed to be revised a nd clarified.  Switzerland was of the view that donors 
should have a more active role in the field, par ticularly as far as non-LDC countries were concerned, 
and believed this would require from donors a be tter coordination on Aid for Trade on the ground.  
His delegation suggested that a similar donor facilita tor arrangement to the one that the EIF had in 
place in LDC countries could be put in place in non-LD C countries to enable donors to better take on 
the burden of coordination. 
40. The representative of Peru  noted that the work programme would assist in moving the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative forward to achieve the objectiv es to which all subscribed and, in general, her 
delegation could agree with the approach presented in  the document.  She said that the Aid-for-Trade 
initiative was extremely important for Peru because it had promoted awareness about the support that 
developing countries – and particularly LDCs – needed to overcome the obstacles which impeded 
possibilities to expand their trade and thereby reduce poverty.  Peru also agreed that developing 
countries faced serious trade capacity constraints that  reduced the possibility for them to comply with 
and benefit from WTO agreements and further increase their trade.  Referring to the first bullet of the 
section on objectives, and echoing Peru's comme nt, her delegation recommended that the text 
referring to Members honouring their financial commitm ents be more specific.  Her delegation also 
agreed with China that the commitment to provide  Aid for Trade was the responsibility of developed 
countries and that the Aid for Trade provided by developing countries should be regarded as merely 
complementary.   
41. Regarding the reference to TPRs, Peru agr eed with Brazil that other major developed 
countries should also be added to the list of pilot TPR s in order to have a more  global view of national 
Aid-for-Trade strategies and experiences.  The TPR exercise was a very positive one for all Members 
in general and Peru therefore believed that the incl usion of Aid for Trade should be a requirement for 
all countries' TPRs.  In conclusion, and echoing Chile's comment, Peru would like to see in the 
roadmap an activity planned for Latin America and the Caribbean. 
42. The representative of Canada  wished to associate his delegation with the comments made by 
the EC, US, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland.  Highli ghting three issues in particular, he said that 
Canada would urge the Secretariat, in its revi sed document, to recognize that implementation and 
coordination happened primarily at the national and regional level.  Canada  believed that the WTO 
was better placed to focus on the comparative a dvantages it had with regard to transparency, 
spotlighting the importance of Aid for Trade – particularly through the Global Reviews – and playing an educational role in terms of transmitting what Aid for Trade was to its Members.  Canada believed 
that, in terms of direct effects of Aid for Trade, private sector cooperation could be best applied at the 
local and regional level rather than at a global le vel and suggested that this be reflected in the  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
 Page 11 
 
 
  appropriate section of the work programme.  Finally , Canada would also welcome inclusion in the 
roadmap of proposed dates for the next Global Review  and looked forward to further consultations on 
this. 
43. In reply to some of the concerns raised by  the providers of South-South cooperation, the 
representative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)  said that the 
objective of the OECD working with the WTO was to continuously improve the monitoring of Aid 
for Trade.  Although the OECD Creditor Reporting System (CRS) and the questionnaires for partner 
countries and donors provided useful information on what DAC donors were doing and how they were contributing to Aid for Trade, there was still more work to be done on providing a spotlight on 
the activities of South-South providers.  There wa s a clear recognition that South-South providers 
were separate from traditional donors which was exactly the reason why in the most recent monitoring 
exercise a questionnaire specifically for South-South providers had been distributed.  He underlined that reporting to the CRS was voluntary and said that the OECD would welcome a discussion with South-South providers on the best way of providing a spotlight on their activities.  To that end, the 
OECD had established the DAC-China Study Group where it was hoped that Aid for Trade would be 
discussed at some point.  An aid effectiveness meet ing was also planned in Colombia in March 2010 
where it was hoped to have a session on Aid for Trad e to again discuss with South-South providers 
the best way of achieving the goals of providing a spotlight for their activities.   
44. The Chairman
 said that the work programme would be revised to take account of the 
comments made at the present CTD meeting as well as those made at the separate consultations held 
by the Secretariat and himself, in his capacity as CTD Chair.  He said it would be his intention to 
reconvene the CTD in early November to consider the work programme.  As such, his aim would be 
to have the work programme agreed in good time so  that it could be submitted, together with the 
summary report of the Second Global Review, to the General Council meeting scheduled in mid-November for onward transmission to the Ministerial Conference.  
45. The Committee took note
 of the statements made and the meeting was adjourned . 
46. At the resumed meeting of 3 November 2009 , the Chairman  introduced the revised draft work 
programme 2009-2011 (JOB(09)/100/Re v.1) which had been prepared to take account of comments 
made by Members at the 12 October CTD meeting as well as those made during the consultations he 
had held in his capacity as CTD Chair.  He belie ved that most of those concerns and comments had 
been taken into consideration in the revised draf t, but noted that comments on which there had not 
been a broad degree of convergence had not been incl uded.  He said that since Aid for Trade was seen 
as a partnership involving a broad range of differe nt actors and all categories of WTO Members, it 
was important that Members proceeded in that pa rtnership spirit and built on the engagement shown 
during the Second Global Review.  The work programme should reflect a common vision of the way forward and, although many Members had made co mments and drafting suggestions from their own 
perspectives, the Membership's overall view  had to be reflected in the document. 
47. He then outlined the changes that had been made in the revised work programme.  These 
included the following:  (i) clarification of the WTO's role and of where responsibility lay for the operationalization of Aid for Trade and addressing the partnership aspect of Aid for Trade;  (ii) a 
strengthened reference to the impact of the global ec onomic crisis, notably in relation to the supply of 
new and additional resources and the accompanying de mand for Aid for Trade and, in that context, 
the reinforcement of the role of mainstreaming in cr eating demand for Aid for Trade;  (iii) recognition 
of the important role played by regional econom ic communities with regard to implementation;  
(iv) suitable reflection of the complementary rela tionship between the DDA negotiations and Aid for 
Trade;  (v) integration of the concerns of South- South partners with regard to reporting and the TPR 
process;  and (vi) refinement of language in the section on monitoring and evaluation and 
strengthening of the text in the section relating to  the private sector.  Referring to the comments that WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 12  
 
  had been made with regard to the need to stre ngthen consultative mechanisms, he said that both he 
and the Director-General would continue to ex plore possible different avenues of informal 
consultations.  Finally, he said that the revised doc ument had attempted to st rike a balance between 
the concerns of some Members that references to  adjustment costs should be included and those of 
other Members that believed that adjustment costs were not linked to the mainstreaming processes.  
48. Members thanked the Secretariat and the Chair for their untiring efforts in preparing the 
Aid-for-Trade work programme and expressed gene ral satisfaction and support for the revised 
document.  They reiterated their appreciation for the inclusive and transparent consultation process 
that had taken place and expressed the hope that th is would continue until the Aid-for-Trade work 
programme was finalized and then in the implemen tation of the work programme.  In this regard, 
Members also requested the opportunity to consid er and endorse any further revision of the work 
programme in other informal settings and in  a further formal meeting of the CTD. 
49. The representative of St. Lucia
, on behalf of the Small and Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) , 
said that at the 12 October CTD meeting, SVE's had made some substantive comments on the draft work programme and were pleased to note that some of their con cerns had been reflected in the 
revised document.  In the context of mainstream ing and implementing the core elements of the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative, SVEs continued to acknowl edge the role of the monitoring framework as 
well as the private sector and their regional and inte rnational development partners.  She said that the 
synergies created at those levels would eventually give SVEs the required push towards development.  
SVEs welcomed the draft work programme which el ucidated the priorities of economies that ranged 
from low to high-income countries with acute vulne rabilities, and looked forward to continuing with 
the work in order to harness trade in the development priorities of their economies. 
50. The representative of Cameroon
, on behalf of the ACP Group , said that the ACP Group had 
had the opportunity to participate in several consultations  and expressed satisfaction with the version 
of the draft under consideration.  In the ACP's vi ew, the WTO's role had been clarified and progress 
had been made on the draft.  
51. The representative of Benin , on behalf of the African Group , recalled that during the Second 
Global Review, a number of objectives had been set  but that the question of how to meet those 
objectives remained unanswered.  The African Gr oup believed that Members needed a compass and a 
clear document that provided the contours of the upcoming work for 2009-2011.  The revised draft work programme was the result of consultations he ld by the Chair and was therefore a balanced 
document to which the principles of transpar ency and inclusiveness had been applied. 
52. The representative of Paraguay
, on behalf of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) , 
was pleased to see that a reference to the landloc ked developing countries had been made in the 
revised draft.  This was in line with the recognitio n that the Director-General had given to LLDCs in 
his final comments at the Second Global Review and she said it was important to take into account the specificities of such groups.  She recalled that wh en LLDC Trade Ministers had met in New Zealand 
they highlighted the importance of  the Aid-for-Trade initiative and requested rapid implementation of 
the agenda, while at the same time expressing the need  to provide adequate attention to the needs and 
concerns of LLDCs.  In their Declaration, Ministers noted their commitment to improve LLDC participation in the monitoring process and in identif ying their needs.  Also noted was the support that 
was needed for their full participation, which included training and capacity building, trade 
negotiations, implementation of in ternational agreements and, sp ecifically, strengthening of the 
production capacity within those countries in order to  increase the competitiveness of LLDC products.  
Ministers called on WTO Members to acknowledge  the clear ties that existed between the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative, infrastructure developm ent programmes and other measures for facilitating 
trade.  In order to better integrate trade into th eir national and regional plans, LLDCs requested that 
the regional dimension of Aid for Trade be stre ngthened.  This could be accomplished through  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
 Page 13 
 
 
  participation in regional partne rship groups, including with the regional development banks and 
bilateral donors.  She noted that the LLDCs were  pleased with the revised work programme and 
reiterated their willingness to work alongside ot her Members in order to make progress in the 
implementation of the Aid-for-Trade initiative. 
53. The representative of Nigeria  supported the statements by Ca meroon and Benin on behalf of 
the ACP countries and the African Group, respectively, and highlighted that their areas of concern had 
now been captured in the revised work programme.  He expressed satisfaction with the latest version 
which had been prepared on the basis of comments made at several consultations and expected the 
work programme to be faithfully implemented. 
54. The representative of China  noted that, while several of Chin a's concerns had been reflected 
in the revised document, some still remained.  The first concerned the emphasis that the document had 
put on South-South cooperation.  In this regard, Chin a wished to reiterate its belief that South-South 
cooperation was voluntary and should  not be regarded as a replacement – even partially – for the 
long-standing commitments of developed Members.  He emphasized that that spirit should therefore 
be reflected in any future draft of the work programme.  His second point concerned the 
commissioning of case studies and the preparation of  joint reports by the WTO and international 
organizations and the fact that these might not reflect  neutrality on the part of the Secretariat.  To 
ensure that sensitive or factual issues were appr opriately and accurately re flected before such case 
studies and reports were published, China wished to reiterate the importance of liaising with Members 
and hoped that such practice could be continued in the future.  His delegation sought minor changes to 
the wording referring to a reference to the Paris Principles on Aid Effectiveness and also requested 
that, in the roadmap, the wording with respect to references to TPR s be unified.  In conclusion, he 
noted the importance of Aid for Trade and the partic ular role of the WTO that had been highlighted 
by a number of Members and said his delegation hoped th at such a role could be  continued.  He added 
that, for its part, China would continue to ac tively participate in the Aid-for-Trade process. 
55. The representative of the European Communities  noted her delegation's appreciation for the 
improvements to the revised work  programme and wished to make some additional remarks and 
suggestions for improvements regarding the implemen tation of Aid for Trade on the ground.  She said 
the comments were intended to be constructive a nd to reflect the importance that the EU – both 
member States and the European Commission – attached  to the Aid-for-Trade agenda and to reflect 
their continuous commitment to its success. 
56. The first comment concerned the roadmap which the EC felt was more an indicative calendar 
listing the main Aid-for-Trade events to be held in the run up to the Third Global Review planned in 
2012.  The EC considered that most of the "real" Ai d-for-Trade events were the actions taken by each 
developing and developed country, in the field, to develop their own trade development strategies and 
the projects that were implemented in their support, every day, in the field.  Second, her delegation 
believed that the revised document placed the right  emphasis on encouraging Aid-for-Trade pledges 
to be honoured and on maintaining the momentum  for continued support to  developing-country and 
LDC trade-capacity building.  She suggested that consultations on these aspects should also include 
progress reports on trade mainstreaming by develo ping countries.  Mainstreaming was essential to 
Aid for Trade and would ensure that Aid-for-Trade financing continued to flow and was directed to 
the right priorities.  She reiterated the point that Members should not only concentrate on the quantitative elements of Aid for Trade but also on the qualitative elements, and suggested that 
activities on mainstreaming could be incorporated in to the technical thematic workshops that were 
planned.  Third, with respect to regional Aid-for-T rade reviews, the EC suggested that emphasis also 
be put on effective implementation of Aid-for-Trade  strategies and programmes rather than focusing 
only on individual projects.  In addition, she sugg ested that the wording in the revised draft be 
adjusted to reflect the fact that it was the deve loping countries themselves, through the appropriate 
regional communities and organizations, that needed to  take the lead in planning and implementation WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 14  
 
  of their regional integration strategies.  Those st rategies could then be supported by Aid-for-Trade 
programmes assisted by bilateral and multilateral donor s, including the regional development banks.  
Moreover, the intensive regional integration process es that were now underway in many parts of the 
world could be important drivers for Aid for Trade.  The key to success, and to a truly bottom-up approach, was to ensure that partner organizations  and key stakeholders in the regions steered any 
regional Aid-for-Trade process.  In that regard , regional reviews needed to be organized around 
events and processes that genuinely took trade prom otion and regional integration forward, and that 
involved actors directly linked to implementing regional strategies and processes. 
57. Finally, she expressed her delegation's appreciati on for the spirit of pa rtnership in which the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative was proceeding, including  with respect to the work programme, and 
suggested that stakeholders be given the opportunity  to endorse any further revision of the document. 
58. The representative of the United States
 noted that Members had made strides in Aid for Trade 
over the past few years and said that since the wo rk programme would help guide Members for the 
next two years it deserved time and effort on its prep aration.  While there were improvements in the 
revised draft, particularly as far as clarifying the WTO's role in the Aid-for-Trade initiative was 
concerned, she noted that implementation was larg ely a field-based activity and said that several 
points in the document still needed to be clarified in this respect.   
59. Aid for Trade currently accounted for 25-30 per cent of overall ODA, a significant amount 
that had grown in recent years, and account needed  to be taken of the fact that many of the 
trade-related resources available were in programmes that were not primarily labelled as trade, but as agriculture or infrastructure.  It was clear that mainstreaming trade in nati onal development plans was 
crucial to making best use of these resources, par ticularly at a time when assistance budgets were 
decreasing in some countries as a result of economic conditions.  Future resour ces would be available 
for trade-related programmes, including trade-rela ted infrastructure, through both ongoing and new 
initiatives such as the G-8 initiative to combat hunger and promote food security.  The level of 
resources would reflect the priority partner count ries placed on those activities in their national 
development plans.  In addition, she said that th e revised draft needed to be clearer about the 
distinction between what was done in Geneva and what was done in the field.  Like most other 
donors, the US was happy to discuss strategies in Geneva but preferred to leave funding and programming assistance to be done in the field thro ugh existing channels with  partner governments 
and regional institutions.  As already noted, the pr ocess of evaluating the financing needs of countries 
occurred in the field through consultation betw een governments and stakeholders on national 
development plans and strategies.  The reference to the WTO carrying out this process therefore 
seemed inappropriate and impractical.  Like the EC , the US would appreciate another opportunity to 
consider the draft work programme.   
60. The representative of Japan
 said that the consultation process carried out with regard to the 
preparation of the draft work programme demonstr ated that it was becoming a product of partnership 
among donors, emerging economies and developing countries, just as Aid for Trade was and should 
be.  His delegation recognized the challenge for the WTO – which was not a development 
organization – to continue to play an important role in Aid for Trade and said that it should use 
existing frameworks and avoid duplication with mech anisms in the field.  Japan appreciated the 
careful drafting of the work programme in this  regard.  Japan also supported the EC comments 
regarding the appropriate relationship between the WT O and the evaluation of financial needs.  With 
regard to the implementation of Aid for Trade,  Japan suggested that the WTO let the regional 
processes, where the right players made efforts, take the lead.  For Asia and the Pacific, for example, 
there was the Regional Technical Group which worked  in collaboration with the Asian Development 
Bank and interested donors such as USAID.  Japan, which was one of the co-Chairs of the Group, 
would be pleased to inform WTO Members on future  progress of the Group.  As concerned the TPR 
process, he noted that while this was "trade" a nd not "aid", it could nonetheless provide a useful  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
 Page 15 
 
 
  framework for monitoring and mainstreaming Aid for Tr ade.  In this regard, Japan suggested that the 
Secretariat consider including an Aid-for-Trade analysis in TPRs and hoped that the Trade Policy 
Review Body and the CTD could better coordinate  so as to include further integration of 
Aid-for-Trade elements in the TPRs.  Regarding Ai d for Trade and the DDA, he said that these were 
two wheels of the same cart and that Members shoul d promote both of them.  He added that Members 
should avoid the mistake that had been made in the 1990s where use of a one-size-fits-all approach 
had led to donor fatigue.  He hoped the work progr amme would guide Members in the right direction 
and his delegation looked forward to further cons ultations on the draft if it was to be revised. 
61. Before commenting on the draft work progr amme and roadmap, the representative of 
Bangladesh  thanked donors for their Aid for Trade and then recalled that since 2005, when Aid for 
Trade had become part of the global agenda, tw o Global Reviews had taken place, one in 2007 and 
one in 2009.  He asked, if this same pattern was to be followed, why the next Global Review was not 
in 2011 and what exactly the timing was of the Global Review to be held in 2012.   
62. Turning to the draft work programme and reca lling the discussion that had taken place at the 
Second Global Review about the importance of public -private partnership, both in the multilateral 
process and in Aid for Trade, and how the private sect or could be integrated in Aid for Trade, he 
noted that reference to the private sector appeared  to be absent from the roadmap.  Bangladesh also 
sought clarification as to who would review – and when – the partner-country priority projects that 
had been identified in the responses to the Aid -for-Trade questionnaires completed for the 2007 and 
2009 Global Reviews and what had happened to the pr ojects that had already been prioritized by 
Members.  In addition, he said that Bangladesh still sought clarification about what determined 
additionality of funding.  
63. The representative of Brazil  said that the revised text reflected the concerns expressed by 
Brazil and other developing countries, especially with  regard to the activities carried out in the context 
of South-South cooperation in relation to the Aid -for-Trade initiative.  Echoing China's request, she 
said that Brazil, too, would like to see a revision of the language referring to the application of the 
Paris Principles on Aid Effectiveness. 
64. The representative of Canada  said that the process was moving in the right direction and that 
his delegation supported the statements made by th e EC and US.  Canada hoped that the comments 
raised informally and through written communica tions to the Secretariat would be taken into 
consideration.  His delegation would welcome th e opportunity to participate in any further 
consultations that were held.  
65. The representative of Norway  said her delegation appreciated the fact that Norway's 
comments had been reflected in the revised documen t and hoped that informal consultations would be 
conducted in the future in an appropriate foru m as they were extremely useful.  Significant 
improvements had been made to the revised document particularly with respect to implementation and 
emphasis being put on the EIF with regard to resource mobilization and mainstreaming.  While 
Norway was satisfied with the revised draft, her delegation would neverthele ss have liked to have 
seen acknowledgement of the increasingly important role  of emerging donors.  She said that such an 
addition was not intended as an attempt to take away responsibility from traditional donors.  In 
conclusion, she said that although the emphasis on the regional dimension had been improved in the 
revised draft, the importance of implementation of Aid for Trade at country level could be further 
highlighted.  
66. The representative of El Salvador  said her delegation supported the fact that the revised work 
programme reflected the comments made at the 12 October CTD meeting by St. Lucia on behalf of 
SVEs.  El Salvador was making every effort to include Aid for Trade in its national development 
plans and expressed support for the work programme in its current version. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/12 
Page 16  
 
  67. The representative of Ecuador
 said that, while various Members had made detailed comments 
with regard to the implications of the work pr ogramme, his delegation did not necessarily agree with 
everything that had been said.  In that context,  he recalled Norway's comment on the importance of 
not displacing responsibilities as well as on the impo rtance of going deeper into some aspects of the 
different treatment of countries.   
68. The representative of Switzerland  said that his delegation was pleased with the revised draft 
which took into account most of their concerns.  Ho wever, there were still a number of issues that 
needed to be addressed and, in that regard, Swit zerland supported the statements by the EC, Norway, 
Japan and the US.  His delegation was available to continue to work on further improvements. 
69. The Chairman  noted that, while there had been mi xed responses to the draft, there was 
nevertheless a general level of satisfaction with the work programme, since many of the comments 
made had already been taken on board.  He suggest ed that additional consultations and more time 
were needed to consider how the concerns expressed  at the present meeting could be best integrated 
into a revised work programme.  He would theref ore continue to work on the document and consult 
Members individually, or, if needed, in small groups, in order to fine tune the suggestions that had 
been made.  Given the wide range and divergence of views expressed, he said this would not be an 
easy task, but that he would try and take on board only clearly expressed areas of convergence.  He 
informed that he would forward the recently-issued  summary report of the Second Global Review of 
Aid for Trade (WT/COMTD/AFT/W/15) to the General Council where he would also note the advanced status of work on the Aid-for-Trade work programme.  He also underlined his intention to 
arrive at a text which, in his view, would provid e the best balance between the different players as 
soon as possible. 
70. The representative of Rwanda
 thanked the Chair for the summary of the way forward and 
asked for clarification with respect to the Chair consultations and whether the expected final draft 
work programme would be discussed again in the CTD.  
71. The Chairman  confirmed that he would conduct furthe r consultations and modify the draft 
work programme to take on board those possible on wh ich he detected a broad degree of convergence.  
He said that the CTD did not need  to formally adopt the work pr ogramme, but nonetheless, he would 
present the final work programme at a future meeting of the CTD. 
72. The Committee took note  of the statements made and the meeting was adjourned . 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
73. There were no items raised under "Other Business". 
__________