WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
16 September 2011 
 (11-4460) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Twenty-First Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 24 JUNE 2011 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Dr. Anthony Mothae Maruping (Lesotho)  
 
 
A.  ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ........................................................................................................ 1  
B.  STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  ................................................................................. 1  
C.  PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK 
PROGRAMME  .............................................................................................................................. . 3 
1.  Resource Mobilization ......................................................................................................... ..... 3 
2.  Mainstreaming ................................................................................................................. ......... 4 
3.  Implementation ................................................................................................................ ......... 5 
4.  Monitoring and Evaluation ..................................................................................................... . 7 
5.  Private Sector ................................................................................................................ ............ 9 
D.  OTHER BUSINESS  ...................................................................................................................... 10  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman announced  that the agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3763.  He informed that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) 
had requested to make an intervention and proposed  that this be added to the agenda under the 
sub-item on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).  
2. The agenda , as amended, was adopted. 
B. STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
3. The Director-General updated Members on prepar ations for the Third Global Review (TGR) 
of Aid for trade (AfT) and noted that it would be  a high-level political event bringing together 
Ministers from developed and developing countries, h eads of agencies, the pr ivate sector and civil 
society.  He indicated that, thus far, confirmed pa rticipation had been received from 12 Ministers, 15 
Heads of Agencies, and five Chief Executive O fficers of major corporations and encouraged 
delegations to confirm their partic ipation as soon as possible.  He highlighted that the Review meeting 
would be an opportunity for all stakeholders to r ecommit politically to the AfT Initiative by focusing 
on showing results.  
4. He referred to the case story exercise that had been undertaken in respect to the M&E of AfT 
and preparation for the TGR and noted the success of the Workshop on Aid-for-Trade Case Stories 
held on 23 June.  The Workshop had provided an opportunity to ex amine the range of AfT initiatives WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  being implemented on the ground, the many positive stories emerging on the progress of 
mainstreaming, particularly in Least-Developed Countries (LDCs), and the growing body of work 
about the positive impact of AfT on trade performa nce.  He particularly wished to express 
appreciation to the Organization for Economic Co -operation and Developmen t (OECD), the regional 
development banks, as well as the UN regional commi ssions, for their collaboration in the case story 
exercise and noted the enthusiastic response.  Th e case story exercise had provided a rich and varied 
picture of on-the-ground activities, an understandi ng of how AfT could support trade opening and 
have a positive impact on economic growth and poverty reduction, examples of how AfT was 
supporting mainstreaming, and an awareness of the emerging body of research demonstrating a clear 
link between AfT and trade performance.  
5. He emphasized that although results could be  showcased, for exampl e, in areas such as 
resource mobilization (total AfT funding stood at approximately US$40 billion in 2009), integrating 
trade objectives into national planning frameworks (with the Enhanced Integrated Framework playing 
a key role as far as LDCs were concerned), and im pacts on the ground (information gathered from the 
case story exercise), less flattering areas such as utilizing management for development results in 
AfT, integrating the aid effectiveness agenda in AfT, and bolstering private sector engagement in the 
AfT agenda, should not be neglected.  The TGR should be a catalyst for further work in these areas.  
The Ministerial Conference scheduled to take pl ace in December would also offer an additional 
opportunity to move the AfT agenda forward and ta ke it to a higher level.  He looked forward to 
Members' input at the TGR and reaffirmed his comm itment to the promotion of AfT while at the same 
time stressing that implementation - and success - lay with the Members and the work they were 
doing on the ground. 
6. Reporting briefly on the recently-held Regional Re view Meeting on Aid for Trade:  "Aid for 
Trade Initiative - The Asia-Pacific Experience" which he had attended in Jakarta, Indonesia, he said 
that the meeting had highlighted the positive ro le that trade opening could play in economic 
development when dovetailed by AfT.  He welcomed the fact that the Asian experience with trade-led 
growth would be shared at the upcoming TGR.  
7. The representative of the European Union signa lled the EU's interest in discussing how to 
move the AfT agenda forward after the TGR.  Whil e recognizing that much had been achieved thus 
far, the EU maintained that AfT needed to become better at demonstrating outcomes and impacts, and 
that more needed to be learnt from the implemen tation of both in respect to what had or had not 
worked.  For example, while significant resources had been devoted to regional integration, donors 
and partners needed to link more effectively nationa l and regional programmes.  In addition, efforts 
with regard to the M&E of AfT were critical for donors and recipients to design better programmes.  
In conclusion, she said that more  needed to be done to demonstrate the link between AfT and poverty 
reduction and noted the EU's support of initiatives to engage the private sector.  
8. The representative of Canada reiterated Cana da's support of the AfT Initiative and looked 
forward to the TGR where the focus would be on r esults and impacts.  Canada also welcomed the 
TGR's Davos-style format and noted that this should provide sufficient opportunities for input from 
all participants.  Canada hoped that the TGR woul d bring greater insight to the link between poverty 
reduction and trade development and emphasized the n eed to take account of the informal sector.  
9. The representative of Japan said that Japan had been a recipient of aid since the earthquake 
and Tsunami disaster the previous March and planned to  return this aid in the form of international 
contributions.  His delegation, too, looked forw ard to the TGR and believed the event would be 
productive and that the results showcased w ould allow Japan to enhance its AfT. 
10. The representative of China agreed that progress had been made in AfT and emphasized that, 
given the uncertainty of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations, the TGR would provide  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  an opportunity to demonstrate the continuing cred ibility of the multilateral trading system. He noted 
that China was a participant in South-South c ooperation and, as such, had completed the AfT 
self-assessment questionnaire and submitted an AfT case story. 
11. The representative of Dominica, on behalf of  the Small and Vulnerable Economies (SVEs), 
noted with regret that it had not been possible to  secure funding to guarantee the participation of 
capital-based officials in the TGR.  Dominica had,  nevertheless, engaged in the M&E exercise and 
looked forward to the post-July work programme on AfT.  He informed that SVEs had been 
discussing internally a proposal for an AfT frame work which would enhance their mainstreaming 
efforts, ensure coherence and alignment, and fac ilitate development of national AfT strategies.  In 
conclusion, he said that the Workshop on Aid-for-T rade Case Stories had been a very productive 
event. 
12. The representative of the United States thanked the Secretariat for the work that had been 
done on the case story initiative.  The US welcomed the Director-General's positive message, but also 
recognized that more work needed to be done.  The US also welcomed the focus of the TGR on 
regional integration, private sector engagement, a nd on impacts, particularly given that this was a 
growing focus of the US's work on evaluation. 
13. The representative of Pakistan welcomed the case story initiative and agreed that trade 
opening accompanied by AfT support and a conduciv e domestic environment for investment could 
have a positive impact.  With regard to the implem entation of Pakistan's trade policy, she said that 
Pakistan would like to benefit from AfT support in, for example, skills development, trade facilitation 
and regional integration.  Pakistan looked forward to the TGR and expressed interest in learning more 
about the impact of complementary policies and in  benefiting from the "knowledge base" provided by 
the case story analysis.  As regards the TGR agenda , Pakistan suggested that one session could focus 
on innovative public-private partnership m odels and access to trade finance.   
C. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
1. Resource Mobilization 
14. The representative of the World Bank (WB) in troduced the key elements of its recently-
adopted Group-wide Trade Strategy which had been prepared following six months of consultations.  
The Strategy, which had been presented in Geneva , had four pillars:  (1) trade competitiveness and 
diversification;  (2) trade facilitation, transport l ogistics and trade finance;  (3) support for market 
access and international trade cooperation;  and (4) managing external shocks and promoting greater 
inclusion.  The aim of the Strate gy was to achieve results through, inter alia , partnerships with 
external development agencies and the private sector  and through better inte rnal coordination.   
15. She also profiled two recently-launched trad e initiatives that the Bank was coordinating.  
First, the Transparency in Trade (TNT) Initiative, a partnership between the Bank, the International 
Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Conferen ce on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the 
African Development Bank (AfDB), in cooperation w ith the WTO and the UN Statistics Division, to 
develop a web portal to facilitate free and easy access of trade and tariff data.  The Initiative 
complemented the Bank's Open Data Initiative.  S econd, the Central Africa Trade Facilitation Project 
(CATFP) which was currently developing a Regional Tr ade Facilitation Strategy for Central Africa.  
A background paper about the CATFP  would be presented in mid-July and she said that this pilot 
project could potentially be replicated in other region s.  Third, a new study on impact evaluations of 
AfT would be issued by the Bank's Research Depart ment.  The goal of the study was to encourage 
development agencies to incorporate impact evaluati ons into trade projects which could lead to better 
policy design and a more credible case for "Aid for Trade". WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  16. The representative of the United States re ferred to the annual African Growth and 
Opportunity Act Forum that had take n place in Lusaka, Zambia on 9 June1 at which the US Trade 
Representative had announced a new trade capacity bu ilding initiative, the African Competitiveness 
and Trade Expansion (ACTE) Initiative.  The Initiative would provide US$120 million over four 
years to intensify and focus more sharply the work  of the USAID's African Trade Hubs.  Resources 
would be provided to improve S ub-Saharan Africa's capacity to  produce and export competitive, 
value-added products and to address supply-side constraints that impede African Trade.  The aim of 
these investments was to help drive economic deve lopment in African countries and enhance regional 
and global trade opportunities.  
2. Mainstreaming 
17. The representative of the European Union pr esented the EU's 2011 Aid-for-Trade Monitoring 
Report2 which had been published annually since the EC and its member States had agreed a joint 
AfT strategy in 2007.  The findings of the 2011 repo rt were in line with global findings:  total AfT 
commitments from the EU and member States had reached €10.5 billion, comprising 22 per cent of 
total Official Development Assistance (ODA);  co mmitments for trade-related assistance were around 
€3 billion (exceeding the goal set out at the 2005 Ho ng Kong Ministerial Conference);  sub-Saharan 
Africa was the top recipient (41 per cent);  and 22 per cent went to LDCs.   
18. The report also addressed efforts to improve imp acts and apply aid effectiveness principles.  
To better understand the perceptions of AfT in th e field, the EU had examined responses to field 
questionnaires from 89 countries and cross-checked th e results with the WTO/ OECD case stories.  
Trade was a regular topic of discussion in 50 per cent of respondent countries, and national 
coordination efforts were cited in 50 per cent of r esponses. The report had also found that donors were 
improving their coordination of programme implementation.  However, there remained areas for improvement.  For example, trade dialogue needed to  be increased, more needs assessments should be 
undertaken, particularly with donor coordination, mo re should be done to assi st LDCs, and support for 
regional integration needed to be increased, particul arly with regard to li nking national and regional 
programmes.  Finally, more focus needed to be placed on M&E, specifically in terms of gathering 
better country-level data, identifying quantifiable objectives, and designing suitable indicators.   
19. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of  LDCs, expressed appreciation for the EU's 
efforts to implement the AfT Initiative and encouraged  a redoubling of these efforts to respond to the 
growing needs of developing countries, and partic ularly LDCs.  The LDC Group suggested that, for 
future Global Review meetings, advance copies of an y relevant reports be ma de available to Members 
in order to facilitate interactive discussions. 
20. The representative of the Dominican Republic thanked the EU for its support of the 
Dominican Republic's integration process.  He emphasized the importance of developing a 
mechanism to link all ministries who dealt with AfT so that evaluation efforts could accurately reflect 
what was actually happening on the ground. 
21. The representative of Colombia thanked the EU for its aid to the Andean Community.  
Colombia hoped that the EU's AfT assistance to  Colombia could increase from 5 per cent to 
10 per cent  of total aid and said that this would, in turn, have a multiplier effect on other areas of 
traditional intervention.  
                                                      
1 http://www.agoa.gov/ . 
2 The report can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/ how/accountability/eu-annual-
accountability-report s/index_en.htm .  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  22. The representative of Dominica, on behalf of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States 
(OECS), reaffirmed that more work  needed to be done in the OECS with respect to aid effectiveness 
and M&E, particularly on developing indicators and co llecting data for analysing the impact of AfT.  
23. Responding to some of the comments, the repres entative of the European Union agreed that 
the EU needed to take an in-depth look at how it worked with LDCs.  She also noted that the country 
questionnaires confirmed the lack of in-country base line data for M&E.  Donor and partner countries 
needed to work together to in corporate M&E while projects were on-going.  Regarding the comment 
by Colombia, she noted that there needed to be an  increased dialogue on aid between countries so that 
the aid package reflected agreed priorities.  
3. Implementation 
24. The representative of Gabon reported on the Sec ond Regional Review of Aid for Trade for 
Central Africa that had taken place in Libreville , Gabon on 25-26 May 2011.  The meeting, which 
was organized by the AfDB, had brought together members and representatives of the Economic 
Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Monetary and Economic Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the AfDB, the 
International Trade Centre (ITC), the French Devel opment Agency (AFD), and the EU to provide an 
update on the AfT roadmap for Central Africa that had been set out in June 2010.  Participants had 
identified the trade-related regional activities and projects to be managed by the Regional Economic 
Communities and their development partners.  The me eting also served as preparation for the TGR.   
25. Three priority areas for Central Africa had also  been identified at the meeting:  (1) trade 
related infrastructure;  (2) trade-related capacity bui lding;  and (3) trade policy and regulations, with 
particular emphasis on road infrastructure, trade facilitation, and the construction of single window 
border controls.  It was also hoped that a free-trad e zone and single customs union could be set up in 
the region, although it was noted that this had been thwarted by delays in implementation.  The need 
for aid without conditions was also emphasized.   It was expected that a follow-up Regional Review 
would be held in 2012.  Gabon e xpressed appreciation to the AfDB and other development partners 
for their support in the Central African AfT process.   
26. The representative of UNCTAD reported on the Third Session of the UN Trade and 
Development Commission that was held on 6-10 June  2011.  Participants at the meeting had stressed 
the need to further strengthen AfT and the EIF and for broader ODA support to ensure effective 
implementation of, and resource allocation for,  programmes and to respond to requests from 
developing countries, particularly LDCs.  UNCTAD' s support with regard to the TGR included the 
creation of a news page on its we bsite, participation at preparatory meetings, and plans to review and 
apply lessons learned from the case stories to its  on-going and future work.  He announced that 
UNCTAD XIII would be held in Doha, Qatar in Ap ril 2012.  The theme of the conference would be 
negotiated by member states beginning in Septembe r 2011 and he hoped that the focus put on AfT at 
UNCTAD XII would be maintained.   
27. The representative of Indonesia reported on the Regional Review Meeting on Aid for Trade 
held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 June 2011 which was hosted by the Government of Indonesia in 
collaboration with the WTO and the Asian Devel opment Bank (AsDB).  Almost 250 participants, 
including several ministers from the ASEAN region,  representatives from member states, as well as 
international development partne rs, attended the meeting which had provided an understanding of 
how AfT had helped the region increase exports and in tegration into the multi-lateral trading system.  
The four meeting sessions had focused on trade policies, how AfT could address trade-related 
constraints and infrastructure gaps, specific areas wher e the private sector could play a critical role, 
including finance, trade facilitation and public-priva te partnership, and on key messages coming from 
the case stories submitted for the TGR.   The meeting had also resulted in further development of the WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  Regional Technical Group on Aid for Trade and ma rked the launch of the Asian International 
Economists Network website by the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia and the AsDB 
President. 
28. He noted that messages emerging from the Regiona l Reviews had confirmed the need for, and 
importance of, AfT and had catalysed development partners and developing member countries to 
continue their efforts to strengthen trade, boos t economic growth, and reduce poverty.  Indonesia 
supported the AfT Initiative and looked forward to sharing lessons learned from the Asia Pacific 
experience at the TGR.   
29. The representative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the 
Pacific (UNESCAP) welcomed the June Workshop on Aid-for-Trade Case Stories.  He referred to 
UNESCAP's longstanding collaboration with WTO and said that the Commission had a range of 
programmes to improve business environment a nd productive capacities to enable developing 
countries to take advantage of market access opportunities.  These included the UN NEXT 
programme which sought to promote paperless trade.  He also argued that in the broader AfT agenda 
more attention should be given to trade facilitation.  
30. The representative of the WTO reported on the AfT seminar hosted by the Islamic 
Development Bank (IsDB) that took place in Casa blanca, Morocco from 30 May to 1 June 2011.  
Participants at the seminar included 26 African  country members of the IsDB as well as 
representatives from a number of international and regional organizations. The seminar had provided 
an opportunity to promote further integration of AfT into the IsDB agenda and to assist the IsDB and 
its member countries with preparations for th e TGR.  The WTO, ITC, OECD, UNECA, UNCTAD, 
and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme ) had presented their on-going trade-related 
work in the region.  The AfDB had introduced its work to develop an Aid-for-Trade Trust Fund the 
aim of which was to mobilize US$40 million over four  years for grant funding to support the trade 
capacity of African countries and enterprises.  During  a roundtable on Trade Facilitation participants 
had discussed the trade facilitation-related needs of  IsDB member countries, the assistance currently 
being provided by international a nd regional organizations, and the national processes and procedures 
being put in place to develop national committees and prioritize trade facilitation needs.  Participants 
commended the progress achieved under the AfT Work Programme and welcomed the TGR's focus 
on monitoring and evaluation.  The importance of re gional integration to grow th and development had 
also been highlighted during the meeting.  
31. The representative of the Pacific Islands Foru m Secretariat (PIFS) reported on the Third 
Aid-for-Trade Roundtable Meeting held in Nadi , Fiji on 28 April 2011.  The meeting had been 
organized by PIFS and the Secretariat of the Paci fic Community and participants had included senior 
trade officials from 14 Pacific Island Countries and Timor-Leste, representatives of regional 
organizations, and international de velopment partners.  The main fo cus of the meeting was the trade 
capacity building needs of the Pacific and how to mobilize resources to meet those needs.  
Participants had discussed the process to refresh and renew the Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy, 
identifying key issues to be addressed and setting fort h a timeline for completion.   The process would 
be examined in more detail during the Pacific break-out session at the TGR, and a revised strategy should be presented in late July for endorsement.   Another session reviewed the roundtable process 
for the mobilization of AfT funds and highlighted the importance of ensuring Pacific ACP's 
ownership of the regional prioritiza tion of the use of funds.  In add ition, participants had stressed the 
need to engage in national consu ltations before setting regional pr iorities.  The meeting had also 
addressed additional issues including the revised P acific Trade and Development Facility proposal 
and the Regional Trade Facilitation Review and Stocktake.   
32. The representative of Australia noted Austra lia's support of the PIFS refresh and renew 
process and said it looked forward to continued colla boration with the PIFs in this regard.    WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  33. The representative of Japan commended Indonesi a for the success of the Regional Review 
and noted the importance of the Asian experience an d Japan's intention to collaborate with Indonesia 
to showcase important lessons at the TGR.  
34. The representative of the Dominican Republic reported on the meeting hosted by the 
Inter-American Development Bank and the Governme nt of Spain in Quito, Ecuador in December 
2010.  The meeting had assisted Latin American co untries with preparations for the TGR, provided 
support to officials regarding trade integration, pr ovided a regional overview of AfT, and allowed for 
the presentation of self-assessment issues faced by countries.  
4. Monitoring and Evaluation 
35. The representative of the OECD provided an overview of the joint OECD-WTO publication 
"Aid for Trade at a Glance 2011 - Showing Results"  that was being prepared for the TGR.  The 
publication was based on an analysis of 269 cas e stories, 140 self-assessments, OECD Creditor 
Reporting System AfT data, findings from trade-re lated evaluations and empirical studies, and 
broader trade and development litera ture.  It painted a mostly positive picture of AfT in action and 
showed that AfT remained a priority - particul arly as related to the objectives of poverty reduction 
and economic growth - and that it had only minimall y been impacted by the recent economic crisis.  
In 2009, for example, AfT commitments had reached US$40 billion, a 60 per cent increase over the 2002-2005 baseline, and disbursements US$29 billion wh ich indicated that commitments were being 
met.  The outlook was stable and, despite budgeta ry constraints facing many donors, there were 
positive signs that South-South co-operation would also continue to increase.  The publication reported that 18 per cent of commitments in 2009 ha d been targeted at regional level support and that 
delivery of AfT was increasingly guided by the Paris Principles on Aid Effectiveness with 
mainstreaming and communication priorities, country ownership, and donor ali gnment increasing.  He 
informed that AfT would be on the agenda of the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness which 
would take place in Busan, Korea on 29 November-2 December 2011.
3  Also identified in the 
publication were several success factors from the case story analysis:  ownership (including at the highest political level), adequate and reliable fundi ng, leveraging partnershi ps (particularly South-
South), and combining public and private investment.  The publication concluded that, in a less favourable economic environment, the AfT Initiative n eeded to take steps to better measure and show 
results, develop indicators, collaborate on M&E, impr ove the quality of aid, and encourage knowledge 
sharing.   
36. The representative of the WTO reported on the Wo rkshop on Aid-for-Trade Case Stories that 
had been held the previous day.  The agenda for the Workshop was based on the series of analyses 
prepared by the WTO and OECD in partnershi p with the AfDB, the IaDB, UNESCAP and UNECA 
of the 275 case stories submitted in connection w ith the M&E exercise for the TGR.  Deputy 
Director-General, Valentine Rugwabiza, had provide d an overview of the call for case stories and of 
the various regional training events organized by the WTO to support Members' submission of case 
stories and self-assessment questionnaires.  The Workshop had allowed for a presentation of the key findings and lessons emerging from the case stories,  a discussion of the key themes emerging from the 
regional analyses, and for the EIF to provide an ov erview of the role of AfT in LDCs.  Over 25 
Members, Observer Governments, and Observer Organizations had provided reactions to the 
conclusions presented by the various authors, and had related their experiences by giving overviews 
of their case stories, discussed lessons learned, a nd had suggested areas for future work. While all had 
welcomed the analyses, there had been general r ecognition that this work was a first step.  The 
afternoon session of the Workshop had focused on the next steps for the AfT Initiative, particularly 
regarding the need for additional work to be done to use more robust evaluation methodologies to 
measure impacts.  It was agreed that the TGR coul d be a catalyst in this respect.  Additional issues 
                                                      
3 http://www.oecd.org/document/12/0,3746,en_2649_3236398_46057868_1_1_1_1,00.html . WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  raised included on AfT funding, the need to impr ove aid effectiveness (especially through better 
alignment and harmonization), the inclusion of cap acity building components into trade agreements, 
the importance of regional integration and the ro le of AfT in promoting intra-regional trade and 
development.  The importance of sequencing and enga ging the informal sector, and the need to move 
to more in-country analysis of the impact of AfT interventions had also been highlighted.  A 
lunchtime session had also been organized by the WTO Institute for Training and Technical 
Cooperation to present the experience of introducing results based management in WTO's technical 
assistance and training activities. 
37. General conclusions of the Workshop had been that the case stories had provided a rich and 
varied picture of what was happening on the ground as well as an understanding of how AfT could 
support developing countries to take advantage of trade opportunities. It was also recognized that 
more remained to be done to adopt management fo r development results, inco rporate aid effectiveness 
principles, increase M&E efforts, and bolster privat e sector engagement and stakeholder partnerships. 
38. At the 23 June Workshop on Aid-for-Trade Case  Stories, the representative of Benin, on 
behalf of the LDC Group4, noted that 33 of the case stories had been submitted by LDCs and that 123 
pertained to LDCs.  This demonstrated the LDCs engagement as far as the implementation of the AfT 
Initiative was concerned and their wish to see those countries' effective contri bution towards a better 
integration of LDCs in the global economy.  The case stories showed that trade would continue to 
play a central role in wealth creation and pove rty reduction and that AfT tended to focus on the 
following areas of interest:  tr ade facilitation, infrastructure, trade capacity building, and the 
promotion of the private sector.  He underscored the need for donors to provi de legitimate responses 
to recipient countries' requests and cautioned that the findings of the case story analyses should not be 
overgeneralized.  He also raised concerns about  some of the findings regarding trade flows and 
emphasized that the case story analyses should re main neutral and objec tive and should include 
mention of successes and failures in the implementa tion of the AfT Initiative.  With regard to the 
documentation for the TGR, the LDC Group requested that the joint publication, which would be a key document for the event, as well as other material , be issued in the three official WTO languages 
as soon as possible. 
39. The representative of Australia welcomed the progress being made in areas such as trade 
mainstreaming, ownership, harmonization and alignmen t and the fact that this pointed to a move in 
the right direction.  The challenge, however, was to achieve a careful balance in highlighting the 
positive aspects whilst acknowledging that there remain ed a significant amount of work to be done, 
especially in terms of showing impact on the gr ound.  Australia hoped that the TGR would give 
momentum to the need to look at establishing base line data and quantifiable trade-related objectives, 
to work on establishing a menu of indicators to measure progress, and to addressing overall capacity issues on M&E. 
40. The representative of the UNECA reported on the event organized by the African Union on 
21 June to evaluate the results from the case stories on Africa.  The main recommendations and 
conclusions from the event were that: (1) issues re mained with respect to the definition of AfT, 
particularly regarding definitions of objectives;  (2) AfT needed to increa se its focus on industrial 
policy;  (3) there was some concern about the data  available on AfT (participants wished to cross-
check the OECD data with national level data);  (4) there was a need to develop an analytical 
framework for measuring impacts;  (5) more focu s should be placed on beneficiaries' needs and 
priorities, particularly regarding regional integrati on;  and (6) there was concern about the expectation 
of AfT programmes vis-à-vis  actual impacts.   
                                                      
4 A summary of this intervention has been included in the Note of the CTD-AfT meeting at the request 
of Benin, on behalf of the LDC Group.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  5. Private Sector 
41. The representative of the World Bank informed of  the Bank's initiative to  collect case stories 
from the private sector.  She explained that wh ile one of the recommendations from the Second 
Global Review had been a commitment to work with  the private sector, there had been little focus on 
the corporate actors and how they were buildi ng capacity, particularly by improving productive 
capacity, strengthening supply chains, and raising sta ndards.  In addition, very few of the WTO case 
stories had been submitted by the private sector.  To address this gap, on 14 March 2011 the WB 
President and the WTO Director-General had extended  a call for case stories to the private sector.  
The responses to this call would be presented at the TGR.   
42. The representative of the ITC presented the results  of a survey undertaken in Rwanda, Kenya, 
and Mauritius on "Aid for Trade and Export Perform ance - A Business Perspective."  The survey, 
launched in May 2011, covered 300 companies in th e three countries and built on a similar survey 
undertaken in Uganda in 2010.  In face-to-face interv iews, the companies had b een asked to evaluate 
17 factors relevant for their export success, gr ouped in three broad categories: (i) business 
environment, (ii) institutions and trade policy, a nd (iii) company capacities. The companies had also 
shared their priorities for future  AfT initiatives in their respective countries.  The survey had shown 
that company capacities were perceived to have improved over the last five years in all three 
countries.  In Kenya, businesses had a positive perception of the progress of economic factors, but 
reported that rule of law, competitively priced a nd reliable energy, and border guards remained major 
concerns.  In Mauritius, access to market and trade information and efficient international transport 
services were the factors most frequently mentioned as improving export performance. In Rwanda, 
businesses felt that access to foreign markets and in ternational transport services had deteriorated.  
The survey had stimulated a national dialogue amo ng all stakeholders and suggested that a more 
active role for the private sector in the design a nd the monitoring of AfT, supported by in-country 
capacity building, could increase AfT relevance and effectiveness.    
43. The representative of Dominica, on behalf of the ACP Group, reported on the ACP High 
Level Meeting on Aid-for-Trade he ld on 22 June 2011.  The meeting had identified key successes of 
the AfT Initiative, i.e. increased ownership and main streaming, encouraging examples of alignment of 
donor and beneficiary priorities as well as inclusive trade policy processes, movement by some RECs 
towards holistic regional strategies, and a rise in AfT flows.  Participants had also identified a number 
of important challenges that remained:  the rise in trade flows had not been matched by a rise in the 
trading capacities of ACP countries, beneficiary countr ies faced many capacity constraints to effective 
M&E, beneficiaries had to deal with multiple  - and often inflexible - frameworks from donor 
countries, the sustainability and predictability of ai d was less than optimal, there was a lack of trade-
adjustment support, and there were limited trade fi nancing options.  Participants articulated several 
next steps, including, in particular, the harmoniza tion of donor requirements, the development of a 
results framework, the alignment of donor and be neficiary priorities, scaling up resources, the 
development of national and regi onal mechanisms and AfT strategies, and the need for coherent 
national and regional trade policies.  
44. The representative of Rwanda commended ITC for its report and informed of the work that 
ITC was doing in Rwanda to identify and reduce non- tariff barriers that Rwanda faced in the export 
market.  These barriers would be addressed in the coun try's AfT framework.  He also noted that, in its 
work with the private sector, Rwa nda had identified access to finance as a critical barrier that should 
be addressed.  
45. The representative of St. Kitts and Nevis ec hoed Rwanda's comments on trade finance.  
Access to finance was a major problem for exporte rs in St. Kitts and Nevis who could compete 
globally on price and quality but were forced to sel f-finance.  He noted that St. Kitts and Nevis was 
the largest exporter within the OECS and wish ed to build up its scope and increase export WT/COMTD/AFT/M/21 
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  opportunities, and proposed an "Exim"-type bank as a possible solution to the problem of accessing 
credit. 
46. Echoing the comment by Rwanda, the representative of  Pakistan also noted that work with the 
private sector needed to be developed further.  Pr oducers needed resources to develop, but often bank 
lending rates were too high due to macroeconomic fact ors.  AfT needed to provide examples of how 
resources could be generated by the private sector.  Ultimately, the private sector should have 
ownership of this issue.      
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
47. No item was raised under "Other Business". 
48. The meeting was adjourned. 
 
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