RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/M/60 
21 December 2006 
 (06-6123) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Sixtieth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETIN G OF 3 NOVEMBER 2006 
 
Chairman:  Mr. Faizel Ismail (South Africa)  
  
A.
 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B. OBSERVERS ............................................................................................................................... ..2 
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers ...............................................................................2  
(ii) Further consideration of the requests for observer status by the League of Arab 
States, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf 
Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la 
Francophonie, the Common Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and th e Groupe de la Banque Africaine de 
Développement.................................................................................................................. ..........2
 
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING ................................................................................2  
(i) Strategic Review of WTO-Provided Trade -Related Technical Assistance Activities – 
Final Report (WT/COMTD/W/152) ............................................................................................2  
(ii) Strategic Review of WTO-Provided Trade -Related Technical Assistance Activities – 
Management Response (WT/COMTD/W/153)............................................................................2  
(iii) Technical Assistance and Training Plan 2007 (WT/COMTD/W/151 and 
WT/COMTD/W/151/Corr.1) .....................................................................................................16  
(iv) Training and Technical Assistance: Semi-Annual Review of the Implementation of 
Activities – 1 January to 30 June 2006 (WT/COMTD/W/154) .................................................22  
D. OTHER BUSINESS ......................................................................................................................22  
  
A. A
DOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  said that the draft agenda for the 60th Session of the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD) was contained in document WTO/AIR/2906/Rev.1 issued on 30 October 2006.  
He recalled that he had announced at the 59th Session on 4 October 2006 that the 60th Session would 
focus on issues relating to technical cooperation and training.   
2. The Committee adopted  the agenda. WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 2  
 
  B. O
BSERVERS  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 
3. The Chairman  recalled that at previous sessions of the CTD, Members agreed to invite a 
number of intergovernmental organizations on an ad  hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis.  These included 
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the Economic 
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), th e Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), the 
Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation, th e Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the African 
Union (AU), the Organisation of the Islamic Confer ence (OIC), the South Centre, the Pacific Islands 
Forum, the United Nations Environment Progra mme (UNEP), the West African Economic and 
Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the World Intellectua l Property Organization (WIPO).  He said that, 
following the decision taken at the previous meeti ng of the Committee, the organizations had been 
invited to the present meeting.  He proposed that the organizations be invited to the next formal 
meeting of the CTD. 
4. It was so agreed . 
(ii) Further consideration of the requests for observer status by the League of Arab States, the 
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for 
Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Int ernationale de la Francophonie, the Common 
Fund for Commodities, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and the Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Développement 
5. The Chairman
 said that at previous meetings, the Committee had had before it a number of 
requests for observer status.  He said that if there was no change in positions to extend observer status 
to any of those applicants, then  the Committee would take note and would revert to these requests at 
the next meeting.   
6. It was so agreed .   
C. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING  
7. The Chairman  said that there were four documents for consideration by the CTD under 
agenda Item C.  These were the Final Repor t of the Strategic Review of WTO-Provided 
Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) Activiti es, the Management Response to the Strategic 
Review, the 2007 Technical Assistance and Training Plan (TA Plan), and the Semi-Annual Review of 
the Implementation of Activities for the period 1 Janua ry to 30 June 2006.  He said that he would like 
the CTD to first consider the two documents relating to the Strategic Review together, after which it 
could move on to consider the 2007 TA Plan, and finally the Semi-Annual Review of the 
Implementation of Activities for the period 1 January to 30 June 2006. 
(i) Strategic Review of WTO-Provided Trade-Related Technical Assistance Activities – Final 
Report (WT/COMTD/W/152) 
(ii) Strategic Review of WTO-Provided Trade -Related Technical Assistance Activities – 
Management Response (WT/COMTD/W/153) 
8. The Chairman  recalled that the CTD had adopted the Terms of the Reference (TOR) of the 
Strategic Review of WTO-Provided TRTA Activities at its 53rd Session on 11 May 2005.  He said that 
the Committee at that meeting had also request ed his predecessor, Ambassador Senadhira of 
Sri Lanka, to carry out consultations with the obj ective of forming a Steering Committee, as stipulated 
in the TOR.  At the 55th Session of the CTD on 28 November 2005, Ambassador Senadhira reported  WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 3 
 
 
  that his consultations had led to the establishmen t of a six-member Steeri ng Committee composed of 
three representatives of recipient Members of WTO-provided TRTA, and three representatives of donor Members.  Ambassador Senadhira also re ported on the process that led to the Steering 
Committee's decision to select an Indian/Argen tinean/Canadian consortium composed of the 
Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), the Latin  American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO) 
and the North-South Institute (NSI) to carry out the Strategic Review.  Further details on the selection 
process were provided by Ambassador Senadhira at the 56
th Session of the CTD on 3 March 2006.   
9. He said that he was pleased to see that the Final Report of the Strategic Review of 
WTO-Provided Trade-Related Technical Assistance had been concluded, and was also pleased to 
inform the CTD that two of the members of the Re view Team, who contributed to the preparation of 
the Final Report, were in the meeting room for th e discussion on the Strategic Review.  He introduced 
Ambassador Supperamaniam, the fo rmer Malaysian Ambassador to the WTO, and Ms. Anne Weston, 
the Vice-President and Research Coordinator at th e NSI, and indicated that their presence gave 
Members the opportunity to raise any questions on th e Final Report.  He said that he would first ask 
the Ambassador of Sri Lanka, who was the Chairman  of the Steering Committee for the Strategic 
Review, to say a few introductory words, after wh ich the Deputy Director-General (DDG) responsible 
for development issues would make some remarks.  The floor would then be opened for discussion. 
10. Ambassador Senadhira said that the present m eeting signalled the end of a long process which 
began with the CTD's adoption of the TOR of the St rategic Review on 11 May 2005.  He recalled that 
he had been entrusted to set up, organize and chai r the work of a six-member Steering Committee that 
was to monitor the effective management of the Strategic Review.  The Steering Committee was 
composed of three representatives of the recipien t Members of WTO TRTA and three representatives 
of donor Members – Argentina, Belgium, Canada /Japan (as alternates) , Rwanda, Sweden and 
Sri Lanka. 
11. He said that the Steering Committee had since its establishment held eight meetings, each of 
which considered pertinent issues related to the St rategic Review.  The firs t four meetings were 
largely devoted to issues emanating from th e tender, while the other meetings addressed 
methodological, organizational and management issues – for example, questions relating to the work 
plan and field visits.  He said that throughout the period of work, the Steering Committee members 
had demonstrated devotion and responsibility, a nd had willingly participated – and usefully 
contributed – to the formulation of the opinions and positions which the Steering Committee took on as outputs of the Review Team.  In this regard, he  thanked his colleagues in the Steering Committee, 
and also thanked the members of the Review  Team for the high-quality Final Report.  
12. With reference to the information on the sche dule of the Strategic Review which he had 
provided to the CTD in November 2005, he said that the work had by and large been carried out as 
agreed.  The preliminary findings and recommendations had been received and discussed at the beginning of May 2006, and the dr aft report had been received in June 2006.  The monitoring work 
had been carried out without jeopa rdizing the independence of the Re view Team.  He added that both 
the Steering Committee and the Review Team had received all required assistance from the 
Secretariat, and he therefore thanked the Secret ariat, and in particular the DDG responsible for 
development issues, for the contribution to the success of the exercise.  He said that the Final Report 
circulated in document WT/COMTD/W/152 did not stand alone, but had been submitted to Members 
together with the Management Response – circ ulated in document WT/COMTD/W/153 – which 
contained the Secretariat's views on the feasibility of the implementation of the Report's 
recommendations and the application of the lessons learned.  He added that he believed Members' 
comments on the Strategic Review would be take n into account by the Secretariat and would 
contribute to an improved planning , delivery and impact of WTO-pr ovided TRTA activities in future 
years. WT/COMTD/M/60 
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  13. He explained that the Steering Committee had worked closely with the Review Team, and 
was aware that there were limitations to the methodol ogy that had been adopted.  This was partly due 
to constraints which stemmed from the TOR, for exam ple the limited time that was available for the 
Strategic Review or the limited number of countries visited by the consultants.  He said that the 
Steering Committee did not believe that these limitati ons diluted the importance, the objectivity or the 
relevance of the findings and the recommendations.  Rather, the Review had managed to capture the 
relevant aspects of the problems encountered  in  capacity building in the field of trade policy.  He 
said that the Steering Committee strongly believed that the CTD should not turn the discussion into an evaluation of the methodology adopted by the consultants, but focus instead on the findings and the recommendations.  To facilitate this process, he said that he would highlight some of the key 
observations contained in the section of the Final Report dealing with finding s, lessons learned and 
recommendations.  
14. He said that there was widespread agreemen t that the WTO Secretariat had a strong 
comparative advantage in knowledge and informatio n about the WTO rules and procedures, and was 
less biased than many other official agencies invol ved in TRTA.  The WTO was highly neutral in its 
advice, which sometimes acted as a constraint, a nd also had less capacity to provide technical 
assistance and training on the development dimensi on of trade rules, on the political aspects of  
negotiations and on analytical techniques.  It app eared, therefore, that there was scope for greater 
collaboration with specialized and regional agencies, for training and capacity building on trade and 
development, political skills for negotiation and an alytical skills. Strengthened partnerships would 
complement the WTO's expertise and would allow for the outsourcing of some training activities.  He 
explained that some partners were better able to  address policy issues confronting national ministries, 
for example preferential trading arrangements, which went beyond a WTO-specific focus.  
15. When working with partners, he said that  it was recommended that the WTO play a 
supportive role, delegating more of the responsibility for courses.  It had been observed that while the 
WTO had developed a variety of tools to assist n eeds assessment and planning – for example Trade 
Policy Reviews (TPRs), the  WTO/OECD TRTA data base and internships – this remained a weak 
area which needed to be further strengthened.  The WTO should also be aware of the institutional 
weaknesses limiting countries' capacities to assess their national needs, and work with governments to 
address this problem.  Other recommendations concerned the need to draw more on case study material and research from within the WTO, as well as from outside, and to move from a WTO-
centric content to a more comprehensive approach  addressing the broad range of trade policy issues 
facing many developing country trade ministries.  A proper selection of participants was also key to 
fulfilling specific and product-re lated objectives, and it was recommended that the WTO work with 
governments to improve the selection process.  Furthe rmore, it was suggested that the Institute for 
Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) should esta blish benchmarks for identifying participants 
for all courses and work closely with governments to screen participants.  The need to adopt an 
institutional rather than an individual focus had al so been identified, as well as the need to enhance 
the skills and knowledge not only of trade officials, but also of representatives of  other agencies and 
stakeholder groups working with them.  He explai ned that the Final Report recognized that various 
changes had been implemented to increase the amount  of auditing and evaluation, but efforts had been 
limited by resource constraints.  There was, however, a strong need to improve auditing and 
evaluation, including longer term ex- post evaluation, and the need for funds to allow the Secretariat to 
undertake regular ex-post and thematic evaluations had been identified.  He added that the Final 
Report saw follow-up activities as exceptions rather th an the norm, and that there was a general sense 
that more could be done in this regard.  Finall y, he mentioned a recommendation concerning the need 
to develop a follow-up strategy, including through th e facilitation of networking between participants 
and trainers, and the distribution of updated information on course subjects. 
  WT/COMTD/M/60 
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  16. The Deputy Director-General  recalled that Members had agreed in 2005 that it would be 
useful for WTO's TRTA to be subjected to a peri odic external review.  She welcomed the term 
"Strategic Review" for the exercise that had just b een undertaken, as it indicated that Members did not 
want to limit the exercise to a static process.  She assured Members that WTO Management had taken 
the exercise very seriously, as it provided an important contribution to the discussion on the way to 
conceive and deliver TRTA in the most appropriate  manner.  She said that the Management Response 
was laid out in document WT/COMTD/W/153.  She explained that the Management had chosen to 
respond along the broad themes of the Strategic Revi ew, rather than to respond on a point by point 
basis.  Given the strategic nature of the exercise th at had been undertaken, it was deemed preferable to 
respond in this manner, though the Management was willing to discuss an y specific issue that 
Members might wish to raise. 
17. She said that in broad terms the Final Report indicated that the WTO's TRTA activities were 
well appreciated.  The Final Report contained a number of recommendations that the Management 
found useful, and could be considered in the contex t of the WTO's current mandate.  Some of these 
were already in the process of being implemented, while others would require  more reflection, or 
would take more time to be im plemented.  The Final Report also  contained a number of additional 
recommendations on which Members woul d have to take a decision befo re the Secretariat could take 
any initiative, for example those concerning the neut rality of the Secretariat when providing technical 
assistance.  She said that the Management had also  taken note of the two scenarios proposed in the 
Final Report, namely the "incremental change" scen ario and the "fundamental rethink" scenario, but 
while the distinction could serve as a framework  in which to conduct future discussion, the 
Management Response considered that the outcome would likely be a combination of the two 
scenarios. 
18. The DDG said that the Management had considered the recommendations of the Final Report 
in terms of how they could be used to improve  the conception, planning and implementation of 
WTO-provided TRTA.  It was, however, also felt necessary to highlight those recommendations 
which the Management was not fully convinced about.  The Management Response, therefore, 
indicated where it was felt that the Final Report coul d have been even more useful had the analysis 
been pushed further.  She stressed, however, that the Management remained open, and was willing to 
work with Members to implement those recommendati ons that were agreed to for the benefit of 
developing countries and in particular  LDCs.  This would be an exerci se that would likely take some 
time, but the structure that had been put in place fo r the discussion of TRTA issues – in particular the 
informal consultation process  – as well as the Secr etariat's internal discussions, would greatly help. 
19. She said that this led her to say a few words about the 2007 TA Plan.  In particular, she 
pointed out that a number of recommendations from the Final Report had been incorporated into the Plan. The 2007 TA Plan, as with previous plans si nce 2004, reflected a real desire to constantly 
improve WTO-provided TRTA.  At th e same time, it was important to  keep up a certain continuity, as 
it was not possible nor desirable to introduce major changes too frequently.  She remarked that in 
certain ways this was similar to the "incremental change" scenario proposed in the Final Report, for 
example the emphasis placed on electronic training (e-tra ining) or the Secretariat's continued efforts to 
forge partnerships for the delivery of TRTA.  She sa id that the Director of the ITTC would introduce 
the 2007 TA Plan in more detail later in the meet ing, and would also bring to the attention of 
Members concerns relating to the financing of TRTA.   
20. The representative of Benin
, on behalf of the African Group, said that the African Group 
wished to emphasize the importance of the Strategi c Review, in particular as members of the Group 
were among the primary beneficiaries of tec hnical assistance aimed at building human and 
institutional capacity for the promotion of trade.  He said that the members of the Group considered 
that if the conclusions and recommendations resultin g from the Strategic Review were examined with 
all due attention and approved by the WTO Membership  as a whole, they would be able to give the WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 6  
 
  direction sought for the TRTA provided by the WT O and its partner institutions.  The African Group, 
therefore, stressed its interest in this task and informed the CTD that the African Permanent Missions 
in Geneva would appreciate having a little more time to become better acquainted with the 
documentation relating to the Strategic Review.  He  explained that the members of the African Group 
had shared the documents with the relevant de partments involved in TRTA in their respective 
capitals, so as to obtain feedback on the views and recommendations put forward, drawing on the 
experiences of each country.  He added that the Group wished for a meeting to be organized at which 
the members of the Review Team could present the results of their work. 
21. The representative of Egypt
 said that he supported the interv ention made by Benin on behalf 
of the African Group.  He said that the Report c ontained some valuable information, and it was 
necessary for Members to take some time to consider it.   He suggested that the most useful first step 
would be for the Review Team to present the fi ndings of the Report, after which Members could 
consider over time the future dir ection of WTO-provided TRTA.    
22. The representative of Rwanda  said that he supported the interventions made by Benin on 
behalf of the African Group and by Egypt.  He said that pages 78 to 90 of the Report contained a 
section presenting the findings, the lessons learned and the recommendations of the Strategic Review.  
This section was followed by a section devoted to conclusions and future scenarios, in which two 
scenarios were proposed – one relating to "increme ntal change" and the second to a "fundamental 
rethink".  These were important issues for Members to consider, and he, therefore, believed that it 
would be useful to hear from th e Review Team on its findings.  He said that his delegation welcomed 
the initiative of the Secretariat to incorporate some  of the practical recommendations from the Final 
Report into the 2007 TA Plan, but pointed out that  other recommendations were policy-oriented and 
would require further discussion by Members.  Gi ven the importance of the Report, he said that 
Members should consider it over time in order to decide on the future orientation of WTO-provided 
TRTA.  He added that it would be useful if an additional meeting were held to allow the Review 
Team to present its findings to Members.   
23. The representative of the Philippines  said that he had noted the comments of other delegations 
concerning the need for more discussion and analys is of the findings of the Final Report.  He, 
however, also noted that in a broad sense the Fina l Report was helpful in forming a strategic and 
holistic perspective, and that it was comprehensive and timely.  The Report also provided Members 
with the opportunity to engage in debate on issues where there were divergences of views among the 
Membership, and on issues that could incline TRTA  activities towards advocacy of a certain view 
regarding trade policy.  He said that the Ph ilippines was a firm advocate of policy space and 
flexibility and the new approaches to developmen tal economic thought and would not expect TRTA 
to further those views in an advocacy context.  He explained that certain comments and conclusions in 
the Report could be construed as unnecessarily critic izing WTO Management on the basis of acting 
within its mandate, particularly on the neutrality and philosophical leanings of the Secretariat.  He 
explained that these would need to be taken in the context of the historical and institutional character 
of the Secretariat and the WTO itself, and such critiques could be better measured if there were 
quantitative yardsticks or objective criteria.  With regard to the Management Response, he said that 
the Philippines believed it was grounded in realities r outinely faced by the institution, and that the 
Management was generally receptive to the bulk of  the ideas and suggestions put forward in the 
Report.  More importantly, the Management Re sponse was sober and did not find it necessary to 
engage on issues raised in the Report that could re quire further debate or guidance from Members.  
He, however, noted that the issue of the mandate concerning neutrality and liberalization was better 
referred to the Membership as a whole, given e volving thoughts on globalization and the importance 
of the developmental dimension in trade policy as a complement to the poverty alleviation goals of 
trade liberalization.  WT/COMTD/M/60 
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  24. He said that he wished to comment further on th e possible future direction of TRTA based on 
scenarios presented in the Final Report and on th e comments from the WTO Management.  In this 
regard, he said that his delegation essentially shared the view that the way forward was likely to be a 
combination of the "incremental change" and the "fundamental rethink" scenarios.  His delegation 
also believed that an early emphasis should be pl aced on drawing from independent research material, 
as well as on material from the WTO's Economic Rese arch and Statistics Division, with a view to 
equipping recipients not only with technical knowledge  of WTO rules, but also with the proficiency to 
use the rules, through the use of case studies from around the world, and taking account of national 
circumstances to craft, implement and manage trade policy.  He added that it would perhaps also be 
useful for the institution to develop mechanisms th rough which the proficiency of the recipients could 
be monitored, in particular since some recipients would continue to need technical assistance on basic 
WTO rules while others would be more advanced a nd would be ready to apply what they had learned 
to more complex trade policy situations.  His de legation was also of the view that TRTA should 
involve more non-WTO experts who could provide in teractive assistance to recipients based on  
individual circumstances.  As a final comment, he said that his delegation endorsed the call for more 
predictable and longer-term funding for WTO TRTA, including through the regular budget.  He 
elaborated that the level of funding was what dete rmined whether more or less, and what kind of, 
TRTA could be provided, and this was the re sponsibility of all Members, both developing and 
developed.  Members could, however, feel comf ortable with leaving the re-instrumentation and 
management of TRTA, for the most part, to the WTO Management, provided that it was receptive and 
accountable to the Members. The Membership would,  on the other hand, have to acknowledge its full 
responsibility for ensuring the financial sustainability of TRTA.   
25. The representative of the Solomon Islands  said that his delegation and several other Members 
from the Pacific region had noted that the Fina l Report gave a positive ra ting of TRTA activities 
provided by the WTO itself, as well as in cooperatio n with partner agencies such as the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC), the Organization for 
Economic Cooperation and Devel opment (OECD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and 
Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank.  He said that his delegation wished to take this 
opportunity to comment on the WTO's TRTA programme  in terms of its efficiency, management and 
outreach.  In line with the identified "areas of im provement" proposed through the review exercise, 
his delegation agreed that among the keys to im proving the quality and sustainability of WTO-led 
TRTA was the need for greater technical assistan ce to beneficiary countries to allow them to 
understand their rights, implement their obligations and improve domestic capacity to reap benefits 
from the multilateral trading system.  He said that the review exercise had identified the importance of 
academic partnership programmes, the Netherlands Trainee Programme (NTP) and the mission internship programmes as instrumental in enhanci ng ownership for the beneficiaries.  His delegation 
called for expanding these programmes to include more Members, especially the most vulnerable, in 
particular where large gaps in institutional capacity placed them at a very serious disadvantage.  In 
this regard, his delegation would shortly undertake consultations w ith the Secretariat on how these 
programmes could be expanded in the Pacific regi on.  He said that paragraph 38 of the Doha 
Declaration stated that priority would be accorded  to small, vulnerable and transition economies, as 
well as to Members and Observers without representati on in Geneva, but curren tly only 16 per cent of 
the Asian and Pacific countries benefited from the overall WTO TRTA activities, a figure that should 
be expanded to benefit the small a nd vulnerable economies of the Pacific region.  He, in particular, 
called for more assistance to expand the exports of  these countries.  He added that his delegation was 
in favour of a more extensive needs assessment ex ercise with greater country ownership to identify 
trade-related capacity needs at the institutional level.   This would ensure a more effective delivery of 
WTO-provided TRTA. 
26. The representative of Canada
 said that he appreciated what had been suggested by other 
delegations on the need for more time to consider the Final Report.  His delegation believed that the 
WTO played a crucial role in TRTA, but that it was important that the assistance provided by the WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 8  
 
  WTO be of the highest quality, be driven and owned by recipients, and be harmonized with the 
actions of others.  He said that the institutions that had undertaken the Strategic Review were well 
established and credible, and that the Final Report of fered valuable suggestions .  His delegation urged 
Members to focus on the recommendations of the Repor t, and was encouraged that the Secretariat had 
already taken steps to incorporate some of the r ecommendations into the 2007 TA Plan.  He observed 
that many of the weaknesses that the Strategic Re view had found were simila r to what had been found 
in reviews of technical assistance by other agencies.  While the Report underscored the unique 
expertise of the WTO, he pointed out that it also highlighted the challenge of incorporating a development dimension into the WTO's TRTA activities.   He said that his delegation was of the view 
that the WTO's TRTA programmes had generally become more strategic and focused over the years.  
However, the emphasis of TRTA had change d over the past decade, from supporting the 
implementation of trade rules to using trade as a tool for economic development.  While the WTO's 
TRTA had responded to this shift in emphasis, he be lieved that there was a need to go further.  His 
delegation proposed in the short term to take on boa rd those recommendations that could be relatively 
easily accommodated, while considering over a longer period some of the policy-oriented 
recommendations.  His delegation, for example, belie ved that there was merit in the WTO retaining 
neutrality in the provision of technical assistance. 
27. The representative of Bangladesh
, on behalf of the LDC Group, said that Members would 
need to consider and deliberate on some of the r ecommendations before agreei ng to their adoption or 
implementation.  He said that it was imperative th at the LDCs, with their weak and vulnerable trade 
structures, receive sufficient support to help them inte grate into global trade in a meaningful way.  He 
noted that LDCs had to date benefited from the various technical assistance programmes offered by 
the WTO, and thanked the Secretariat and the d onor countries.  However, while recognizing the 
usefulness of the training programmes offered by  the WTO, he explained that the LDC Group 
believed that the WTO could work to tailor th e existing programmes and develop new ones that 
would focus more on the needs of the LDCs.  He  added that the academic support programme, which 
could be identified as a significant initiative to e nhance capacity, constituted only 3 per cent of the 
total activities, and suggested that the WTO s hould consider increasing the activities under this 
category.  
28. He said that the documentation under consider ation indicated that the majority of the 
programmes – almost 60 per cent – were focused on WTO Agreements and related rules issues.  
While it was true that the WTO was a rules-based organization and that its major agenda was to 
promote a rules-based multilateral trading system , he said that it was necessary for Members to 
appreciate that, for the LDCs who were trying ha rd to cope with the fast-changing global trade 
scenario, it was more important to establish a foot hold in world trade.  The Secretariat, while 
continuing with the training on WTO rules, should, th erefore, give due attention to programmes that 
would actually help the LDCs in expanding their exports.  He also said that the amount of money the 
WTO spent on technical assistance in the areas of agriculture and non-agricultural market access – 
two key areas of interest for LDCs – was less than 10 per cent of the total WTO TRTA.  The LDCs, therefore, asked the Secretariat to consider that point and rebalance its training programmes 
accordingly.  
29. The representative of Bangladesh said that repor ts such as the Strategic Review were useful, 
as they focused attention on what was being done, and what was lacking.  If the analysis was faulty or 
inadequate, however, the prescriptions based on them  would also be suspect or inadequate.  He 
pointed to page 27 of the Final Report, which i ndicated that TRTA and capacity building would be 
used interchangeably, and said that this lack of distinction missed a fundamental change in the 
thinking in this area.  The two concepts were funda mentally different, though there could be synergy 
between them.  Technical assistance was similar to  the software, while capacity building was the 
hardware.  In particular, capacity building was more  lasting, and fundamentally enhanced the capacity 
of the country concerned.  It would be a pity if no distinction were drawn between the two.    WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 9 
 
 
  30. He continued by saying that it was the lessons  that the Strategic Review drew from the 
country cases that were of greatest concern.  In this regard, he referred to the comments by the 
representative of Sri Lanka in which it was suggest ed that the Committee focus on the findings and 
recommendations of the Final Report rather than on the methodology.  He reminded Members that the 
methodology strongly affected the findings, and therefore the recommendations.  Speaking only about 
the case of Bangladesh, he said that hurried conc lusions seemed to have been drawn from the 
programmes and local conditions based on some fleet ing interviews.  Members had not been provided 
with any basis to judge what percentage of th ose interviewed supported the hypothesis of the 
interviewer or the views expressed in the case stud y.  Without factual and systematic analysis, 
Members were also not aware whether there was any personal bias of the interviewer.  On the other 
hand, the need for greater country-specific conten t of the WTO programmes was so well-known that a 
country visit was not necessary to come to this co nclusion.  He also informed the Committee that 
Bangladesh was not an Integrated Framework (IF) c ountry, as was incorrectly stated on page 55 of the 
Report.  He concluded, therefore, that there was ne ed for greater preparation of the country visit to 
Bangladesh.  He added that he was unable to comment on the other country cases. 
31. He said that the LDCs needed assistance to de velop and strengthen their trade policies, to 
improve their supply capacities and their trade infrast ructure, and to find markets for their products.  
The LDCs deeply appreciated the WTO technical assistance to the LDCs, which could not be provided by any other organization.  However, wh ile the current programmes would help LDCs to 
understand the rules, it was necessary for WTO progr ammes to go beyond this to enable LDCs to 
create an environment to export more.  This should be the fundamental aim of the technical assistance 
and capacity building programmes of the WTO.  He  said that the technical assistance and capacity 
building provided to the LDCs shoul d be developed in a way that ensured a long-term and lasting 
positive impact on the trade figures of the LDCs.  The LDCs believed that the fo cus of such assistance 
should be thought through, perhaps through the preparation of a vision statement, which the current Review was unable to deliver.  In the ultimate anal ysis, the LDCs greatly valued the opportunities the 
WTO provided, and it was in recognition of the valu e of TRTA that the LDCs constantly sought to 
make the facilities offered to them more targeted and relevant to their needs. 
32. The representative of Nigeria
 said that his delegation wished to thank the donor countries for 
the provision of TRTA, but urged them to do more.  His delegation was of the view that TRTA should 
move towards building longer term sustainable capacity, by focusing not only on individuals but also on institutions that would endure over time.  As a pr eliminary remark on the Final Report, he said that 
it contained many interesting and forward-looki ng recommendations.  However, his delegation 
believed that there should be more flexibility to ta ke into consideration national circumstances when 
designing technical assistance programmes.  In this  regard, he supported the intervention made by 
Benin on behalf of the African Group and emphasized the need for consultation with national stakeholders before his delegati on would be in a position to comment in a more detailed manner on 
the future direction of WTO TRTA.    
33. The representative of Argentina
 said that his delegation had not had time to study the Final 
Report in detail, but would provide some preliminary comments.  He sa id that this was the first time 
such an exercise had been undertaken in the WTO,  and that, while the methodology followed and the 
results obtained could be improved, the exercise had on the whole been a useful one.  He observed 
that a number of the recommendations had already b een incorporated into the 2007 TA Plan, and his 
delegation was, therefore, satisfied that WTO TRTA was moving in the right direction.  He agreed 
with other delegations on the need for an a dditional meeting to discuss the conclusions and 
recommendations of the Final Report.  With regard  to the criticisms that were found in the Final 
Report, the view of his delegation was that these should be taken positively with a view to improving 
the effectiveness of WTO TRTA, though his delegati on was on the whole pleased with the technical 
assistance that had been provided by the WTO ove r the years.  He said that some of the 
recommendations in the Final Report were relativel y easy to implement, while others relating to WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 10  
 
  policy issues and the need for more funding would re quire further discussion.  He said that Members 
should see the Final Report as a source to draw on in  designing TRTA programmes in the future, and 
that further thought should be given to the precise role that WTO should play in the broader field of TRTA.     
34. The representative of the European Communities
 said that he would not speak in any detail on 
the Final Report, since he had gathered from the in terventions by other delegations that there would 
be further opportunities to discuss its findings  and recommendations, but would make some 
preliminary comments.  He said that he was pleased to note that the Final Report confirmed the general impression of his delegation that the quality  of WTO TRTA was high.  He observed that the 
Final Report and the discussion at the present meeting had touched on the issue of whether WTO 
TRTA should include policy advice to developing co untries, assistance to develop export capacity and 
assistance in a broader development context.  Wh ile he did not question that such advice and 
assistance was required, he said that he was not convi nced that the WTO should provide it.  The view 
of his delegation was that WTO TRTA should continue to focus on its areas of comparative advantage, and that the neutrality of the Secretariat was a strength rather than a weakness.  He agreed 
with other delegations that the recommendations in the Final Report could be divided into practical 
ones that could be implemented in the short term and policy-related ones that would require more in-
depth discussion.  With regard to the practical  recommendations, his delegation had noted with 
satisfaction that the Secretariat ha d already incorporated some of them in the 2007 TA Plan.  He said 
that, like other delegations, he would welcome the opportunity to hear the Review Team present its 
findings. 
35. On the issue of needs assessments, he said that  his delegation agreed with the Final Report on 
the importance of these assessments for effective a nd sustainable assistance.  He was, therefore, 
concerned that the interviews conducted by the Review Team indicated a significant lack of 
awareness of existing needs assessments.  He emph asized that it was necessary to see what could be 
done to ensure that needs assessme nts were used as an effective operational tool to support good 
quality technical assistance.  He said that it was i ndicated on page 56 of the Final Report that WTO 
TRTA continued to be largely supply driven, whic h was a concern to his delegation given the amount 
of work that had been undertaken by Members to  make TRTA demand-driven and needs-based.  His 
delegation was of the view that further discussi on on this issue was necessary, and input from 
beneficiaries would be particularly welcome.  He al so noted that the Final Report did not touch on the 
issue of management and efficiency, and that hi s delegation would have wished to see more on the 
financial aspects of TRTA and value for money.  His delegation also welcomed and appreciated the 
Management Response.  
36. The representative of Switzerland
 said that the Final Report provided useful 
recommendations, notably on ways to better tailor trai ning courses to local and regional contexts.  The 
Report also confirmed the strong comparative adva ntage of the WTO Secretariat in knowledge and 
information about the WTO system.  He said that neutrality was an important characteristic of the 
TRTA provided by the WTO, and was a strength.  While there were many organizations that provided 
advice to developing countries on negotiating pos itions and policy issues, his delegation did not 
believe that this should be the role of the WTO.  The TRTA of the WTO should be focused and build 
on its unique expertise.  He added that his delegatio n tended to agree with most of the points in the 
Management Response.  In particular, his delega tion would have welcomed more analysis on the 
Geneva-based long-term policy courses, as well as the Regional Trade Policy Courses (RTPCs), 
which seemed to be among the most effective te chnical assistance provided by the WTO.  While 
outsourcing would be interesting to explore, he be lieved that care should be taken with the selection 
of external partners in order to ensure that the neutrality character was respected.  
  WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 11 
 
 
  37. He said that his delegation fully recognized the efforts that  had been made to improve the 
quality of WTO TRTA but, neverthe less, believed that WTO TRTA was too dispersed, had too many 
products and conducted too many activ ities – around 500 per year which were of too short duration.  
This made it difficult to assess the impact of the activities, to adopt technical assistance to local 
contexts, to have proper needs assessments and to en sure an adequate selection of participants.  His 
delegation wanted the WTO to focus on what it did best, such as the long-term courses in Geneva and 
in the regions, while continuing th e partnerships with other institutions and academic circles.  He 
added that while his delegation ha d reservations with regard to national activities, "trade clinics" 
seemed to be an interesting instrument that n eeded to be continued.  On the issue of the 
implementation of WTO Agreements, he said that th e Final Report seemed to imply that the focus on 
implementation was not adequate.  However, his de legation believed, on the contrary, that the WTO 
was uniquely placed to explain to Members how to adapt national laws and regulations to comply 
with the Agreements.  This was not to say that enhancing export capacity was not important, but only 
that the WTO was perhaps not the most appropriate ag ency to provide this kind of assistance.  On the 
issue of follow-up, he said his delegation understood that there was a need for Members to discuss 
some issues, but suggested that the process be kept relatively short. 
38. The representative of New Zealand  said that her delegation welcomed the conclusion of the 
Strategic Review and looked forward to the CTD moving forward in a coherent manner to provide 
guidance on which of the recommendations should be pursued.  Her delegation had found many 
useful and positive aspects to the Final Report, partic ularly in relation to the practicalities of designing 
and delivering effective TRTA, and hoped that these could be drawn upon to strengthen current 
practices, in particular those which had not alread y been taken into account in the 2007 TA Plan and 
were within the mandate and competence of the WTO to address.  Her delegation was in particular thinking of issues relating to needs assessments, pa rticipant selection, development of partnerships, 
and the quality of programmes and trainers.  She said that her delegation was a little disappointed not 
to find the assessments it had hoped for on the efficiency  of some existing practices, in particular in 
relation to monitoring and evaluation, as well as performance indicators and targets, which had been 
highlighted in the TOR.  She suggested that these c ould be identified and prioritized for follow-up in 
separate processes.  For example, issues relating to  evaluation could be cons idered taking into account 
recent work by the OECD on the effectiveness of TRTA.   
39. She said that the policy-oriented recommendations in the Final Report should be subjected to 
a detailed consideration by Members.  On the issue raised in the Final Report on the neutrality of the 
WTO, she said that her delegation, like others, belie ved that WTO TRTA needed to be neutral.  Her 
delegation would have appreciated if  the Final Report had dealt with the question of how to capitalize 
on this neutrality, rather than simply concluding that neutrality was a disadvantage.  Her delegation 
was also not convinced that the ITTC should develop into a broader policy forum dealing with issues other than the negotiations and im plementation.  Rather, the TRTA provided by the WTO should stick 
to the areas in which the organization had a strong comparative advantage.  She added that the Final 
Report had identified the WTO's comparative advant age as including a knowledge and information of 
the WTO system of rules and procedures.  Her delegation agreed with the recommendation on page 79 of the Final Report that WTO TRTA should move up the trade system knowledge value chain 
with, for instance, courses on the latest jurispr udence, and "trade clinics" responding to specific 
queries. She said that an increase and an improveme nt in activities in the WTO's areas of comparative 
advantage would be preferable to broadening the sco pe of the activities.  Her delegation had also not 
found in the Final Report an evaluation of where th e delivery of the WTO's re-focused TRTA would 
fit in the spectrum of TRTA more generally.  In th is regard, it was not clear to her delegation whether 
the Final Report had taken into account other recent re views, such as that on Aid for Trade.  Finally, 
she said that an informal meeting to further discu ss the conclusions and recommendation of the Final 
Report would be a useful way for Members to move forward in considering the future direction of 
WTO TRTA, and that her delegation looked forward to actively participating in the process.   WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 12  
 
  40. The representative of the United States
 said that her delegation had been participating actively 
over several years in the dialogue between donors, recipients and the Secretariat on how to improve the effectiveness of TRTA.  Her delegation was willi ng to continue the dialogue, and was encouraged 
to see how the Secretariat had evolved in its appro ach to TRTA based on the dialogue.  Her delegation 
was also appreciative of the Management Response a nd the Secretariat's initiative to incorporate some 
of the recommendations of the Final Report in the 2007 TA Plan.  She agreed that the 
recommendations in the Final Report could be divided into practical ones and those of a policy nature 
which would require further thought and discussion by  Members.  She, however, stressed that her 
delegation – and perhaps other de legations – did not necessarily agree with all the recommendations 
in the Final Report, which was also why it was necessary for Members to continue the dialogue on 
TRTA.  With regard to the way the Final Report presented some of the recommendations, it was 
sometimes unclear as to how many people interv iewed had actually provided the basis for those 
recommendations.  On the nature of the courses organized by the Secretariat, some thought could be given to making them more practical so as to impr ove the analytical capacity and negotiating capacity 
of the participants.  Her delegation was concerne d that the needs assessment process was not being 
used to the extent it should.  While the Secretar iat could consider incorporating more content on 
national and regional experiences in the courses it or ganized, it was important to give enough thought 
to the structure of the courses to allow various vi ews to be presented.  The Secretariat itself should 
maintain its neutrality.  Furthermore, the Secretaria t should continue to undertake activities in which it 
had a comparative advantage.  In this regard, Me mbers should carefully examine the question of the 
extent to which the WTO should be involved in activities to increase supply side capacity.  The 
ongoing discussion on Aid For Trade was an opportunity for Members to consider the role of the 
WTO's technical assistance in a broader perspective.   
41. The representative of Australia
 said her delegation believed that some of the practical 
recommendations in the Final Report were useful, for example those recommendations relating to an 
improvement in course content by using case st udies and simulations, more "hands-on" and 
interactive training as opposed to theoretical le ctures, expanding pre-training by preparing and 
providing lists of readings in advance of the activit y, and improving the training skills of Secretariat 
staff.  On the issue of expansion of partnerships, her delegation agreed that there was a need to move 
away from the "hub-and-spokes" model towards a more regionally located model.  She elaborated that 
in Australia's experience in aid activities, tailored tr aining that used local expertise and used a "train 
the trainer" model was generally preferable to cen trally-administered and generic training courses.  
Her delegation felt that interaction with the academ ic, research and policy community was one of the 
strengths of the WTO's TRTA pr ogramme, and was pleased to note that the textbook co-funded by 
Australia and the WTO, titled "Managing the Challe nges of WTO Participation", was cited in the 
Final Report as an example of how TRTA could le verage research activities into wider training and 
outreach activities.  She said that her delegati on was also collaborating on a new publication 
concerning WTO, trade and poverty, which was expect ed to be released in 2008.  Her delegation was 
pleased to see that many of the practical re commendations from the Final Report had been 
incorporated into the 2007 TA Plan, and was partic ularly encouraged to note the Plan's emphasis on 
quality and a focus on a participatory, tailored a nd targeted approach to the delivery of TRTA 
activities.  She continued by saying that her delegation had reserva tions on some of the 
policy-oriented recommendations in the Final Repor t.  She observed that the Final Report identified 
neutrality as both an asset and a constraint but, while  there was a whole range of providers of TRTA 
that could offer different perspectives to benefi ciaries, and while it might be possible to have 
members of delegations provide their perspectives during training courses, neutrality was essential for 
the Secretariat.  Her delegation was in favour of moving forward with the practical recommendations 
in the Final Report, but did not see a need to re-visit the WTO's mandate on TRTA or its core 
operating principles. 
  WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 13 
 
 
  42. The representative of Norway  said that his delegation welcomed  the Strategic Review as the 
first independent review undertaken of WTO TRTA activities.  He said that reviews were of great 
value in making TRTA as efficient and as useful as po ssible, and that his delegation would work with 
all partners in making the best use of the present one, and would also support additional reviews at a 
later stage, when the ti me was right.  He observed that the Final Report contained much food for 
thought and had led to a good discussion at the present meeting.  On the distinction that had been 
made by several speakers between practical reco mmendations and those of a policy nature, he said 
that his delegation agreed with many of the former but would need more time to reflect on the latter.  
He noted that one of the  findings of the Final Report was that TRTA would become more efficient 
with improved needs assessments.  In that regard, he  said that his delegation supported the proposal of 
"in-country" needs assessments, and believed that well-performed analyses of needs assessments at 
country level were crucial to ensure relevance a nd efficiency in the WTO's technical assistance.  
43. He said that his delegation would have appreci ated a more thorough treatment of the gender 
perspective in the Final Report, an observation that was also valid for the 2007 TA Plan.  He 
explained that increased information about gender diffe rences could lead to a greater awareness of the 
gender dimension of trade liberalization and the WTO Agreements, and more  and improved statistics 
in this respect were therefore important.  On sugg ested future scenarios for WTO TRTA, he noted that 
the Final Report presented two clear-cut scenarios.  His delegation was, however, not convinced that 
the choice would be that clear-cut, and concurre d with the DDG that a blend of the two scenarios 
would have to be developed. His delegation also sh ared the view of others that the WTO could not 
provide certain types of assistance due to its neutra lity, which it was important that it maintain.  He 
said that a more comprehensive approach to TRTA  would call for increased and closer contacts and 
cooperation with other organizati ons and institutions, in addition to addressing major issues like 
funding, capacity limitations within the ITTC, the di vision of labour between  organizations, and the 
Aid for Trade process.  He added that the repr esentative of Switzerland had a valid concern on the 
dispersion of activities.  On Aid for Trade, he said that developments had occurred very fast over the 
last year, and references to this initiative were ther efore missing from the Final Report.  He stressed 
that this was not a criticism of the Review Team, as the TOR were prepared before the Aid for Trade 
process had started to accelerate.  
44. The representative of Pakistan  said that the Review Team ha d been asked to provide an 
outside perspective on how to improve WTO-provi ded TRTA, and this was appreciated by her 
delegation.  She also emphasized that her delega tion was satisfied with the quality of the TRTA 
provided by the WTO, and that in Pakistan's case  TRTA was demand-driven.  She added that national 
activities were very useful to Pakistan, as they brou ght together stakeholders that did not qualify to 
participate in other training activities.  With rega rd to electronic courses, she said that these could 
complement training activities, but that they should not be offered as substitutes.  Her delegation also 
felt that while outsourcing could be useful in some cases, it was the domain of the Secretariat to offer 
training in the core WTO areas, though in a neutral fashion.  She expressed her disappointment that, 
while Pakistan had been consulted electronically in  the preparation of the Final Report, she had not 
seen this mentioned anywhere.  Finally, she agreed with other delegations that there was a need to 
hear more from the Review Team on their findings and conclusions.   
45. The representative of Costa Rica  said that his delegation would need more time to digest the 
information provided in the Final Report.  He noted that the Secretariat had already incorporated some 
of the recommendations from the Final Report, and in  this regard informed the Committee that Costa 
Rica had experienced good coordination with the Secret ariat in having material circulated sufficiently 
in advance of an activity to allow the participants  to read and digest the information before the 
commencement of the activity itself.  However, hi s delegation did not necessarily agree with all the 
recommendations from the Final Report, and therefor e considered that further discussion and debate 
on the recommendations would be required by Me mbers.  He emphasized that Costa Rica had 
benefited from both regional and na tional activities, and that the na tional activities had been demand-WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 14  
 
  driven.  He agreed that the WTO's TRTA should focu s on its areas of comparative advantage, but also 
pointed out that TRTA had to evolve to take into  account Members' needs.  He indicated that his 
delegation had particular concerns on the Final Report's treatment of issues relating to liberalization 
and the Secretariat's neutrality, and that the vi ew of his delegation was that the WTO and the 
Secretariat should not stray from these two fundamental principles.  On the issue of the way forward 
in the WTO's TRTA, he believed that the "incre mental change" and the "fundamental rethink" 
scenarios provided in the Final Report would have to be  considered in conjuncti on.  He also indicated 
that it would be necessary for Members to take into account the Aid for Trade initiative when 
discussing the way forward for WTO-provided TRTA.    
46. The representative of Sri Lanka
 said that he agreed that there was a need for Members to have 
a further discussion on the Strategic Review.  He sai d that in his view there were three types of 
recommendations that emanated from the Final Report.  The first category concerned those 
recommendations in the practical and operational ar ea, which the Secretariat had already taken into 
account and had tried to incorporate, to the exte nt possible, into the 2007 TA Plan.  The second 
category comprised those recommendations that re quired policy guidelines from the Members.  The 
third category related to areas where the Secretar iat was already doing some work, but in which 
Members could encourage the Secretariat to do more.  He noted that more predictable, longer-term funding was required for WTO-provided TRTA, as part of the regular budget as well as from extra-budgetary sources.  Additional funding would also be required if it was decided that the 
monitoring and evaluation of WTO-provided TRTA s hould be undertaken on a regular basis.  He 
added that he was satisfied that the Strategic Revi ew had been undertaken very rapidly, and below the 
allocated budget. 
47. He said that the Final Report recognized that the WTO had a strong comparative advantage in 
WTO-related training activities.  However, the ques tion of the relevance of some activities arose, 
particularly with regard to the longer-term cour ses in Geneva and in the various regions.  He 
explained that Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)  were now prevalent in all regions, and the 
longer-term courses should take this into account and include more input, from outside sources, on 
this phenomenon.  He also said that WTO activ ities currently lacked a strong emphasis on the 
development side.  On the observation in the Final Re port relating to the neutrality of the Secretariat, 
he said that, in his view, this should be seen as a compliment to the Secretariat, and not a criticism.  That being said, he remarked that neutrality could act  as a constraint in some situations, especially in 
context of the longer-term courses.  Once again, ther efore, the need for outside sources – perhaps even 
representatives from WTO delegations – was highlight ed.  He continued by saying that a needs 
assessment was the foundation for effective tec hnical cooperation activities.  However, needs 
assessment was a difficult and weak area in WTO TRTA, and it was necessary for Members to consider what could be done.  On the question of va lue for money in WTO activities, he said that the 
greatest value was achieved in national activities, wh ich were typically demand-driven.  Expenditure 
on national activities was also relatively limited, and he therefore suggested that these activities 
should not be abandoned.  He expressed his appr eciation to the Review Team, which had provided 
Members with a useful outside view of WTO TRTA.   
48. The Chairman
 said that he wished to make a number  of points relating to the discussion that 
had taken place on the Strategic Review.  He said firstly that Members were dealing with a "moving target", since issues relating to TRTA had evolved ov er the past decade, and continued to evolve.  He 
noted in particular that, in discussing TRTA, it w as necessary for Members to now include the issue 
of Aid for Trade.  He said that the discussion by Members at the present meeting indicated that more 
TRTA was required, and of a better quality, in or der to allow beneficiaries to participate in 
"rule-making" and not simply accept "rule-taking".  The discussion had also highlighted the need  for 
sustainable institutional capacity within beneficiary countries.  He referred to an observation that had 
been made in the Final Report that WTO-provide d TRTA was only a small portion of total TRTA, 
and said that it was important to keep in mind that TRTA was provided by many sources, and that the  WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 15 
 
 
  WTO's budget for TRTA was relatively small compared to the total amount of funds available for this 
purpose.  He continued by saying that, in his view, the Strategic Review should be seen as an attempt 
to increase the effectiveness of TRTA.  In this rega rd, he noted that the TOR for the Strategic Review 
mentioned that the Review was expected to be "f orward-looking and result in what outside experts 
could offer by the identification and analysis of new priorities and/or modalities for TRTA;  
formulation of recommendations and lessons learne d for future improvements;  and suggestions of 
creative ways to maximize TRTA benefits".  He observed that while some delegations had 
commented on the methodology used in the Report and the fact that the Report did not cover all the points mentioned in the TOR, the Report had on the whole been received very positively.  He, 
however, believed that it was necessary for Memb ers to discuss further the conclusions and 
recommendations from the Report, and suggested that  it would be useful if the members of the 
Review Team were given the opportunity to present the Report in more detail.  He proposed that 
Members meet shortly in an informal setting for this  purpose, and suggested that the informal meeting 
would also benefit from the participation of a number of discussants.  In this regard, he said that he 
would consult with the Review Team, the Steeri ng Committee and the Secretariat to find a suitable 
date.   
49. The Vice-President and Research Coordinator at the NSI
 said that the Review Team was 
grateful for the cooperation of the DDG and members of the Secretariat, as well as of members of the Steering Committee, donors, representatives from other agencies and all those individuals which had 
been consulted in the field.  She explained that the Team had initially been concerned that the Management Response, by focusing on some of the relatively smaller issues, would not encourage the 
strategic debate that the Team was hoping for.  She was, however, pleased that the discussion at the 
present meeting, as well as the intervention by the DDG,  had highlighted some of the key elements of 
the debate.  She said that the Team welcom ed the positive response on many points from the 
Management, and appreciated the fact that the Secretariat was already making an attempt to incorporate some of these into its  work.  However, it was important to recognize that WTO-provided 
TRTA and the work of the ITTC stood at a crossroa ds.  This was not only because of the need to now 
incorporate Aid for Trade and the Enhanced IF in discussions on TRTA, but also because of the 
increasing range of demands from developing countries and the increasing number of TRTA 
suppliers.  The Review Team, theref ore, believed that it was important to take more important steps 
than what had been laid out in the Management Re sponse and what had been incorporated in the 2007 
TA Plan.  She explained that several people that had been interviewed during the preparation of the 
Final Report had commented that the courses organized by the WTO were too oriented towards the 
status quo, and that the trainers did not encourag e enough debate.  The Report, therefore, proposed 
strengthening the mission of the ITTC and ma king it more autonomous from the rest of the 
Secretariat, in particular to allow the ITTC to go beyond the neutrality constraint of regular WTO 
activities and to respond more appropriately to the n eeds of beneficiaries.  She said that she also 
wished to highlight the view of the Review Team of the usefulness of a mo re programmatic approach 
to TRTA activities.  In particular, it was felt that there was a need for the WTO to develop, along with 
its partners, an overarching progr amme of TRTA, thereby helping to provide coherence among the 
approximately 500 TRTA activities that were carried out each year.   
50. The representative of the United States
 said that she believed it was important to hear a more 
detailed presentation on the Final Report by the members of the Review Team.  At the same time, she 
felt it was necessary for Members to consider th e conclusions and recommendation of the Final 
Report in a gradual and deliberate manner, and that it would not be possible for Members to come up with a  response in the short term to all the recommendations.      
51. The Chairman
 said that he agreed with the US representative on the need for a gradual 
process to consider the conclusions and recommendati on of the Final Report.  He clarified that the 
proposal he had made earlier was for Members to start on the process, and that, in his view, the first WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 16  
 
  step was for the members of the Review Team to  present in some detail the findings of the Final 
Report.      
52. The representative of Argentina
 said that it was necessary for Members to start considering 
the conclusions and recommendations of the Report.  He suggested that, subject to the availability of 
funds, it would be useful to have two separate m eetings.  The Review Team could present its findings 
at the first meeting, while the second meeting woul d allow Members to have an in-depth discussion 
amongst themselves.  
53. The Chairman  said that, as he had outlined earlier, he would call an informal meeting to allow 
the Review Team to present its findings.  Member s could then consider how to move forward with 
their discussion.  He suggested th at the Committee take note of a ll interventions made under this 
agenda item.   
54. It was so agreed .  
(iii) Technical Assistance and Training Plan 2007 (WT/COMTD/W/151 and 
WT/COMTD/W/151/Corr.11) 
55. The Chairman  said that the 2007 TA Plan had been circulated in  document 
WT/COMTD/W/151 and a corrigendum, in English only, had been issued in 
WT/COMTD/W/151/Corr.1.  He said that he would ask the Secretariat to present the Plan, after 
which the floor would be opened for questions and comments. 
56. The Director of the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation  said that the 2007 TA 
Plan followed the pattern that had been used sin ce 2004 and, as in previous years, took into account 
the ITTC's experiences, feedback from beneficiaries, donors and members of the Secretariat in 
operational divisions, and the analysis undertaken by the Technical Cooperation Audit Unit.  The 
present year was, however, also different, because th e material from the Final Report of the Strategic 
Review was available.  The Plan acknowledged many of the recommendations from the Strategic 
Review, and several practical recommendations had been  incorporated in the Plan.  As in previous 
years, the Plan was designed in such a way as to gi ve more attention to those areas to which Members 
attached the most importance.  This was not a stat ic process, and the ITTC would continue to work 
closely with Members in order to allow thei r needs and concerns to be reflected.   
57. He drew the attention of Members to document CRP(06)322, which set out the budget that 
had been foreseen in the 2007 TA Plan.  The doc ument showed that the regular budget component 
continued to be around the level of CHF 5.2 milli on.  The Doha Development Agenda Global Trust 
Fund (DDAGTF) component was at CHF 24 million, which was a figure that had been used for the 
last few years, and an additional amount of CH F 1.9 million was foreseen for other trust funds, in 
particular for trainee programmes and internships.  While the figures were not very different from 
previous years, what was different in 2006 was the very  tight financial situation at the end of the year.  
According to the rules that Members had set, one quarter of the amount of the DDAGTF was meant to 
be available on 1 January of each year of implementation, and that this would likely not be the case 
this time around.  Therefore, while it might be  possible to implement wi th currently available 
resources – estimated at between CHF 3 to 4 million – a number of activities planned for the early part of 2007, other activities in the course of th e year would not be able to take place unless new 
resources were made available.  He agreed with  the point that had been made earlier by some 
delegations on the need for secure, predictable fi nancing for TRTA activities, and echoed that plea 
from the Secretariat standpoint.  In closing, he a ppealed to Members to make contributions to the 
                                                     
 
1 In English only. 
2 The document was circulated during the meeting, and is reproduced in the Annex to this Note.  WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 17 
 
 
  DDAGTF as early as possible in order to permit the S ecretariat to get the Plan underway as quickly as 
possible after its adoption. 
58. The representative of Benin , on behalf of the African Group, said that the 2007 TA Plan 
covered a wide range of activities aimed at building human and institutional capacity in the field of 
trade.  The efficient implementation of the Plan in  the most comprehensive manner possible would no 
doubt contribute to improving the integration of the African countries into the multilateral trading 
system.  He said that the 2007 TA Plan had been prepared in a context marked by the suspension of 
the Doha negotiations.  The African Group, however, remained convinced that the implementation of 
the Plan would be most useful to its members and would prepare them better to face the challenges of 
the negotiations.  The African Group also appreciat ed the fact that its members figured among the 
most important beneficiaries of WTO TRTA activiti es, and wished to reiterate that these activities 
were highly important to the African countries a nd were expected to produce benefits for the 
promotion of their trade.  In this regard, he sai d that the African Group wished to benefit from a little 
more time to examine the different sections of the 2007 TA Plan.  He assured Members that the Group was aware of the process and the various deadlines as sociated with the approval of the Plan, and said 
that the Group would be available for consultations after the present meeting.  The Group proposed to 
return to this matter at the next formal session of the CTD, after also receiving comments from the 
capitals, in order to make a substantive cont ribution to improving and finalizing the Plan. 
59. The representative of Mexico
 said that her delegation agreed with paragraph 5 of the 2007 TA 
Plan, in which the assumption was made by the Secretariat that the suspension of the Doha 
negotiations would not affect Members' needs and re quirements for training and technical assistance.  
She said that her delegation was appreciative of the key features of the TA Plan as set out in 
paragraph 11.  However, she expressed the wish that  the eighth bullet point in paragraph 11, in which 
the simplicity and flexibility of the TA Plan was em phasized, also include a mention of the needs of 
other developing country Members not specifically liste d.  She also remarked that there seemed to be 
no mention in paragraph 35 or elsewhere of trad e policy courses planned in 2007 in Spanish, and 
requested clarification on this.  
60. The representative of Colombia  said that his delegation supported the request made by 
Mexico for the needs of other developing countri es not explicitly mentioned in paragraph 11 of the 
2007 TA Plan to be taken into account. He also i nquired what initiatives had been taken by the ITTC 
to coordinate its activities with those of the Trad e Policy Review Division (TPRD), in particular on 
the issue of needs assessments. 
61. The representative of the European Communities  said that his delegation believed the 2007 
TA Plan was a good one. He said that Members had been informed by the Secretariat that 
improvements had been made in the design and deliv ery of the TA Plan over the years, for example 
improvements in the correlation with needs asse ssments and in the integration of performance 
indicators into the delivery of the programme.  In th is regard, he wanted to know in more concrete 
terms whether these improvements were capable of being measured or whether this was more an 
appreciation of the Secretariat.  More specifically, he wanted to know whether the Secretariat had any 
internal targets for, say, the percentage of na tional activities that were firmly based on needs 
assessments or derived from a need s assessment, or the number of activities that had performance 
indicators built in.  On RTPCs, he said that he wa s struck by the way the follow-up to RTPCs in the 
Caribbean appeared to be taking a slightly different  form to the follow-up in other regions, and wished 
to know the reason for this.  He also sought clar ification from the Secretariat on paragraph 164 of the 
2007 TA Plan concerning the WTO's role in activiti es relating to the Integrated Framework (IF) for 
Least-Developed Countries.  In particular, while it was his understanding that the WTO's participation 
in IF activities should come from the regular budget and not from any trust fund, a different impression was given in the text of that paragraph. WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 18  
 
  62. The representative of the United States
 said that her delegation was satisfied with the 2007 
TA Plan, and believed that the steady work that had been undertaken to refine some of the tools and 
programmes relating to TRTA were brought out in the Plan.  One exam ple related to the concept of 
e-training.  She said that her delegation was among those that had started pushing a number of years 
ago for e-training, and she was pleased to see that  e-training was now beginni ng to be part of the 
WTO's TRTA activities in a very appropriate way.  While e-training could not replace more standard 
types of training, it could serve as a very important  complement.  In particular, she believed that 
e-training could be useful to ensure follow-up an d feedback, and to allow ongoing dialogue between 
course participants.  She said that her delegation, like others, felt that the needs assessment component 
had to be emphasized, and that it was critical th at countries look at needs assessments when  
requesting activities.  In this regard, her delega tion would welcome a report on how many countries 
had actually done needs assessments and what was the status of these assessment s.  She believed that 
this could help Members identify some of the cha llenges that were being faced, and how they could 
be dealt with.  She added that another important point that Members had to consider was how to 
ensure that the appropriate officials got to the a ppropriate programmes, and she was pleased to see the 
discussion in the 2007 TA on some of the things that might be done in that regard.  She said that it 
was very important to have the 2007 TA Plan adopted as quickly as possible, as Members would subsequently need time to consider their contri butions to the WTO's TRTA activities as part of a 
broader budgetary process.  
63. The Chairman
 suggested that the Secretariat respond to the questions and comments that had 
been raised thus far, after which the floor would be opened again. 
64. The Director of the ITTC  said that four Geneva-based trade policy courses were held every 
year, three of which were in English, and the fourth  was in French or Spanish in alternate years.  
There was no Spanish course scheduled  for 2007, but there would be one in 2008.  In relation to the 
RTPC for Caribbean countries, he clarified that  what was in the 2007 TA Plan was not what was 
usually referred to as "phase 2" of the RTPC pr ocess, where the Secretariat assisted a partner 
university with its own plans and projects.  He ex plained that, in consultation with the Caribbean 
countries, it had been decided to hold activities th at would be most beneficial for the specific 
circumstances of these countries, and would focus on fo llow-up and advanced leve ls of training.  In 
particular, two shorter consolid ation courses would be organized for those who had previously 
participated in RTPCs.  On the issue of needs assessments, he said that the TPRs had been identified 
as one potentially valuable source of information on developing countries' needs in the area of 
technical assistance.  The ITTC was working clo sely with the TPRD on each TPR carried out for a 
developing country.  In particular, an ITTC sta ff member was associated with the TPR process for 
every developing country, so that as the analysis wa s done of the trade policy regime in the country 
concerned, staff members from the ITTC and the TP RD could identify more clearly than was possible 
in the past what conclusions could be drawn from th e TPR in terms of technical assistance needs.  In 
response to the point raised by the EC on the fundin g of IF-related activities, he confirmed that these 
should be from the regular budget.  On the question as  to whether the Secretariat was able to measure 
improvements in the use of needs assessments, he said that at the present this was not the case, but 
this was something the Secretariat could possibly work on, should Members believe this would be 
useful.  He elaborated that while the ITTC did try to look at communications received from 
governments, most of these communications did not make specific reference to a form of needs 
assessment on which they were basing the requests.  It could be assumed that whatever was requested 
was a need, but the question was to what extent that  need was a priority.  He invited a representative 
of the ITTC to provide an update on the status of needs assessments.  
65. The representative of the ITTC  said that about 30 needs assessments had been launched, of 
which between five and ten had b een concluded and submitted to the Secretariat.  He said that the 
TPR process was a useful structure in which to und ertake needs assessments, but added that while 
countries had been encouraged to incorporate need s assessments into their TPRs, many felt that the  WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 19 
 
 
  TPR process was not sufficiently frequent to make it a systematic tool to identify needs.  He 
suggested that Members could consider during inform al consultations how to strengthen procedures to 
improve the needs assessment process. 
66. The representative of Norway  said that his delegation was a firm supporter of the technical 
assistance and training programme of the WTO, and w ould continue to support and participate in the 
programme, including through contributions to the DDA GTF.  He added that it should be kept in 
mind that the WTO was only one of many organiza tions and institutions that offered TRTA, and 
coordination with other organizations  was therefore vital.  He said that paragraph 5 of the TA Plan 
rightly pointed out that it would be appropriate to re late the action of the Secretariat to the eventual 
outcome of the discussion on Aid for Trade, and to the operationalization of the Enhanced IF.  His 
delegation welcomed the 2007 TA Plan and comme nded the Secretariat for having incorporated 
several key recommendations from the Final Report of the Strategic Review into the Plan.  He added 
that the recommendations found in the reports of the Task Force on Aid for Trade and the Task Force 
on an Enhanced IF should also be taken into  account, including the reports' strong support for 
harmonization, coherence and integra tion of trade into national poverty reduction strategy plans.  His 
delegation was of the opinion that the importance of  needs assessments could not be overemphasized, 
and had noted with satisfaction that throughout the Pl an the beneficiary countries' needs were in focus 
in terms of scope, issues and the academic level of training.  The needs assessment issue posed 
important challenges to the ITTC when designing the offered courses and programmes, as well as to 
the beneficiary countries when selecting the right ca ndidates.  He said that his delegation supported 
the establishment of an ITTC webpage provi ding information about TRTA, as well as the 
strengthening of the use of e-training, since both ac tions were positive and cost effective.  He also 
pointed out that, both under the current IF as well as  the Enhanced IF, WTO activities would relate to 
the design and implementation of IF activities.  He , therefore, underlined once again the importance 
of coordinating the work in order to achieve synergies and added value, an observation which also applied to the work of the Joint Integrat ed Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP). 
67. The representative of Egypt
 said that he wished to highlight the link between the Final Report 
of the Strategic Review and the 2007 TA Plan, partic ularly in the areas of needs assessments, and was 
interested to know how the recommendations of the Final Report would be incorporated into future 
WTO-provided TRTA activities.  He said that it woul d be useful for Members to have a status report 
on needs assessments, in which could be incorporat ed the experiences of beneficiary countries and 
various agencies involved in the process.  In this regard, his delegation believed that the "Guidelines 
for Conducting Needs Assessments for T echnical Assistance and Training" in 
document JOB(04)/113, dated 30 August 2004, shoul d be updated.  He said that his delegation 
attached great importance in ensuring that there wa s a follow-up to each technical assistance activity, 
and that the follow-up was linked to evaluation.  He  explained that through an appropriate follow-up 
mechanism it would be possible to measure the eff ectiveness of a technical assistance activity and to 
evaluate the benefits of the activity.   
68. The representative of Pakistan  said that she had noted the discussion that had taken place on 
the issue of needs assessments.  In the case of Pakistan, she said that the Ministry of Commerce 
served as a coordinating body, and identified topics  which were subsequently communicated to the 
Secretariat.  Topics in previous years had included dispute settlement and agriculture, and it was likely that services statistics w ould be a topic in 2007.   
69. The representative of Brazil
 said it appeared that there was a two-way relationship between 
TPRs and needs assessments, since TPRs were a so urce for needs assessments, but needs assessments 
were also inserted in the TPRs.  He asked for some  clarification on this relationship.  He added that 
the TPRs also helped other agencies in carrying ou t technical assistance.  For example, the World 
Bank had recently carried out an in-depth study of the Brazilian economy, which drew on the 
information provided in the last TPR  on Brazil.  He also asked whethe r there were any plans to update WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 20  
 
  the WTO/OECD database on TRTA, in particular in light of one of the recommendations of the Task 
Force on Aid for Trade.  Finally, he inquired whether Members' discussion on improving WTO-provided TRTA could in some way be relate d to the recommendations of the Task Force on 
Aid for Trade. 
70. The representative of Malaysia
 said that national activities were extremely useful, as they 
could be tailored to fit the particular needs of co untries.  In the experience of her delegation, the 
programme for a national activity was finalized afte r much consultation with the Secretariat.  The 
success of a national activity depended, therefore,  in large part on the active participation and 
commitment of the beneficiary country.  On the issue of needs assessment and evaluation, she said 
that this was also in the hands of beneficiarie s, as it was their responsibility to respond to the 
effectiveness of an activity and ensure that it met their needs.  She emphasized, however, that it was 
important to keep the needs assessment format simp le and easy to apply, and that it was necessary to 
look into the issue of an appropriate methodology to use.  She said that the 2007 TA Plan was acceptable to her delegation, and expressed Malaysia's interest in hosting a regional seminar in 2007.  
71. The representative of Barbados
 said that it was a combination of feedback and foresight that 
had led to activities being identified in 2007 for th e Caribbean region that would consolidate the 
capacity that had been built over the last few years.   She noted that in paragraph 45 of the 2007 TA 
Plan it was stated that the RTPCs would be re-int roduced in the Caribbean region after a period of 
consolidation.  In this regard, she inquired what  the Secretariat understood to be the length of the 
period of consolidation and, recognizing that it may not simply be determined by the Secretariat, 
asked what would be the process for determining r eadiness for re-introduction, and what would be the 
indicators that would determine readiness. 
72. The representative of the United States  said that it was important to recognize that the Final 
Report of the Strategic Review contained both pract ical recommendations that were relatively easy to 
implement, and policy-oriented recommendations wh ich Members would have to consider in more 
detail.  A number of the practical recommendations  had already been incorporated in the 2007 TA 
Plan, while the recommendations of a policy nature would have to be considered by Members at a 
later stage.  Future discussions on TRTA could also treat issues relating to Aid for Trade and the IF 
process, as well as the WTO/OECD TRTA database, but  she believed that for now it was important 
for the CTD to formally adopt the 2007 TA Plan.   
73. The representative of Morocco  said that paragraph 59 of the 2007 TA Plan listed the various 
Geneva-based thematic courses scheduled for 2007 , three of which were in English and one in 
Spanish.  He inquired why there were no such co urses in French scheduled for 2007, and whether it 
would be possible to consider having courses of th is nature planned in each language on an annual 
basis.  On the issue of national activities, he dr ew the attention of the Committee to paragraph 76, 
which listed a number of considera tions and criteria for the implementation of national activities.  In 
this regard, he said that these considerations and criteria should not prove to be an obstacle to the 
specific requests of Members, since individual Members were presumably aware of what their 
specific needs were.    
74. The representative of Canada  said that his delegation appreciated that many of the practical 
recommendations from the Final Report of the Strate gic Review had been incorporated into the 2007 
TA Plan.  His delegation believed that the 2007 TA  Plan was a good one, and wished to move the 
process forward.  He also supported those delegations  that had called for improving the framework for 
evaluating technical assistance activities. 
  WT/COMTD/M/60 
 Page 21 
 
 
  75. The representative of Egypt , in clarifying his earlier intervention, said that his delegation 
wished to take full advantage of the conclusions  and recommendations contained in the Final Report 
of the Strategic Review.  He said that the Review Team's presentation of its findings would raise some 
important issues to be taken into consideration in the future provision of TRTA by the WTO. 
76. The Director of the ITTC  said that the Secretariat had begun discussions internally on how to 
implement the recommendations of the Task Fo rce on Aid for Trade relating to the WTO/OECD 
TRTA database, and would also be  initiating discussions with the OECD.  The database, as it stood 
now, provided information on activities that had taken al ready place.  It was less effective as a tool for 
planning, which was an issue also related to cohere nce and coordination with other organizations.  He 
agreed that there existed a two-way relationship between TPRs and needs assessments, and that if 
other organizations made use of TPRs in formul ating their technical assistance activities, this 
provided an added value to the TPRs.   From the point of view of th e ITTC, however, the main interest 
was in the needs assessments that came out of th e TPR process.  On the question from Barbados on 
what was the length of the "period of consolidatio n" envisaged before returning to RTPCs in the 
Caribbean region, at this stage it was difficult to say, though a period of one or two years had been 
discussed.  The thinking had been for the 2007 activities to be implemented, after which the ITTC 
would consult with the countries concerned to determ ine whether they wished to return to the RTPCs 
or continue with a different format.  On the i ssue of the language of instruction for specialized 
courses, there were many more English-speaking ca ndidates than candidates for French or Spanish 
courses – hence the greater number of English-la nguage courses – and that the present cycle of 
courses had been in place for some years.  Finally, he said that, while paragraph 76 listed a number of 
considerations and criteria for the implementa tion of national activities, these activities would 
continue to be undertaken as part of a demand-driven process.   
77. The Chairman  said that it was necessary to adopt a dynamic approach when discussing 
TRTA, as the topic was continuously evolving.  It was also necessary to consider the issue of TRTA in the light of coherence and coordination between agencies and donors, since only a very small part 
of TRTA was actually implemented by the WTO.  He said that the TPRs were a rich source of 
information which should be used in the considerati on of TRTA needs.  He noted that a number of the 
practical recommendations from the Final Report of th e Strategic Review had been incorporated into 
the 2007 TA Plan, which he saw as a positive step for WTO-provided TRTA.  On the question of how 
to go forward in discussing TRTA and the recomme ndations of the Final Report, he said that 
Members had many issues to consider, and it would be  best to consider them as part of a gradual 
process.  A continued discussion on TRTA in comi ng years would allow the TA Plan to evolve to 
better reflect the needs of beneficiaries.  With rega rd to the 2007 Plan, he said that the feedback from 
Members seemed broadly positive, and only the African  Group had requested more time to study it.  
He also noted that some Members had highlight ed the need to adopt the 2007 Plan as soon as 
possible, and therefore said that he wished to ma ke a proposal.  In particular, he proposed that the 
2007 Plan be adopted on a conditional basis at the present meeting, with the understanding that the 
item concerning the Plan would also be on the age nda for the next CTD meeting in order to allow 
Members to make any additional comments a nd consider formally adopting the Plan. 
78. The representative of Benin
, on behalf of the African Group, said that the Group did not 
object to the Secretariat moving forward with the process relating to the 2007 TA Plan.  The African 
Group also supported the Chairman's proposal to pl ace an item concerning the Plan on the agenda for 
the CTD's next meeting.  He said that if African delegations received comments from their capitals on 
the TA Plan, these would be shared with the Secretariat.  
79. The representative of Egypt  said that his delegation endorsed the Chairman's proposal to 
adopt the 2007 TA Plan conditionally at the present meeting.  He added that any comments received 
from African delegations, as well as the discussion that had taken place on the Strategic Review, 
could be incorporated, since the discussion on TRTA  was an ongoing process.  At the same time, he WT/COMTD/M/60 
Page 22  
 
  said that Members should recognize the fact that the Secretariat had to start the process relating to the 
Plan as soon as possible. 
80. The representative of Argentina
 said that he sought some clarification as to what would 
happen if a proposal came from a Member before the next CTD meeting which had some financial 
implications for the 2007 TA Plan.    
81. The representative of the United States  said that the query raised  by the representative of 
Argentina also had implications for the Committe e on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA), 
in particular since the TA Plan would have to be submitted to the CBFA after adoption by the CTD.   
82. The Chairman  said that his understanding was that the African Group had not indicated any 
strong objections to the 2007 TA Plan as it had been presented to the CTD, and that Members at the 
present meeting had broadly welcomed the Plan.  He , therefore, suggested that the CTD adopt the 
2007 TA Plan on a conditional basis at the present mee ting, and that Members consider the Plan once 
again at the next CTD meeting with a view to formally adopting it.     
83. It was so agreed .  
(iv)  Training and Technical Assistance: Semi-Annual Review of the Implementation of Activities 
– 1 January to 30 June 2006 (WT/COMTD/W/154) 
84. The Director of the ITTC  said that the Semi-Annual Review of the Implementation of 
Activities, circulated in document WT/COMTD/W /154, covered the period from 1 January to 
30 June 2006.  He said that para graphs 4 to 7 of the Semi-Annual Review gave a broad overview of 
the implementation of TRTA in that period.  Tw o specific elements of the programme – electronic 
training and the Standards and Trade Development F acility (STDF) – were then analyzed in more 
depth.  This was in line with the requests that ha d been made by Members to have a more qualitative 
reporting of TRTA activities.  He sai d that the implementation rate of  activities was about 90 per cent, 
up from 85 per cent in 2005, and approximately CHF 22 million of the budgeted CHF 24 million 
would be spent by the end of the 2006.  However, given that much of the available resources would be 
spent, concerns about obtaining new resour ces to implement activities in 2007 became more 
immediate.       
85. The Committee took note  of the Semi-Annual Review of the Implementation of Activities. 
D. OTHER BUSINESS    
86. No matter was raised under "Other Business". 
87. The meeting was adjourned . 
   WT/COMTD/M/60   
  Page 23    
  ANNEX 
          
CRP(06)32 
          3  N o v e m b e r  2 0 0 6  
WTO Technical Assistance and Training Plan 
WT/COMTD/W/151  
Swiss Francs 
  Chapter  Regular 
Budget  DDAGTF  Other 
Trust Funds  Total  
A  General WTO-related Technical Assistance and 
Training     
 (a) Trade Policy Courses  2,206,800    5,231,102  - 7,437,902  
 (b) Introduction Courses 381,400     381,400  
 (c) Geneva-based Thematic courses 345,000     345,000  
 (d) Regional and Sub-regional Short Trade Policy Courses   2,287,200   2,287,200  
   Total  2,933,200  7,518,302  - 10,451,502  
        
B  Specialised & Advanced Training & Technical Assistance    
 (a) Geneva-based Specialised Courses 165,000     165,000  
 (b) National Technical Assistance Activ ities  1,218,000  2,032,000   3,250,000  
 (c) Regional Seminars - 6,968,800  - 6,968,800  
 (d) Advanced Training Programme  for senior government 
officials    876,000   876,000  
 (e) Intensive Course on Trade Negotiations Skills    668,000   668,000  
 (f) Outreach Activities for Parliamentarians and Civil 
Society    358,400   358,400  
   Total  1,383,000  10,903,200  - 12,286,200  
        
C  Academic Support for Training and Capaci ty-building:  an integrated approach   
 (a) Regional trade Policy Courses    See A.a.ii      -  
 (b) Follow-up to RTPCs (Phase II)    520,000   520,000  
 (c) Workshops for University Professors 185,000   411,200   596,200  
 (d) Doctoral Studies    129,600   129,600  
 (e) Visiting Academics   -  -  
 (f) Research Collaboration (ERSD)    250,000   250,000  
 (g) Document Dissemination Programme for Universities   65,000     65,000  
   Total 250,000    1,310,800  - 1,560,800  
        
D  Support Training & Technical Assistance Facilities     
 (a) Geneva-based Topic-specific Symposia    1,680,010   1,680,010  
 (b) WTO Introduction Days -    - 
 (c) Other forms of Geneva-based support 536,600    536,600  
 (d) Trainee programmes and Internships      1,650,000  1,650,000  
   Total 536,600  1,680,010   1,650,000  3,866,610  
E  E-learning programme     
   Total   73,500   179,300  -     252,800  
        
F  Other Programmes and Support Activities with Funding Requirements   
 (a) Staffing: L-Posts and other Short-Te rm Contracts -   4,204,800  - 4,204,800  
 (b)  Programme activities -  270,000   20,000     290,000  
   Total -   4,474,800   20,000  4,494,800  
       
G  Overheads -   3,388,634     217,100  3,605,734  
       
H  Cost Sharing   
(5,455,046)   (5,455,046) 
        
  Grand Total  5,176,300  24,000,000   1,887,100  31,063,400  
__________