RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17
10 December 2010  
 (10-6673) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Seventeenth Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 26 OCTOBER 2010 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Erwidodo (Indonesia) 
  
A.
 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK 
PROGRAMME ............................................................................................................................... 1 
1. Report on the Activities of the Asia-Pacific Aid-for-Trade Regional Technical 
Group .......................................................................................................................... ...............1  
2. Resource Mobilization.......................................................................................................... ....4 
3. Mainstreaming .................................................................................................................. ........5  
4. Regional Dimension – Implementation...................................................................................6  
5. Monitoring and Evaluation....................................................................................................10  
6. Private Sector ................................................................................................................. .........15  
C. OTHER BUSINESS ......................................................................................................................16  
 
 A. A
DOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  informed Members that the agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3630.  In recognition of the presence of H.E.  PAN Sorasak, Secretary of State, Ministry of 
Commerce, Cambodia, he proposed that the Comm ittee take up the report on the activities of the 
Asia-Pacific Aid-for-Trade Regional Technical Group at  the outset of the meeting.  He also suggested 
that the item on the Enhanced Integrated Framewor k (EIF) be deleted from point B.(II) of the agenda 
since this item had been addressed by the Workshop on Mainstreaming of Aid for Trade held that 
morning. 
2. The agenda , as amended, was adopted . 
B. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
1. Report on the Activities of the Asia-Pacif ic Aid-for-Trade Regional Technical Group 
3. H.E. PAN Sorasak , Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia  provided an 
overview of the Asia-Pacific Regional Technical Group (RTG) process, for which Cambodia and 
Japan acted as co-Chairs, and highlighted the importa nce of Aid for Trade in that region.  He noted 
that Aid for Trade had emerged as one of the most important agendas in the WTO, and said that this 
was due to the large number of developing countri es that were hampered by lack of productive 
capacity and exports, and thus unable to benefit from tr ade liberalization.  In this context, Asia could WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 2  
 
  provide both lessons from successes, as well as insight s on future challenges.  The model of trade-led 
growth was responsible for raisi ng prosperity and pulling millions out  of poverty, and for the rebound 
it had made following the global financial crisis.  At  the same time, however, there were as many as 
900 million people in the Asia-Pacific region living on less than US$1.25 a day.   He recalled that the Asia-Pacific region included not only countries such as China and India but also 37 lesser developed 
countries some of which were landlocked with larg e trade costs, some which were isolated small 
islands, some with weak trade capacity and laggi ng competitiveness, and some which were fragile 
states with political instability.  Cambodia was am ong the least-developed countries and although it 
had made notable progress with regard to economic reforms, the global financial crisis had caused a 
tremendous economic shock wh ich had resulted in it having to re-s tart and re-engineer its trade-led 
growth.  He said that Aid for Trade could play a crucial role in Cambodia's economic recovery 
process and in the implementation of its trade strategy. 
4. He then provided information on the role of the RTG, recalling that the Group had been 
established as a result of the 2007 Aid-for-Trade Regional Review Meeting held in Manila and 
following the two WTO Global Reviews of Aid for Trade that had taken place in Geneva.
1  The RTG 
was an integral part of the Aid-for-Trade Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific and the announcement of 
its co-Chairs (Japan and Cambodia) at the Re gional Aid-for-Trade Review Meeting held in 
Siem Reap, Cambodia in May 2009 had established the RTG's ownership by developing member 
countries and donor countries, and had highlighted th eir committed partnership.  The RTG, with the 
Asian Development Bank (AsDB) acting as its Secret ariat, was an informal regional forum on Aid-
for-Trade issues where partnerships could be built among all the key players in the initiative to help 
develop, share, and apply best practices for Aid-fo r-Trade projects, and where an integrated approach 
to operationalize Aid for Trade over the medium-ter m could be formulated.  The RTG had met three 
times – in March 2009 at the AsDB headquarter s in Manila, in November 2009 at UNESCAP 
headquarters in Bangkok, and in May 2010 at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo – and had 
also interacted via video conference.  The results of  the consultations were shared periodically at CTD 
and APEC Senior Officials meetings. 
5. Turning to the draft RTG co-Chairs report, "Aid  for Trade in the Asia–Pacific: Its Role in 
Trade-Driven Growth" which was under preparati on, Mr.  PAN said that the report reviewed the 
diverse experience of the Asia–Pacific with a vi ew to highlighting lessons learned and making 
suggestions.  Issues considered in the report incl uded:  linkages between investment and aid in the 
context of trade-led development;  Aid-for-Trade flows into the region;  the relationship between 
regional and national strategies;  as well as lessons learned from good practice projects and 
programmes;  and the future direction of Aid for Tr ade in the region.  Findings from the Asia-Pacific 
experience included the following:  the Asia-Paci fic had a heterogeneous pattern of trade and 
development – the impressive success of newly indu strialized economies co-existing alongside least-
developed countries (LDCs) and small states;  forei gn direct investment played a pivotal role in 
developing the export capacity of Asia's succe ssful newly industrialized economies by connecting 
countries with emerging global production netw orks, transferring tec hnology and skills, and 
developing marketing relationships;  and, these ne wly industrialized economies had adopted outward-
oriented trade and investment strategies with ODA (Official Development Assistance) playing a 
complementary role in supporting the development of  an appropriate investment climate.   A key 
lesson to be learnt from Asia's  success was that what mattered  was a sound economic strategy 
combined with Aid for Trade rather than Aid for Trade per se .  The report had shown that a regional 
approach backed by national strategies was the most  effective way to close the gap between the two 
faces of Asia and to deploy Aid for Trade.  In  operational terms, this meant supporting economic 
corridors, including infrastructure, access to trad e finance, upgrading competitiveness, building trade 
capacity and implementing reforms and supporting strong public-private sector partnerships.  
                                                      
1 First Global Review of Aid for Trade (19-21 No vember 2007) and Second Global Review of Aid for 
Trade (6-7 July 2009).  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
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  6. Looking ahead,  he said  the aim would be to finalize the RT G co-Chairs' report and make it 
available as the Asia-Pacific region's contribution to  the Third Global Review.  It was hoped that the 
RTG would then move from its current pilot stage in to a more sustainable process with an evolving 
work programme for 2011 and beyond.  A key aspect of  the future work programme would be closer 
dialogue and experience sharing betw een Asia and other developing re gions and it was hoped that this 
new venture would be mutually beneficial for all. 
7. The representative of Japan  said that the comprehensive statement gave a very clear picture of 
the activities that were being promoted in the As ia-Pacific region as well as in Geneva.  Japan had 
supported the Aid-for-Trade Initiative since its la unch at the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference 
and had also been fully engaged in the Asia-Pacif ic RTG since its inception in March 2009, including 
through Japan's implementing agency JICA (Japan  International Cooperation Agency).  The RTG 
activities were aimed at finding elements in which to make Aid for Trade more effective by sharing 
Asia-Pacific experiences with othe r regions which would eventually contribute to the development of 
the Aid-for-Trade Initiative globally.  Japan acknowle dged that the Third Global Review of Aid for 
Trade in July 2011 would be important to furthe r enhance the Aid-for-Trade Initiative through its 
monitoring and evaluation (M&E).  In addition to its engagement in the RTG process, Japan would 
also respond to the Aid-for-Trade questionnaire and submit case stories in preparation for the Third 
Global Review.  Since the RTG had taken a similar case story approach to find success elements of Aid for Trade, Japan knew that this  approach worked and felt confiden t that the outcome of the Third 
Global Review would be fruitful for the future pr ocess.  As one of the major donors in the Aid-for-
Trade process, Japan would continue its commitment and efforts with regard to implementation of the 
Initiative. 
8. The representative of Pakistan
 informed that, as a member of the Asia-Pacific RTG, Pakistan 
was actively participating in the Group and consid ered it an important forum for discussion under the 
leadership provided by the co-Chairs Japan and Cam bodia.  Pakistan appreciated the emphasis put on 
looking at successful case stories and best prac tices as this would be a good knowledge base from 
which the Asia-Pacific region could learn from each  other.  Her delegation hoped to see these success 
case stories highlighted at the Third Global Review. 
9. The representative of Nigeria  said his delegation found H.E. PAN Sorasak's statement 
insightful, particularly as far as interrelated issues we re concerned.  Nigeria hoped that in the final 
RTG report submitted to the Global Review there would be reference to the role  of the private sector 
in the context of the Asia-Pacific region. 
10. The representative of the European Union  acknowledged the importance of the RTG, 
recalling that the EU had been a participant in th e Group since its inception.  The EU welcomed the 
outline of the report presented at the meeting – as well as at the Asia-Pacific briefing held the previous day – and acknowledged bot h the strategic leadership from the Group's co-Chairs, Japan and 
Cambodia, as well as the driving force behind the RTG's work from the Asian Development Bank.  
An important step forward would be to see simila r processes developing in other regions and to see 
networking events between such regional groups whic h would fully globalize similar work.   The EU 
would continue and further deve lop its participation in the RTG over the next year and would 
contribute with examples of success stories so as to  have a comprehensive overview of Aid for Trade. 
11. H.E. PAN Sorasak
 expressed appreciation for the support from Japan, the EU, Pakistan and 
Nigeria who, he said, had provided useful comme nts and suggestions on the RTG's endeavours.   
12. The representative of Japan  acknowledged that it would be usef ul to share the Asia-Pacific 
experiences with other regions so that the RTG pr ocess could contribute to the Third Global Review 
and beyond.  With regard to the role of the priv ate sector he said, that looking at success stories, 
foreign direct investment (FDI) had provided the capacity to make competitive products for export.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 4  
 
  This had led to economic growth.  ODA and, in partic ular, Aid for Trade, could therefore be useful in 
creating the environment to invite future investme nt.  The RTG would continue discussion, including 
with the private sector, in order to make furt her progress, and would share the results of those 
discussions at a future meeting of the CTD. 
13. The representative of the Asian Development Bank
 said that the AsDB would continue to 
support the RTG process.  He recalled that the As DB President had emphasized that the RTG would 
be one of the AsDB's contributions in the Aid -for-Trade process.  The AsDB would increase its 
lending to the Asia-Pacific region in  trade-related activities and would continue to share best practices 
in terms of Asia-Pacific projects and programmes.  As the process moved forward, the AsDB, in collaboration with the co-Chairs, would continue to brief the CTD on the RTG's work and evolving 
programme.  He explained that the RTG was an e xperimental pilot project which it was hoped would 
gain support as it moved forward and built on past successes. 
2. Resource Mobilization 
14. The representative of the World Bank
 reported on the annual Bank a nd Fund meetings held in 
Washington on 8-10 October 2010 and said that discussions had focused on three key points:  
resilience, reform and results.  On resilience, di scussion had mainly focused on the response to the 
global economic crisis.  World Ba nk Governors had welcomed the e xpanded financing by the World 
Bank Group since the crisis and called for a strengthening of the Bank's work in the area of infrastructure, innovation, human capital investme nt, gender and climate change.  On reforms, the 
addition of a new Chair from sub-Sahara Africa on the Executive Board of Directors had been 
approved.  She informed that 13 of the 25 Chairs  were from developing countries as were the Bank's 
three Managing Directors and Chief Economist.  Other reforms launched at  the annual meetings 
included the open data initiative through which Pres ident Zoellick had laid out a new approach to 
development research that he called "democratizi ng development economics".  The initiative would, 
for the first time, provide full access to Bank research, including economic indicators.  On results, and particularly in light of the current economic clim ate as well as the current IDA-16 replenishment, the 
Bank had attempted to quantify to its donors some of the results from countries using IDA 
(International Development Assistance) funds and she encouraged Members to seek more detailed 
information on this from the Bank's website.
2   She explained that, as one of the world's largest 
sources of aid to the poorest countries, IDA was key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals 
(MDGs) and to promoting the long-term growth of low-income countries.  IDA was a partnership of 
45 donors, including some countries that were previ ous IDA recipients.  Th e final IDA meeting was 
scheduled for mid-December and it would be important  for IDA to get a robust replenishment so that 
it could continue to help address these pressing needs.   
15. Reporting on the Bank's Group-Wide Trade Strategy, she said that the public consultation 
process that began in Geneva in March 2010 had now concluded.  The c onsultation meetings had 
taken place in a wide variety of  countries and ha d pulled together developm ent partners, the private 
sector, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  The general feedback indicated that there was a 
strong stakeholder consensus surrounding the five proposed pillars:  competitiveness, trade 
facilitation, trade finance, cooperation, and data an d statistics.  The Bank would particularly welcome 
comments from WTO Members and from its partner organizations on the first draft of the Strategy 
report that was expected to be posted on th e Bank's website within the next few weeks. 
16. The representative of Canada  announced that the Canadian Minister of International 
Cooperation had the previous day unve iled the Canadian Internationa l Development Agency's (CIDA) 
strategy for sustainable economic growth.  The st rategy focused on three paths:  building economic 
foundations, growing businesses, and investing in people.  Funding included an allocation of 
                                                      
2 http://www.worldbank.org .  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
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  CAN$40 million to the multilateral Aid-for-Trade  Initiative for 2009-2014 to increase jobs and 
economic opportunities to enhance participation in  the global economy.  Support would focus in 
particular on trade facilitation and agricultural sta ndards, enabling partner countries to reduce poverty 
through more competitive production and to access global markets.  About one-quarter of the 
investment would be devoted to making sustaina ble improvement to the lives of women traders, 
entrepreneurs and small-scale farm ers.  He added that multilateral Aid-for-Trade funding was in 
addition to Canada’s existing commitment of CAN$ 19.2 million to the EIF and a yearly contribution 
of approximately CAN$950,000 to the Internationa l Trade Centre (ITC).  Canada looked forward to 
working together with its partners on Aid for Tr ade in a manner that addressed poverty reduction as a 
core objective. 
3. Mainstreaming 
17. The representative of the WTO Secretariat  reported on the Workshop on Mainstreaming of 
Aid for Trade held that morning and said that it had provided Members with greater insight into some of the on-going actions on mainstreaming, both at a general level and with respect to the engagement 
of the private sector and consideration of gender issues in mainstreaming  processes.   The three 
presentations made in the first session of the Wo rkshop had focused on examples of mainstreaming 
trade into national planning frameworks and private sector dialogues.  In its presentation, the Inter-
American Development Bank (IaDB) had outlined th e work it was undertaking to develop national 
Aid-for-Trade strategies, including in support of th e WTO Trade Policy Review process.  This work 
particularly responded to the mainstreaming challe nges faced by middle-income countries.   IaDB's 
collaboration with Belize had been highlighted a nd reference had been made to ongoing work with 
Jamaica and Honduras on developing and opera tionalizing Aid-for-Trade strategies.   
18. The EIF had profiled its mainstreaming work in LDCs and the institutional mechanisms 
through which the EIF worked.  The importance of mutual accountability, and donor and partner 
alignment of priorities had been emphasized, as had the need for further attention to ensuring 
translation of mainstreamed trade priorities into actions and projects.  It had been recalled that while 
positive steps had been made by LDCs in mainstr eaming trade into national development strategies, 
progress was still needed to translate this at an operational level.   
19. Representatives from the Uganda Export Promoti on Board had outlined an ITC assessment of 
the impact of private sector mainstreaming efforts on demand and utilisation of Aid-for-Trade funds.  
Key findings from the report entitled "Aid for Trad e and Export Performance in Uganda: A Business 
Perspective" included that, at a national level in Uganda, there were strong correlations between Aid- 
for-Trade assistance to agriculture and transport and improved export perform ance in these sectors, 
and that, at sectoral level, there were str ong correlations between Aid for Trade and export 
performance for honey and silk exporters in Uganda.   
20. The presenters had underscored the need for great er private sector involvement in the design, 
evaluation and implementation of Aid-for-Trade projects and programmes to build on these positive 
correlations.  Members had welcomed the presentatio ns and had expressed support for the work being 
undertaken by the IaDB and the EIF.  Particular support for IaDB's work to be broadened to other 
middle-income countries in the region was voiced .  The ITC report and Uganda's approach to 
interfacing with the business community had both been commended.  Questions and comments had 
included the need to further develop indicators for more effective assess ment of Aid-for-Trade 
impacts, assistance to improve data collection on Aid for Trade at the national level and support for 
bridging the "missing middle" between the public  and private sectors in developing countries. 
21. The second session of the Workshop had focu sed on gender mainstreaming and Aid for 
Trade.  ITC had provided a report of the joint ITC/WTO Expert Roundtable on Gender and Aid for Trade held the previous day.  The development of case stories and the formation of an Aid-for-Trade WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 6  
 
  Gender Network had been noted as outputs from the m eeting.  ITC had underlined that the network 
was an open one and had encouraged Members' par ticipation in that network.  The Chief Gender 
Monitor of Rwanda had given a presentation on how  her Government had mainstreamed gender as a 
cross-cutting theme across all areas of government policy, including trade.  Canada had illustrated 
how the gender dimension was being integrated into its Aid-for-Trade interventions.  The 
presentations had underlined that Aid-for-Trade pr ojects and programmes were more effective when 
attention was paid to gender equality in their desi gn and implementation.  It had been suggested that 
gender equality should be integrated into all st ages of Aid-for-Trade interventions.  Members had 
welcomed the report of the joint Expert Roundtable  and comments had emphasized the important role 
of gender in donor programmes and increasingly in part ner country processes.  It had been noted that 
only a small snapshot of the on-going actions on gender had been profiled.  The importance of 
developing gender-supportive  supply value chains, and of focusi ng on market access in areas and for 
products where women are the major beneficiaries,  had been identified as areas for possible future 
discussion. 
22. The representative of the European Union
 said that the mainstreaming of trade into 
development strategies was the first step to harn ess the potential of trade to generate resources for 
development and was essential for assuring both vol umes and quality of Aid for Trade.  The 
Workshop had therefore been an important opportunity to specify what was really meant by mainstreaming.  Effective mainstreaming did no t simply mean referring to trade in national 
development plans but clearly involved several inte rlinked elements.  A trade needs assessment was 
required to define trade-related strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the economy and 
the definition of priorities.  An assessment of th e cost implications in acting on these findings was 
also required with involvement of key stakeholders from the public a nd private sectors.  What needed 
to be done first – in combination with what – w as probably one of the most complex elements of 
mainstreaming and this was where more lesson lear ning and experience shari ng would be important.  
There was also an element of division of labour, i.e.  what needed to be done by the public sector and 
what could be done by the private sector.   
23. Mainstreaming lay clearly in the hands of th e recipient countries and it was for this reason 
that the EU attached great importance to the EI F.  Another element in mainstreaming was to 
operationalize strategic priorities by ensuring that tr ade-related issues were adequately addressed in a 
country’s relevant strategi es and plans as well as in its national budget.  A further important element 
was feedback and the EU was pleased that in the Workshop many of the speakers had qualified 
mainstreaming as a continuous process with elemen ts of monitoring, evaluation and feedback.  
Evaluation should explore whether the elements of a country’s trade strategy were being implemented 
and if the expected results were there so that, if need ed, the strategy could be refined.  It was clear that 
there was evidence to show that mainstreaming was on-going and there was an increasing consensus 
on what it meant.  The EU nevertheless considered th at there were many lessons to be learned on how 
mainstreaming was taking place, the involvement of the private sector, the coverage of poverty, and 
on gender linkages.  Continued a ttention was important on these issues, including at the next Global 
Review of Aid for Trade, and the EU therefore a ppreciated the importance given to mainstreaming in 
the Aid-for-Trade questionnaires, notably the questionnaire addressed to partner countries. 
4. Regional Dimension – Implementation 
24. The representative of the United Na tions Development Programme (UNDP)
 provided an 
overview of its Aid-for-Trade activities (funded by Fi nland) in Central Asia, South Caucasus and the 
Western CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).  Outlining UNDP’s human development agenda and trade, he said that although trade could be a powerful source of economic growth, 
liberalizing trade did not ensure poverty reductio n or human development, nor did it guarantee 
immediate economic growth.  He highlighted the fact that the nature of resource allocation and social 
inclusion were important dete rminants of growth leading to poverty reduction and human  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
 Page 7 
 
 
  development.  UNDP had a comparative advantage in the region because of its country-based offices 
and he noted that local area based development projects included agriculture, water management, 
microfinance, civil society, and capacity building of local administration.   The first phase of projects 
were being implemented in 11 countries in the re gion and carried out over an initial 18-month period 
from August 2009-January 2011 with a budget of €1.6 m illion.  Project components included an Aid-
for-Trade Roadmap in Central Asia to identify natio nal and regional Aid-for-Trade priorities with an 
Aid-for-Trade Ministerial Conference being organi zed in Baku, Azerbaijan on 1-2 December 2010 for 
SPECA3;  Aid for Trade in Central Asia which consis ted of support to economic development along 
trade corridors in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Repub lic and Tajikistan;  and Aid-for-Trade Needs 
Assessments in South Caucasus and Western CI S (Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine and 
Moldova).   
25. UNDP’s activities covered trade marketing baseline assessment for export promotion 
interventions, capacity building on trade mainstre aming, establishing regional export promotion 
centres, expanding small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) access to financial services by developing trade-focused microfinance products , and promotion of en vironmentally-friendly 
technologies and green commodity production.  Th e aim of these projects and activities was to 
identify capacity gaps and technical assistance needs, to develop policy recommendations and an 
action matrix for potential donor assistance, and to develop concrete project proposals for Aid-for-Trade interventions.  The UNDP publication "Tra de and Human Development:  How to Conduct 
Trade Needs Assessments in Transitional Economies"  had been prepared as a methodological regional 
guide and focused on the impact of trade on hum an development, living standards and poverty 
reduction.  The publication highlighted capacity gaps, proposed actions and technical assistance 
projects to overcome weaknesses, and suggested recommendations by way of action matrices.  
UNDP’s role was to provide methodological support and facilitate the process.   
26. The next phase of projects, covering the Ne w Independent States (excluding the Russian 
Federation), were scheduled to be carried out  over the period 2011-2013.  Components included 
support to economic development along trade corri dors linking the countries of Central Asia, 
South Caucasus and Western CIS with key market s for their products;  trade development with 
technical assistance for a better use of trade opportu nities;  overcoming informal trade barriers faced 
by small enterprises and micro businesses, especially women entrepreneurs;  and creating opportunities for small enterprises and micro-businesses to benefit from trade.  The project proposal, 
with an indicative budget required of €4.6 m illion, had been submitted in September 2010.
4   
27. The representative of India  asked whether, given the fact that adequate financing might not be 
available for the ambitious plan and various proj ects, UNDP had explored the possibilities of funding 
at the local or regional level.  He also sought fu rther details on the green commodities trade and asked 
what were the commodities that UNDP had in mind and when such trade would start in order to make 
an impact at national level. 
28. In response, the representative of UNDP  noted that financing was an important issue that 
UNDP was continuing to work on.  He highlighted the Ministerial meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan at which the needs of the region would be presented a nd proposals for funding for regional projects and 
concept notes of potential project interventions made.  With respect to green commodities, he said that 
UNDP interventions in this regard were relatively sm all and that, as a first step, it was in the process 
of explaining to farmers what green commoditie s meant, what they could sell, and in which 
commodities they had potential to sell and be competitive.   
                                                     
 
3 The United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikist an, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). 
4 Further information can be found on the UNDP website at http://europeandcis.undp.org . WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 8  
 
  29. The representative of the Commonwealth Secretariat
 provided a detailed overview of its Aid-
for-Trade research activities.5  He said that the Commonwealth Secretariat was committed to 
improving the performance of deve loping countries in international trade and therefore had a long 
standing interest in Aid for Trade.  A study had been commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat  
that had proposed a set of general principles for an Aid-for-Trade mechanism and identified areas 
where development assistance would be required.  The study had put forward recommendations for 
better and more effective utilizati on of development aid and had gr eatly influenced related policy 
discourse and, subsequently, many of the recommenda tions of the WTO Aid-for-Trade Task Force.  
Research had also sought to address the rela tionship between development and trade and a 
quantitative assessment was being undertaken of the actual impact of development assistance that 
qualified as Aid for Trade to see how this had impact ed on trade performance.  The first stage of the 
analysis, which covered 120 developing countries,  had looked at cross-country and time series Aid-
for-Trade flows measured against various export performance and trade facilitation related indicators 
which sought to isolate the impact of specific types of aid on specific outcomes.  The results had provided clear-cut evidence that aid to productive capacity had a significant and positive impact, that 
certain types of Aid-for-Trade assistance had he lped countries achieve improved trade facilitation 
performance, and that there were pos itive effects on export performance.   
30. A comprehensive study had also been undertaken to highlight the rationale of Aid for Trade 
to SVEs which had special and unique devel opment challenges such as limited resources, small 
domestic markets, and high unit productive and transac tion costs that restricted their ability to achieve 
the economies of scale and international competitiven ess.  SVEs therefore needed well-designed and 
effective trade-related assistance.  Aid to trade facilitation, for example, had significant cost-reducing 
effects on the cost of handling e xports and SVEs appeared to enjo y particularly high returns on aid 
used for trade facilitation.  Results further suggest ed that aid to economic infrastructure increased 
overall exports for developing countrie s, in particular SVEs.  Furthermore, sectoral aid was seen to 
have a more positive impact on tourism and mineral exports in SVEs than in non-SVEs, but Aid for 
Trade did not appear to have had much bene fit for food and manufacturing exports by SVEs. 
31. Turning to sub-Saharan Africa, he said that  the Commonwealth Secretariat was currently 
undertaking an empirical assessment of Aid-for-Trade  effectiveness in this region.  Preliminary 
findings suggested that aid to trade facilitation ha d a positive and significant effect on the cost of 
importing and exporting, while aid to infrastructure ha d also similar effects on exports.  However, aid 
to productive capacity appeared to have had little impact.  It was also interesting to note that, while 
the returns to infrastructure developmental exports we re much larger in sub-Sahara Africa than in 
other developing countries, the opposite was true fo r productive capacity.  Preliminary results also 
suggested that part of the beneficial effect of in frastructure occurred through the facilitation of intra-
sub-Saharan African trade.  The analysis had pointed  to the relative importance of soft infrastructure 
investments (i.e. finance and business services) in developing countries, and sub-Saharan Africa in 
particular, but suggested that other forms of infrast ructure, such as transport and energy support, were 
also important. 
32. A case study in Tanzania commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat had found that 
there were differences between the perception of Ai d for Trade at the donor level and at the recipient 
level.  Another area of research related to the gender dimension in the delivery and management of 
Aid for Trade and he referred to the substantial work that the Co mmonwealth Secretariat was carrying 
out with regard to mainstreaming gender in trade an d development.  This included the preparation of 
training materials on gender for various stakeholders  and the work was now being extended to Aid for 
Trade.  Conclusions arising from the workshops  where the Commonwealth Secretariat tended to 
present the results of its various research activities in cluded the following:  (i) increased transparency 
                                                     
 
5 The full statement by the Comm onwealth Secretariat was subsequently circulated in 
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/25.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
 Page 9 
 
 
  was needed in Aid-for-Trade flows;  (ii) reci pient countries needed to be more proactive in 
monitoring;  (iii) Aid for Trade needed to supp ort economic infrastructure;  and (iv) greater 
coordination was needed with Aid for Trade being based on a country's actual needs rather than on 
donor priorities.   
33. The Commonwealth Secretariat was committed to continuing its work in helping developing 
countries better inform their policy and above all contribute to developing capacity, in assessing the 
effectiveness of such assistance and in designing proj ects with a view to promoting trade-led growth 
and development.  Given these objectives, its wo rk programme would be extended to cover region 
and country-specific case studies and it would disseminat e more widely its findings.  He added that 
another area of research would be the effectiveness of South-South Aid for Trade which was growing 
in significance for many low-income countries.  It s programme was flexible and the Commonwealth 
Secretariat would welcome any views from the WTO and from Members on how it could further its 
research. 
34. The representative of Dominica , on behalf of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States 
(OECS) and SVEs  said that the presentation had highlighted the important work on Aid for Trade and 
SVEs as well as a number of critical issues that development partners, the Secretariat, and the SVEs 
themselves needed to look at.  The OECS and SV Es would examine the policy recommendations that 
had been made and would take full advantage of the work that the Common wealth Secretariat had 
undertaken in this area. 
35. The representative of India  asked whether the reason why Commonwealth research had 
shown Aid for Trade as not particularly effective in the areas of food and manufacturing was because 
of the SPS or standards issue or because of any ot her area which impeded the growth of exports in 
these sectors from the Commonwealth Secretariat me mber states.  While acknowledging that there 
was a need to increase intra-sub-Sa haran Africa trade, he said that the reality was, and would remain 
probably for a number of years, that the major trad ing partners of sub-Saharan Africa and the African 
continent were outside that continent.  While sub-Saharan Africa trade should be increased and 
encouraged, these countries should also be encouraged  to enhance their exports to the outside region 
as well.  This meant having trading capacities, est ablishing supply chains and meeting standards in 
order for the overall development of Africa.  He sai d that it would be useful if, in its report, the 
Commonwealth Secretariat could also highlight the success stories as well as failures of its initiatives 
so as to have a comprehensive knowledge of such an initiative. 
36. The representative of Jamaica  said his delegation welcomed the comprehensive presentation 
and said that Jamaica would certainly wish to take full advantage of the va rious recommendations that 
had been made.  He asked whether the Commonwealth  Secretariat was undertaking – either as a joint 
activity with the WTO Secretariat or on its own – any specific initiatives in preparation for the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade in 2011.  The representative of Nigeria
 said Nigeria appreciated the 
assistance provided under the Commonwealth Secretariat project which it found useful, and looked 
forward to seeing the detailed report as soon as it became available.  The representative of Viet Nam  
asked how the Commonwealth Secretariat intended to  provide feedback on the report's findings to 
recipient countries and how it planned to undertake the findings in shaping the Commonwealth Secretariat’s overall Aid-for-Trade strategy.  The representative of Pakistan
 noted that Pakistan was 
one of the beneficiaries of the gender programme through which women entrepreneurs were trained 
and provided with an opportunity to exhibit their pr oducts, and exporters were linked with importers.   
37. The representative of the Commonwealth Secretariat  said the information he had provided 
was a synopsis of a large amount of work spread over a number of publications.  Regarding intra-
African trade, he said that African countries th emselves were very committed to promoting intra-
regional trade and that he was not making a polic y recommendation but merely noting that, through 
its objective research, the Commonwealth Secretar iat had found that the support provided had been WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 10  
 
  effective.  On issues regarding gender, the Comm onwealth Secretariat was open to suggestions and 
looked forward to receiving enquiries in this respect.  With regard to intra-sub-Saharan African trade, 
he said that the Commonwealth Secretariat had f ound that wherever Aid for Trade was given to 
improving infrastructure it tended to support more trade from Africa but part of the trade was also going towards intra-sub-Saharan African trade.  With  respect to why, in so me cases, despite Aid-for-
Trade flows to the food and manufacturing sector s, exports from these sectors had not been 
encouraging, he said that this was particular to SV Es and could perhaps be explained by the fact that 
SVE’s manufacturing sectors were small and that th ey were not countries known for exporting food.  
As regards plans in preparation for the Third Gl obal Review, the Commonwealth Secretariat would be 
undertaking a number of activities including the preparation of case stories and the holding of 
consultation meetings with its members.  He said th at information would be shared with countries that 
were not members of the Commonwealth Secretariat and noted that some of the studies he had referred to were already available.
6 
38. The representative of the United Nations Conf erence for Trade and Development (UNCTAD)   
presented an outline of its EMPRETEC Programme which supported supply-si de development in 
developing countries.  The EMPRETEC Programme wa s an integrated capacity-building programme 
which promoted SMEs and entrepreneurial skills.  It  helped promising entrepreneurs put their ideas 
into action and was part of UNCTAD's mandate on enhancing productive capacity and international 
competitiveness for the benefit of economic developm ent, poverty reduction, and equal participation 
of developing countries and transitional economies in the world economy.  The main beneficiaries of 
the Programme were aspiring entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, small businesses, and young 
people.  EMPRETEC had trained over 180,000 people  since its inception in 1988 helping them to 
found or expand businesses and there were cu rrently national EMPRETEC centres operating in 
32 countries.  By the end of the year, EMPRETEC expected to organize events in Brazil, the 
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Lesotho, Mozambique, Panama, Peru, Tanzania, and Viet Nam.  An 
information leaflet had been circulated for the meet ing and more information on this contribution of 
UNCTAD towards the Aid-for-Trade Initiativ e could be found on EMPRETEC's website.7 
5. Monitoring and Evaluation 
39. The representative of the WTO Secretariat  provided an overview of the preparations 
underway for the 2010-2011 M&E exercise and of the actions being taken to support Members in the 
process leading up to the Third Global Review of Ai d for Trade.  He informed that over 250 letters 
jointly signed by the OECD Secretary General a nd the WTO Director-General had been addressed 
together with an Aid-for-Trade questionnaires and a call for case stories, to partner countries, South-
South partners, bilateral donors, in ternational donor organizations, a nd regional organizations.  He 
noted that one of the innovations of the 2010-2011  M&E exercise was the questionnaire for regional 
organizations.  The letters and questionnaires to partner countries had been addressed to Trade and 
Finance Ministers with a copy to Geneva-based missions, and the letters addressed to donors would 
also be copied to Geneva-based missions.  Delegati ons wishing to receive an  electronic copy of the 
letters addressed to their respective country were re quested to contact the Secretariat.  The formatted 
questionnaires would be posted on the website toge ther with the call for case stories which had 
initially been circulated as a CTD document.8  He encouraged delegations to try to meet the deadline 
of 31 January 2011 for submission of completed ques tionnaires and case stories and wished to place 
on record the Secretariat’s thanks to the OECD fo r their collaboration in what had been a mammoth 
task and for their continued collaboration in the M&E exercise as preparations for the Third Global 
Review moved forward. 
                                                      
6 http://www.thecommonwealth.org/  
7 http://www.empretec.net . 
8 WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22, 27 July 2010.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
 Page 11 
 
 
  40. Turning to specific training events, he said that  these were outlined, together with a number of 
other Aid-for-Trade related activities, in doc ument WT/COMTD/AFT/W/16/Add.2.  The training 
events, for which invitations had been addressed to Aid-for-Trade focal points, were focused on 
explaining the partner country and regional organiza tion questionnaires and on how to complete the 
questionnaires and submit case stories.  Forthcom ing training events included for the Asian 
economies on 9-11 November 2010 in Hanoi, Viet Nam;  for Anglophone African countries and 
RECs on 16 and 17 November 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa, organized with the assistance of 
the United Nations Economic Commission for Afri ca (UNECA);  for Latin American countries on 
30 November to 2 December 2010 in Quito, Ec uador;  and for the Caribbean countries on 25-
27  January 2011.  Negotiations were  also at an advanced stage to organize a training event for Pacific 
island countries and it was hoped that the next report to the CTD would include further information on 
this event. 
41. The representative of the WTO Secretariat  reported on the regional seminar for Francophone 
Africa that had taken place in Libreville, Gabon on 6- 8 October 2010, noting that it had been the first 
in the series of training activities organized with the aim of assisting developing countries in their 
preparations for the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade.  Particular focus had therefore been given 
to the Aid-for-Trade partner country and regi onal organization questionnaires as well as to the 
submission of case stories.  Twenty-two countries, together with two regiona l organizations (CEMAC 
(Monetary and Economic Community of Central Africa) and WAEMU (West African Economic and 
Monetary Union)), as well as UNECA were represented at the seminar which was opened by the Gabonese Minister of Commerce. 
42. The seminar had consisted of presentations a nd working group discussions and participants 
had been split into groups according to represented regions to discuss and complete the questionnaires 
and identify case stories.  Participants had rema ined very engaged throughout the seminar and the 
working group discussions had allowed for reflection on the details of country specific responses to 
the questionnaire as well as of possible case stories.   Discussions had also enabled participants to 
better understand what was expected from their respec tive capitals with regard to the Aid-for-Trade 
M&E exercise.  As a result of the group discussions , each participant had been able to provide 
examples of country specific case stories which coul d be submitted after validation by their respective 
governments.  Participants had also indicated that  they were able to complete the Aid-for-Trade 
questionnaire.  At the end of the seminar an indicativ e list of case stories had been prepared, subject to 
validation by the participants’ respective governme nts and ministries.  Themes that had been 
suggested for possible case stories included in the areas of agriculture, infrastructure development 
(transport, roads, ports and airports), trade fac ilitation, capacity building, programmes to strengthen 
the services and trade and investment sectors and to support the private sector, and improvement of commercialization, quality and standards.  It had b een agreed that participants at the seminar would 
act as informal focal points in their respective countries so that the necessary follow-up work was 
done to ensure that completed questionnaires and case stories were submitted by the deadline of 
31 January 2011.  The Secretariat thanked the G overnment of Gabon, the UNECA representative and 
the consultant from the Republic of Congo for their support which had assured the success of the 
event. 
43. The representative of the WTO Secretariat
 said that one of the points arising from the report 
was that the training had been completed and that it was now up to the relevant Members to submit 
their questionnaires and case stories,  It was hoped that a good response rate would result from the 
training event.  A second point was that it had given an indicative idea of the sort of case stories that 
would be submitted to the WTO and the OECD as part  of the M&E process.  In order to assist both 
the WTO and the OECD in the planning for the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade, delegations were encouraged to indicate at an early stage what  themes their case stories would cover.  In this 
respect, he said that the intention would be to hold a further meeting of the CTD before the end of the 
year to evaluate progress on the submission of case stories and completed questionnaires.  It was also WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 12  
 
  hoped that at the same time a training session could be organized by the OECD on its databases and 
how to access Aid-for-Trade data.   
44. The representative of India
 welcomed what had been done so far and confirmed receipt of the 
letter, questionnaire and call for case stories.  He sai d that it would be helpful to receive electronic 
copies to disseminate to the appropriate agencies in capital. 
45. The representative of Australia  said that the responses to the questionnaires and the 
submission of case stories would be important contri butions to understanding the impact of Aid for 
Trade.  Referring to the update on the training ev ents, she confirmed that Australia would fund the 
event that would take place for the Pacific region in early December. 
46. The representative of Viet Nam  expressed appreciation to the WT O Secretariat for the work it 
was doing in relation to the questionnaires and sai d that her delegation, too, would appreciate 
receiving an electronic copy to circulate to focal poi nts in capital.  She confirmed that Viet Nam was 
hosting the regional workshop in Hanoi on 9-11 Nove mber 2010 and that a national workshop on Aid 
for Trade, benefiting from both WTO and AsDB experti se, would be held the day before to provide a 
platform for different donors and ministries in Viet Nam to join the M&E exercise. 
47. The representative of Nigeria  confirmed receipt of the letter which had been transmitted to 
capital for appropriate action.  Nigeria, too, would appreciate receiving an electronic copy, particularly of the questionnaire, especially since it had been emphasized that ministers should consult 
widely with all stakeholders to ensure that the questionnaires were adequately completed.   
48. The representative of Pakistan
 said that her delegation, too,  would appreciate receiving an 
electronic version of the letter, questionnaire and call for case stories. 
49. The representative of Tonga , on behalf of the Pacific Islands , thanked Australia for its 
commitment with respect to the training event to be  held for the Pacific region on 9 and 10 December 
2010.  She said that her delegation understood that  Australia was currently  collaborating with the 
Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji and informed that th e Tonga Mission in Geneva would also be willing to 
coordinate with Australia and the Tonga Mission in Fiji about the event. 
50. In response to the requests for electronic copi es of the questionnaires and call for case stories, 
the representative of the WTO Secretariat  reaffirmed that these would be posted on the WTO and 
OECD websites shortly. 
51. The representative of the Organisation for Ec onomic Co-operation a nd Development (OECD)   
presented an overview of the current work being un dertaken by the OECD on indicators and reported 
on the Experts Technical Level Meeting that had ta ken place the previous week.  The meeting, which 
had brought together OECD-member officials, e xperts responsible for designing Aid-for-Trade 
programmes, and agencies that collected and gene rated trade-related indicators, had served as a 
brainstorming to address whether there was a need for indicators, for what purpose and how to go 
forward.  Experts had provided insights in their re spective fields into the demand for and supply of 
Aid-for-Trade indicators and donors had reported on what they were doing to improve their results 
management through using common indicators.  Monitoring by the OECD and WTO had so far 
focused on demand and response and there was now a need to measure outcomes and impacts.  Aid for Trade covered a wide range of concepts each  with different objectives which made quantifying 
and measuring results complicated.  Measurable objec tives, targets and associated indicators were 
therefore needed for tracking progress and the choice of indicators was critical to effective results-
based monitoring.  A number of donors were current ly developing Aid-for-Trade results frameworks 
and it was therefore an opportune time to collectiv ely consider how to measure and report Aid-for-
Trade results drawing from the existing pool of  indicators to establish a menu of common and  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
 Page 13 
 
 
  comparable indicators which were reasonably representative of the key characteristics of Aid for 
Trade as defined by the WTO Aid-for-Trade Task Force.   
52. It had been agreed at the meeting that indicator s to monitor Aid-for-Trade results were needed 
and that it would be useful to have common and co mparable indicators for evaluation.  This would 
also facilitate the communication of results by parliamentarians and gove rnments who were often 
under pressure to demonstrate results to their constitu encies, beneficiaries and tax payers.   It was 
clear from the discussion, however, that it would not be practical to have indicators to assess the whole Aid-for-Trade Initiative or to have one-si ze-fits-all indicators.  Instead, there had been a 
preference for developing a menu of indicators for programmes and projects.  It had also been emphasized that partner countries and other potential u sers of the indicators should be involved in the 
process.  To this end, a proposal had been tabled  by one of the participants to develop programme 
level indicators with partner countries through a numb er of pilot studies.  OECD would explore this 
proposal further and would coordinate  with its partners to define a number of pilot studies with the 
aim of developing a menu of indicators for key sectors of Aid for Trade.  A draft roadmap document outlining the future steps to furt her advance the indicator work programme would be prepared on the 
basis of the Experts Meeting and presented to th e next joint DAC Trade Committee meeting on Aid 
for Trade.  A report would also be presented at the next CTD meeting.  All presentations and background documents from the Experts Meeti ng would be posted on the OECD website.
9 
53. Commenting on the Commonwealth Secretariat studies, he said that the OECD were aware of 
the studies but had reservations about the results analysis, particularly as regards the choice of variables used.  He asked how th e Commonwealth Secretariat, for ex ample, had taken into account all 
the different factors involved.  Further analysis and thinking was needed on the indicator issue and 
one of the reasons for the current call for case storie s was to fill in the gaps.  He hoped that the work 
on indicators would contribute to how to measure the impact of Aid for Trade more effectively. 
54. In response to the OECD, the representative of the Commonwealth Secretariat
 said that, as for 
any empirical study, there were limitations of what c ould be done with the data that was available. He 
noted that the study was a quantitative assessment ba sed on cross-country data over time and that the 
Commonwealth Secretariat was now moving to the second stage of the process with an assessment at 
country level with the aim of looking at how the two assessments could be further built upon. 
55. The representative of the European Union  said that the work on indicators was complex and 
something which could not – and should not – be rushed.  Solid and steady work was necessary to 
advance usefully.  Although, when originally discussed, the idea of having common and limited 
numbers of indicators on Aid for Trade to monitor pe rformance at country leve l and for cross-country 
comparisons sounded appealing, in practice it faced  many difficulties.  Aid for Trade was a broad 
concept and indicators needed to be associated to  an intervention logic which was also country 
specific.  The EU was of the view that the Aid -for-Trade factsheet prepar ed for the Second Global 
Review of Aid for Trade should be kept as referen ce for the Third Global Review without the need for 
it to be radically improved or overly ambitious.  Acc ount should also be taken of the fact that there 
were differences between the indicator needs of  donors, who had to report mostly to their 
constituencies on Aid-for-Trade results, and the n eeds of partner countries.  The common need, 
however, was to improve the frameworks for measu ring performance in specific Aid-for-Trade areas 
both at country and programme level.  The EU had proposed at the OECD Experts Meeting to define 
a so-called menu of indicators linked to results in different Aid-for-Trade areas and associated with 
the OECD Creditor Reporting System (CRS) codes.  It had been agreed that the OECD should start 
identifying such a menu of good indicators at the programme level beginning with the pilot phase in specific Aid-for-Trade areas.  The EU therefor e looked forward to the summary of the Experts 
Meeting which encapsulated this way forward. 
                                                     
 
9 http://www.oecd.org/dac/aft . WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 14  
 
  56. The representative of Canada
 acknowledged the importance of the work that was being done 
on indicators and said that Canada believed that re sults-based management was the way forward.  It 
was important for donors to be able to assess results and to be able to demonstrate this in capitals.  
Referring to the Roundtable on the Gender Dimensio n of Aid for Trade and to gender mainstreaming 
in particular, he said his delegation was interest ed to know what work had been done so far on an 
indicator on gender equality and when could such an indicator start being used. 
57. The representative of Viet Nam  acknowledged the efforts by the OECD in exploring the 
possibility of having common indicators to monitor and evaluate Aid for Trade.  From a partner 
country perspective Viet Nam saw a pressing de mand for a harmonized set of indicators for 
benchmarking and monitoring and evaluating Aid-for-Tra de impacts at both project and country level.  
Viet Nam also shared the concerns expressed by othe rs with regard to attr ibution problems and the 
missing middle between outputs at the project level a nd outcome and impact at the country level.  In 
line with the OECD thinking, she said that her dele gation believed that the way forward to explore a 
possible menu of generic indicators to measure Ai d-for-Trade impact should be approached from both 
a bottom up and also a top down perspective.  The bot tom up approach referred to the need to analyse 
various indicators that had been used in the fi eld related to Aid for Trade which would help to 
aggregate commonalities across the project and progra mme level.  The top down approach referred to 
the need to analyse existing trade performance indicators applicable at the country level to explore the 
possibility of bringing different attributed indicator elements down to the project level.  From Viet Nam’s own experience, this would help in d esigning different project activities and in achieving 
trade performance results and, subsequently, development results.   
58. The representative of Pakistan
 said that it was important to take into account the diversity 
within regions.  This had been highlighted at th e Asia-Pacific briefing the previous day when the 
question had arisen of how to incorporate the many  concerns from the different countries of Asia and 
Pacific.  The work on indicators should be undertak en with care because indicators had a very clear 
link with regional strategies, approaches and programm es at project level.  Pakistan was of the view 
that national indicators would be the best way forw ard because the objective was not to have a glossy 
document to sell in the donor country but to  have indicators that reflected reality. 
59. The representative of the United States  said that although results were clearly important, it 
should be remembered that Aid for Trade covered a va riety of different projects and activities.  It was 
also important not to duplicate what was already being done in other groups that were working on 
different sectors of development and looking at their own indicators.  She noted, for example, that the 
OECD were already looking at the gender issue.  She cautioned against indicator work being passed 
down to the field which, she said, would likely resu lt in a one-size-fits-all approach.  The reality was 
that assistance was just part of a larger set of elements including good policy decisions by 
governments and the ability of the economy to support  objectives.  Although results were important, 
the US believed that looking at high level results was beyond what should be attempted in the current 
M&E exercise.   
60. The representative of Australia  said that Australia attached great importance to the M&E 
aspect of the Aid-for-Trade Initiative and were of th e view that a menu of indicators would be useful 
for both donors and partner countries to better tract the impact of Aid for Trade and to facilitate 
learning and effectiveness.  She expressed appr eciation for the work that OECD was doing on 
monitoring and evaluation and noted that the recent Experts Meeting on indicators had been fruitful.  
Australia therefore urged the OECD to keep the mo mentum of the work going and to ensure that 
partner countries remained central in the process. 
61. The representative of China  said that the identification of indicators was an important element 
for measuring the effectiveness and impact of Aid for Trade and his delegation welcomed the work that OECD was doing in this area.  However, many WTO Members, including China, were not  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
 Page 15 
 
 
  members of the OECD and could not therefore particip ate in the Experts Meeting.  With this in mind, 
he asked whether the Secretariat had any plans to  organize in the future a discussion on indicators 
within the framework of the WTO.   
62. The representative of the OECD  said that discussion at the Experts Meeting had focused 
particularly on trade effects.  Although th e question of gender had not been looked at per se  it had 
come up in the discussion.  Two results areas that the OECD was thinking of focusing on were trade 
competitiveness and trade performance.  He said that  the Experts Meeting was the start of a long 
process and as the work moved forward it was possible that other areas and dimensions would be looked at. 
63. In response to the question from China, the representative of the WTO Secretariat
 noted that 
at some later stage the indicator process would need  to be multilateralized.  The Secretariat would 
therefore reflect with the CTD Chair and consult wi th Members on this issue before deciding on next 
steps. 
6. Private Sector 
64. The representative of the ITC  provided information on three of its initiatives relating to 
mainstreaming the private sector into the Aid-for-Tra de Initiative.  The first related to a study of 
enterprises and trade associations that it had recen tly conducted in collabor ation with the Uganda 
Export Promotion Board to gauge the impact and eff ectiveness of Aid for Trade on the private sector.  
The results of the survey, which had been presente d at the Mainstreaming Workshop that morning, 
showed that Uganda had experienced growth in exports of agriculture and industrial goods of 
111 per cent and 349 per cent, respectively, over the period 2005-2008.  Ugandan enterprises and 
associations had noted improvements in energy, transport, telecommunications and business support 
services and Aid-for-Trade flows in these areas were considered important contributing factors to the 
improved competitiveness of exports.   
65. The second ITC initiative related to the World Export Development Forum organized by ITC 
in Chongqing, China from 9-12 September 2010 whic h had been attended by representatives from the 
public and private sector, including governments and academia.  Key issues emerging from the 
discussion included the following:  (i) the importance of trade opportunities in emerging South-South markets which were set to become a major driver  for growth and the fact  that businesses must look 
beyond the traditional markets;  (ii) the importance of  SMEs integrating into global supply chains and 
their ability to exploit gaps in larger supply chai ns;  (iii) the importance of regional linkages and 
public-private partnerships as a means of enhancing trade.  The meeting had provided an opportunity 
to share examples of public-private collaborati on from Chile, Colombia, and Malaysia including 
research, export promotion of goods and services, and infrastructure development.  Governments’ 
roles ranged from providing encouragement to creating a favourable policy environment for 
participation and to financial contribution.   
66. The third initiative was the World Trade Promo tion Conference that ITC had organized in 
Mexico City from 13-15 October 2010.  Discussions at the Conference had revealed that, in their 
endeavour to provide services to enterprises, trade pr omotion organizations (TPOs) needed assistance 
to play a more active role in policy making, to m ove towards a more client-oriented approach, and to 
measure impact which was of increasing importance and vital to their sustainab ility.  The Conference 
had also served as an occasion to present the worl d TPO awards for outstanding national efforts to 
boost export performance.  Winners in the various categories of awards had included Enterprise 
Mauritius, APEX Brazil, and the UK Trade and Inv est; Armenia; Hungary; Malaysia and Australia.  
In conclusion, he confirmed that, in preparation for the Third Global Review, ITC would prepare case 
stories on the role of the private sector in Aid for Trade. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/17 
Page 16  
 
  67. The Chairman
 informed that a further meeting of the CTD – to review progress in the M&E 
exercise and, in particular, the submission of Aid -for-Trade case stories – would be scheduled before 
the end of the year.  The meeting would likely take  place at the beginning of December but details 
would be announced at a later stag e once a date had been confirmed. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
68. There were no items raised under "Other Business". 
69. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
__________