WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/879 
2 October 2008 
 (08-4673) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
SPS TECHNICAL ASSIST ANCE FROM NORWAY 
 
Communication by Norway
 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 29 September 2008, is being circulated at the 
request of the Delegation of Norway . 
 
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1. Norway contributes to many projects in developing countries aiming to support food security 
and safety and to promote international trade.  So me of these projects have a major SPS and/or TBT 
component.  Due to the scale and scope of some of the projects, and due to funding through 
multilateral channels, the SPS component is not always easy to track.  Some examples can, however, be given. 
I. AID FOR TRADE ACTION PLAN  
2. Market access is not sufficient for integrati ng the developing countries into the multilateral 
trading system.  On this background, Norway la unched in November 2007 a plan of action on "Aid 
for trade" where additional funds have been allocated.  The three key thematic areas are: 
(a) good governance and the fight against corruption (including standards and trade); 
(b) women and trade; 
(c) regional trade alternative. 
3. Standards and trade are among the priority areas.  Priority is given to Africa and the least-
developed countries.  The funds will be channe lled mostly through mult ilateral organizations, 
primarily UNIDO, the WTO and to a certain extent, the multi-agency Standards and Trade Development Facility. 
II. DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA GLOBAL TRUST FUND  
4. Norway is a firm supporter of the technical assistance and training programme through our 
annual contribution to the Doha De velopment Agenda Global Trust F und.  The WTO and its Institute 
for Training and Technical Cooperation contributes substa ntially to the efforts being made in order to 
help integrate the developing countries into the mu ltilateral trading system, also in the field of SPS-
related technical assistance. G/SPS/GEN/879 
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  III. STANDARD DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (STDF)  
5. With effect of 4 December 2007, Norway entere d into an agreement with the Standards and 
Trade Development Facility (STDF) (to c ontribute 1 million Norwegian Kroner (NOK)). 
IV. ASIA 
6. The Norwegian Agency for Development Coope ration (NORAD) supports the three countries 
of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam., through the UNIDO Mekong Delta Regional Project : 
(a) Phase I (2003-2006) focused on infrastruct ure mapping and needs assessment for 
laying the foundation of standards, metr ology, testing and quality institutional 
structures and national capacities (SMTQ) (NOK 8 million); 
(b) Phase II (2006-2008) concentrates on deve lopment and strengthening of new and 
existing physical conformity infrastructure;   further extensive training and securing of 
national training capabilities on the various standards involved in the main identified export industries;  ensuring regional and in ternational credibility of the conformity 
infrastructure;  and development of oper ational TBT and SPS enquiry points in each 
country.  Phase II builds on the progress in  the first phase towards helping the 
countries of the region to participate in global trade and conform to WTO 
requirements.  The programme is being fu rther extended with an extra visit by 
Norwegian Accreditation in order to confirm accreditation (NOK 12 million). 
7. The European Union and Norway are funding Bangladesh Quality Support Programme 
through institutional strengtheni ng of, i.e., the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) 
and by establishing a National Certification Body for ISO-9001, ISO-14001 and HACCP.  The 
programme also involves consumer associations in  standard setting and market surveillance.  
(Norway's share is 10 per cent;  NOK 7 million for the years 2006-2009). 
8. Since 2003 Norway has supported a UNIDO proj ect for SAARC LDCs;  Bangladesh, Nepal, 
Bhutan and the Maldives entitled " Market Access and Trade Facilitation Support for South Asian 
LDCs through strengthening of institutional an d national capacities related to standards, 
metrology, testing and quality (SMTQ) ".  The goal has been to develop the capacity within ISO 
9000, ISO 14000 and HACCP (NOK 7.6 million for the years 2004-2007). 
9. An Agreement for Phase II of this project was signed in September 2007, with the total 
amount of NOK 18.0 million for the years 2007-2010.  The objective of this project is to build upon the achievements of the earlier phase.  In so doing, it seeks to facilitate the industrial development and 
export capabilities, and consequently to spur the economic growth of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and 
Maldives, by reducing technical barriers to trade th rough the strengthening of institutional structures 
and national capacities in standards, metrology, t esting, quality and conformity assessment.  This 
project also aims to protect domestic society ag ainst sub-standard and h azardous product imports.  
The needs of the four SAARC LDCs under the pr oject will be addressed separately due to the 
diversity of these needs in the area of SMTQ as well as their socio-economic circumstances. 
10. As a continuation of previous support for UNIDO's SMTQ projects, Norway supports 
"Strengthening International certification capability in Sri Lanka " with particular reference to 
Social Accountability standard (SA8000) and Fo od Safety (HACCP/ISO 22000) standard.  An 
independent private sector-driven certification body established with capacity to provide certification 
services for HACCP/ISO 22000, SA 8000, ISO 900 1 and ISO 14001, the Government counterparts 
being Ministry of Industrial Development and Ministry of Science and Technology. (NOK 5.0 million 
for the years 2006-2008).  G/SPS/GEN/879 
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  11. Long term cooperation between Norwegian Ac creditation (NA) and Pakistani National 
Accreditation (PNAC) has been establishe d within the framework agreement " Institutional 
cooperation " between Norway and Pakistan.  This cooperation was approved in July 2005 for three 
years with a total budget of NOK 3 million.  Th e institutional cooperation between NA and PNAC 
aims at competence and capacity building in certifyi ng laboratories according to ISO standards, and at 
helping PNAC to receive internati onally-recognized accreditation standard. 
12. Support is also provided to the South Asia Enterprise Development Facility in reducing 
commercial barriers between India and Bangladesh a nd support to the export industry in Bangladesh 
to comply with standards and demands for decent working conditions. 
V. AFRICA 
13. NORAD has signed a new agreement with  UNIDO regarding support for a regional 
programme in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) – " Trade Capacity Building in Agro-
industry products in East Africa " with a total amount of NOK 15.0 million for the years 2006-2009.  
The goal of the programme is to build trade capacity  in agro-industry products for the establishment 
and proof of compliance with international market re quirements.  The regional counterpart is the East 
African Community's Secretariat in Arusha. 
14. The project will also include Rwanda a nd Burundi and an a dditional amount of 
NOK 10 million has been approved. 
15. NORAD has in principle agreed to finance a Pilot Project for promotion of GlobalGAP 
standards in Uganda.  The total amount is NOK 2.0 million for the period 2007-2009. 
16. As a follow up and implementation of the NORAD financed study " Development of an 
export oriented meat industry in Uganda ", there is now being planne d extensive support for public- 
private partnership (PPP) aiming at developing in stitutional infrastructure for meat export.  The 
budget is soon to be developed. 
17. Norway supported the establishment of the Southern African Development Community 
Accreditation Service  (SADCAS) with NOK 13 million for the pe riod 2007-2011, in order to reduce 
barriers to trade and improve market access on goods from Southern Africa.  This follows Norwegian 
support of NOK 2.7 million donated during the pr oject's preparatory phase from 2003 to 2006. 
18. NORAD has in principle agreed to finance a Joint UNIDO-WTO Trade Capacity Building 
Programme for Zambia with a total amount of NOK 16.5 million for the years 2008 - 2011.  Based 
on Zambian priorities as reflected in the country ’s Fifth National Development Plan 2006-2010, 
UNIDO has developed a draft Project Document fo r a UNIDO-WTO Trade Capacity Building Project 
with the following immediate objectives: 
(a) review and provide input to the Governme nt of Zambia (Ministry of Commerce, 
Trade and Industry) to amend as nec essary the legislative framework surrounding 
MSTQ and encourage a quality culture in Zambia; 
(b) strengthen national institutions  for conformity assessment; 
(c) strengthen the Zambian Quality Chain with regard to testing and export certification 
of products in selected sectors; 
(d) enhance the trade policy and negotiations capabilities of the Government of Zambia 
and involve the private sector in trade negotiations. G/SPS/GEN/879 
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  19. NORAD has agreed to finance a UNIDO Study on  private standards and publication of a 
"Guide to Private Standards " for the year 2008 with an amount of NOK 1.6 million.  The immediate 
objectives are: 
(a) publish and widely disseminate the "Guide to Private Standards" for selected 
manufacturing sectors and draw attention to th eir implications for developing country 
exporters; 
(b) UNIDO PTC branches will identify further venues for cooperation with leading 
private sector firms in targeted interna tional value chains and improve design of 
technical assistance projects for capacity bu ilding.  A review of harmonization efforts 
will be undertaken and possibilities of UNIDO acting as a broker will be assessed. 
20. NORAD has agreed to finance UNIDO’s Annual Trade Compliance Report for the year 
2008 with an amount of NOK 1.8 million.  UNIDO tr acks on a continual basis exports by developing 
countries that are rejected by the recipient country  due to lack of compliance to standards and/or 
requirements, and the resulting loss of revenue for the countries/exporters in question.  The 
publication will be an integrated part of UNIDO' s initiative for "Enabling Developing Countries to 
participate in International Trade – Strengthening th e supply capacity".  The publication will be useful 
both for policy makers and trade associations/industrial organizations. 
VI. WESTERN BALKANS 
21. Norway made a contribution of USD >2 million to a technical assistance programme on 
international regulations and standards for the Private Enterprise Partnership for South East 
Europe (PEP-SE).  The Administration Agreem ent was signed on 27 September 2007 between the 
International Finance Corporation and the Roya l Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
VII. CODEX TRUST FUND 
22. Norway is a contributor to the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund .  The goal of the Codex Trust 
Fund is to further the improvement of global pu blic health and food security by promoting the 
provision of safer and more nut ritious food and contributing to a reduction in food-borne disease. 
23. The Fund's main objective is to help deve loping countries and those with economies in 
transition to enhance their level of effective partic ipation in the development of global food safety and 
quality standards by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
VIII.  BIOSAFETY CAPACITY BUILDING 
24. On the multilateral level, Norway allocates annua lly funds to the Global Environment Facility 
(GEF).  This contribution is not earmarked, thus an exact figure for Biosafety Capacity Building is 
not possible to report. 
25. Many delegates from developing countries have attended the annual GenØk-course in 
Tromsø.  The Norwegian Government  is finalizing a new, 5-year fra mework agreement with GenØk.  
The International Biosafety course " Holistic Foundations for Ass essment and Regulation of 
Genetic Engineering and Genetically Modified Organisms " will alternate every second year with a 
Specialist Course conducted back-to-back with an In ternational Scientific Conference.  A regional 
course will also be conducted annua lly, the next in Africa.  New as of 2008 is funding for research 
cooperation under the Gateways umbrella wher e GenØk of Norway, NISIR of Zambia and 
NIES/SEPA of China are the research institutions  involved.  The cooperation will include both 
exchange of personnel and joint research projects.  G/SPS/GEN/879 
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  26. Biodiversity is one of the pillars of the Environmental Cooperation Agreement for 2005-
2010 between South Africa and Norway.  One of the projects under the Biodiversity theme is Biosafety, involving a range of ministries, depart ments, Biosafety research institutes and universities 
in both countries.  The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the establishment of a system for 
assessment of the impact of GMOs released into the environment (in South Africa).  The project will 
aim to improve the tools for conducting research, monitoring and assessments on environmental 
impacts and to improve Biosafety management and research capacity in South Africa.  
IX. THIRD WORLD NETWORK 
27. Norway will further emphasize the importance of  civil society participation, including 
competence building among civil society particip ants.  Norway has chosen Third World Network 
(TWN) as our International NGO partner because: 
(a) TWN has an extensive network of partner NGOs in developing countries; 
(b) the organization is acting as an adviser to the Secretariat through the Liaison Group 
on Capacity Building for Biosafety; 
(c) the organization is based in a developing count ry, and it is not one of the NGOs of the 
"north" speaking on behalf of civil society in developing countries. 
 
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