WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/8 
WT/TF/COH/S/16 
12 December 2011 
 (11-6425) 
  
  
 
COHERENCE IN GLOBAL ECONOMIC POLICY-MAKING 
Report (2011) by the Director-General 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
The 1994 Ministerial Declaration that heralded  the successful completion of the Uruguay Round 
contained a Declaration on the Contribution of the WTO in Achieving Greater Policy Coherence in Economic Policy-Making.  In the context of this  Decision, the Director-General has presented 
periodic reports to the WTO membership, in accord ance with paragraph 2 of the General Council 
Decision on "Agreements between the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank".  The reports are intended 
to inform Members about the activities carried out by the WTO under its cooperation agreements with 
the IMF and the World Bank.  Coherence in econom ic policy-making, however, does not stop at the 
WTO's relations with the World Bank and the IMF.  The WTO Secretariat also continues to build on 
its relationships with a range of other inter- governmental institutions, including United Nations 
agencies, the Organization for Economic Co-ope ration and Development (OECD), and regional 
development banks.  These activiti es for 2011 are reported here. 
II. THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF COHERENCE AMONG INTERNATIONAL 
AGENCIES 
1. Coherence is a broad term encapsulating a potentia lly wide range of meanings and activities.  
Effective coherence on diverse policy issues among inter-governmental agencies has become 
increasingly necessary over the years in order to ser ve effectively the respective members and owners 
of these agencies.  Broadly speaking, the r easons why the coherence mandate has become 
increasingly important are two-fold.   
2. First, the world we operate in has become incr easingly inter-linked and complex.  Yet inter-
governmental institutions for the most part focus on particular issues.  The WTO, for example, is 
primarily focused on managing trade relations among its Members.  The IMF is concerned above all 
with international macroeconomic re lations.  The World Bank is dedicated to development.  It is 
unrealistic to maintain internati onal cooperation on trade, the m acro-economy and development in 
policy silos under the purview of separate agencies th at go about their business with little reference to 
one another.  Fundamental inter-linkages among these issues require effective cooperation among the 
agencies empowered to address them.  In our gl obalized world, the importance of effective 
cooperation among governments in relation to their ac tivities in various inter-governmental agencies 
increases with time.     
3. Second, a growing number of agencies have b een created over the years, each with its own 
mandate, responding to perceived needs at the mome nt of its creation.  Whether these mandates are 
sufficiently separate and distinct to be best served by different agencies is a matter that has 
occasionally been raised in discussions on the work of the broad UN family and associated 
international organizations.  The question of what the ideal institutional architecture for international 
cooperation might look like is hardly a matter for consideration in a coherence report from the 
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  with overlapping and related mandate s and that the number continues to grow, simply adds to the 
imperative of securing adequate coordination a nd coherence among all the entities concerned. 
4. Sometimes the inter-relationships are complicated a nd require analytical elucidation.  In other 
instances, it is clear that a coordinated approach to objectives in each of these fields is essential to 
effective action in any of them.  In other cases still,  policies can be pursued in one of these areas that 
will frustrate the legitimate objectives of another.  These issues are sometimes not straightforward and 
they can cut across differing interests of governme nts and bureaucracies.  Domestic politics can also 
exert an influence, where national governments compri se a series of agencies with differing objectives 
and priorities.  These potentially over-lapping or even competing perspectives place a premium upon 
coherent cooperation and accountability.  They make it important for governments to be aware of, and 
in a position to assess - albeit on a broad canvass -- the nature of cooperative activities among 
agencies and the degree to which they are pursu ed coherently, in a complementary fashion, and 
without needless duplication.  
5. Depending upon the policy area or particular activity that is the subject of joint action among 
international organizations, the emphasis may be on the deeper pursuit of particular goals, or it may 
be about broadening the context and building syne rgies among related issues.  The work of the 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) with various international bodies dealing 
with food safety, plant and animal health, for exampl e, aims to ensure a coherent, more informed and 
more technically sound approach in a particular area of public policy.  Similarly, our work in the area 
of market access would be limited technically wit hout the inputs of the World Customs Organization 
(WCO) in such areas as tariff nomenclatur e, valuation and rules of origin. 
6. On the other hand, work in many areas where the WTO partners with different agencies to 
deliver technical assistance and capacity building, for example, encapsulates multiple objectives.  The 
Aid-for-Trade Initiative is illustrative of an integrat ed approach which seeks to build direct links 
between trade, trade capacity-building and broader developmental priorities.  Activities with other 
international partners may seek a convergence between  the provision of technical assistance, building 
capacity for policy analysis and debate, and the u se of notifications and monitoring materials to 
bolster the empirical base, inclusiveness and practi cal relevance of programme activities.  Or policy 
discussions may focus on the linkages between govern ment procurement policies and broader social 
goals such as the repression of corruption and the pr omotion of the green economy.  In a similar way, 
work with other agencies seeks an integrated appro ach to access to medicines issues, considering the 
interplay of intellectual property, procurement a nd competition policy settings, as well as a range of 
tariff and non-tariff measures, all within an overall pub lic health policy context.  In each of these 
examples, the crucial element is the need for a wide perspective that integrates separate but 
interlinking themes, and success here is a key ach ievement of the WTO's inter-agency coherence 
efforts. 
7. The WTO works with no fewer than 69 internatio nal organizations and bodies in its regular 
activities.  These are listed in an annex.  The wide  array of activities documented in this report testify 
to the depth and breadth of work in which the WTO is  involved, sometimes in a lead role and in other 
cases as one of several organizations that work togeth er in particular policy areas.  It is also an 
indication of how far we have come institutionally ov er the years in pursuit of greater relevance and 
coherence in international cooperation.  Practi cally all of the activities documented here are 
undertaken outside the framework of trade negotiations, falling instead within the regular, ongoing 
work of the Organization.   
8. 
But as important as effective cooperation and coherence in the work of international 
organizations is, the key to coherence lies in the ha nds of the Members of the different organizations 
which, at the end of the day, are Member-driven.  WT/MIN(11)/8 
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  9. The paragraphs that follow seek to high light briefly the main themes around which 
cooperative work with other agencies takes place.  This is followed by a tabulation summarizing joint 
activities undertaken in 2011. 
III. OVERARCHING ELEMENTS OF THE WTO'S ACTIVITIES WITH OTHER 
INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES AND INTER-GOVERNMENTAL 
ARRANGEMENTS 
10. Two aspects of the WTO's work involving othe r international agencies and arrangements 
stand out for their overarching character, providing a framework for much of the rest of the activities 
that the WTO undertakes with other inter-government al organizations.  The two organs involved are 
the United Nations System Chief Executives Board (CEB) and the Group of Twenty (G-20).  A third area of activities that might be mentioned in th e context of broad-based inter-agency activities is 
statistical in nature.  One of these is German Ch ancellor Merkel's Initiative on new dimensions of 
globalization-related statistics.  Another is the incr easing efforts to measure trade in terms of value-
added rather than gross trade flows. 
A. T
HE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM CHIEF EXECUTIVES BOARD (CEB) 
11. The CEB comprises 28 leading UN organizations plus the WTO and is the longest-standing 
high-level coordination mechanism of the UN system.  Even though the WTO is not part of the 
United Nations, the Director-General participates full y in the CEB's deliberations. The CEB is chaired 
by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and meets twice a year.  Apart from the opportunity 
that CEB meetings provide for overall coordination among inter-governmental organizations, it is also 
an important opportunity for heads of agency to  become acquainted and discuss areas of common 
interest, particularly in areas of shared activiti es.  The Director-General of the WTO uses these 
occasions to hold bilateral meetings with heads of  agencies with whom the WTO works directly. In 
2011 discussions, the CEB focused on the need to build  a coherent response to the economic crisis 
and its impact on poor countries, on the food crisis as well as on the Arab spring.  The CEB also 
discussed coordinated action ahead of the Rio+20 summit. 
B. THE GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20) 
12. The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Minister s and Central Bank Governors was established 
in 1999.  It brought together leading developed a nd developing economies to address key issues in the 
global economy.  The establishment of the G-20 was pr ompted by the emerging financial crisis of the 
late 1990s.  A core feature of its configuration was the inclusion of emerging economies among its 
membership.  Before this, deliberations of this na ture had largely been the province of the Group of 
Seven industrial countries.  The G-20 acquired grea ter prominence and an expanded role with the 
emergence of the financial crisis of 2008-9.  The G-20 met at head of state and government level in 
Washington in 2008 in order to coordinate policy a nd agree on joint action arising from the financial 
crisis and the subsequent Great Recession.  Seve ral subsequent G-20 summits have been held and 
they appear to have become a more st able feature of global economic governance. 
13. The issues taken up in various G-20 summits tend to be influenced by the perceptions of 
immediate needs for collec tive action as well as the interests of the rotating host country.  Listed as 
priority policy in the November 2011 Cannes Summit,  for example, are the international monetary 
system, financial regulation, building a sustainabl e and balanced growth, price volatility in food and 
agricultural markets, employment and the social dime nsions of globalization, and development.  Other 
summits have dealt with many of these issues, but al so other ones, such as climate change and energy 
policy. WT/MIN(11)/8 
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  14. The WTO has played an active role in deliberati ons and preparatory technical work for the   
G-20 summits.  These summits are attended by the Dir ector-General.  At the invitation of the G-20, 
the WTO, in cooperation with the United Nations  Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 
and the Organization for Economic Co-operation an d Development (OECD) has produced monitoring 
reports on trade and trade-related measures taken by  G-20 governments in the context of the crisis. 
The WTO has also regularly briefed on progress in the Doha Round.  It has provided input on such 
matters as regional integration in Africa, trade fa cilitation, Aid-for-Trade, trade finance, duty-free 
quota-free market access for least-devel oped countries, the role of global value chains in trade, and 
rules of origin.  The WTO has also  been active in other areas, such as the preparation of a report on 
Price Volatility in Food and Agricultural Mark ets, led jointly by the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) and OECD, and supported w ith inputs from the International Fund for 
Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Internati onal Monetary Fund (IMF), OECD, UNCTAD, World 
Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank and the WTO.   The WTO is a member of the Agriculture 
Market Information System (AMIS) Secretariat,  established in 2011 in the context of the G-20 
process. The WTO has also been in volved in the past y ear in the work of the Framework Working 
Group (FWG) on the effects of global economic imba lances and sustainable growth, and among other 
things, contributed analysis on the implications of  measuring trade flows in  value-added terms for 
analyzing imbalances.  
15. While the remit of the G-20 is far wider than  trade, embracing every aspect of global 
economic governance, it is a valuable venue to inte grate trade issues into the broader global economic 
context, at the same time as attracting high-level a ttention to the issues.  Like the CEB, the G-20 plays 
a useful overarching role in the quest for coherence. 
C. S
TATISTICS -RELATED ACTIVITIES  
16. Chancellor Merkel's Initiative extends  to trade statistics issues th at were raised in President 
Sarkozy's Beyond-GDP Initiative.  These ideas are centre d on the notion that meaningful data that are 
more useful to policymakers need to go beyond simple economic aggregates such as output and trade to encompass the welfare and social dimensions of realities facing society.  Work in this area has led 
to the preparation of two reports.  These are en titled “Measuring Material Wellbeing in a Globalized 
World” and “Fostering Long-Term Inclusive Growth  – A People’s Perspective”.  These reports were 
prepared by the OECD in collaboration with th e International Labour Office (ILO), the IMF, the 
World Bank, and the WTO.  The reports have  been forwarded to Chancellor Merkel.  
17. The WTO's "Made in the World Initiative" on the measurement of trade in value-added 
involves cooperation with several international agencies, including OECD, the World Bank, ILO and 
UNCTAD.  The distinction between trade measured in gross terms and trade measured in terms of 
value-added has become increasingly important in a world of greater vertical integration in production.  By measuring trade in value-added, some perceptions about trade relations and the 
economic impact of trade based on gross trade flow  statistics are fundamentally altered.  These 
include the nature of bilateral trade balances, the characteristics of interdependency among nations, 
the origins of the technology content of trade flow s, the relationship between trade and employment, 
and the impact of trade policies on both national ec onomies and the international economy.  In 2011, 
the WTO undertook research and outreach activities on th is matter.  The WTO published a joint study 
with IDE-JETRO on trade in value-added in East Asia.
1  It also organized an international workshop 
in Chengdu, China.  The WTO has worked with ot her partners to develop a methodology to measure 
trade in value-added as well as to gather data and develop databases. 
                                                      
1 World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Institute of Developing Economies - Japan External Trade 
Organization (IDE-JETRO) (2011), Trade Patterns and Global Value Chains in East Asia: from trade in goods 
to trade in tasks, Geneva: WTO.  WT/MIN(11)/8 
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  IV. A THEMATIC APPROACH TO ACHIEVING COHERENCE AMONG 
INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES 
18. The areas in which the WTO works with other agencies has been divided into five broad 
categories, of which the last is a residual.  These categories are reflected in the tabulation attached to 
the report, which seeks to summarize the most of the activities in which the WTO has been involved 
during the year with other international agencies. The five categories that have been identified are 
monitoring; research; statistics; development, tech nical assistance and capacity building; and other 
areas of policy cooperation.  This last categor y lists activities involving trade and health, Trade-
related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRI Ps) and the environment, trade in services, trade 
and environment, government procurement, and market access. 
19. Four points should be made about the tabulation.   First, since this report is about coherence 
among agencies, it only focuses on those activities, or those parts of activities, in which the WTO 
participates with other agencies.  This cooperati on is undertaken on the assumption that it delivers a 
better product in the ways described in earlier paragra phs of this report.  This is not the sum of WTO 
activities in the areas identified.  Second, the re port and its tabulations do not attempt to provide 
detailed information or analysis of the substance of  identified activities.  This can be found elsewhere 
in WTO documentation.  Third, the report attempts  to be as exhaustive as possible in terms of its 
coverage of inter-agency activities undertaken in th e name of coherence, but some details may be 
absent.  Fourth, the categorization used in the tabul ation involves some judgment calls at the margin.  
This is particularly true of the distinction betw een the category dealing with development, technical 
assistance and capacity building and the residual category.       
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AREA OF ACTIVITY 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES  
OUTCOME 
 
MONITORING 
 
 
Monitoring trade policy (TPRD and others)  
UNCTAD/OECD (on investment-related issues)  
Periodic monitoring reports for WTO Members 
and G-20 
 
 RESEARCH 
   
 
Joint study on trade and labour markets    
ILO, with funding from ICC Research Foundation   
Edited volume on "Making globalization socially sustainable"  
 International Collaborative Initiative on Trade and 
Employment (OECD led) 
  
OECD, AfDB, AsDB, IaDB, ILO, UNCTAD, 
ECLAC, IBRD  
Thematic and country studies to be published 
 Quantitative methods for policy analysis  
UNCTAD  
Published volume forthcoming on quantitative analysis for policymakers (due 2012)  
 Joint trade workshop   
IMF, World Bank  
Coordination of  research activities   
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POLICY AREA  
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
STATISTICS 
 
 Statistical Commission   
IMF, IBRD, UN Agencies, OECD and national statistical offices 
  
UN standard-setting body for statistical methods in official statistics 
 
Committee for the Coordination of Statistical 
Activities (CCSA)   
IMF, IBRD, UN Agencies, OECD  
Inter-agency body of chief statisticians to address 
systemic governance issues 
 Global Forum on Trade Statistics   
UN, UNCTAD, Eurostat  
International Trade Information Systems in 2020: A Vision for the Future (UNSD, Eurostat, WTO and OECD) 
 
 Inter-Agency Task Force on Statistics of 
International Trade in Services   
IMF, IBRD, UN Agencies, OECD  
Development and improvement of data series on 
trade in services statistics 
 Inter-Agency Task Force on International Merchandise Statistics   
IMF, IBRD, UN Agencies, OECD  
Development and improvement of data series on merchandise trade statistics 
 Measuring trade in value-added 
  
OECD, IBRD, UN, UNCTAD, Eurostat  
Further analysis following joint IDE-JETRO/WTO 
publication on value chains in Asia and the Global 
Forum on Trade Statistics  International workshop in Chengdu, China.  
 Data exchange 
  
IMF, IBRD, UN Agencies, OECD  
Agencies make their statistical series available to 
one another, consistently with established 
dissemination norms  
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POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
 
DEVELOPMENT, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
AND CAPACITY BUILDING 
   
i) Millennium Development Goals    
 
Assistance in preparation of MDG Gap Task Force 
Report  
    
 
  Assistance in preparation of MDG Gap Task Force Report   
Coordination of the inter-agency task force (WTO, 
UNCTAD and ITC) in charge of the monitoring of 
trade-related indicators under Goal 8.  Data provided to UN Statistical Divisions, responsible for overall coordination of more than 20 UN agencies 
 
  Led by UNDESA and UNDP    
Input into the trade-related indicators for Goal 8 
(8.6 and 8.7) to "develop further an open rule-
based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system/contribution on the market access and access to medicine chapters"  
 
  Similar to above, but more disaggregated and focusing on specific developed country commitments 
 
ii) Small Island Developing States   
 
Contributions to Report of the Secretary-General 
on SIDS   Developing the potential for exporting services related to creative/cultural products (statistical 
component) 
  
UN 
   ITC, WIPO, UNCTAD, CARICOM  
Inputs for Work Programme on SIDS and 
assessing progress since 2001 in framing responses to trade-related issues  Inputs for an interagency report on "Enhancing Data Collection, analysis and dissemination in the 
Caribbean's Creative Industries Sector"; 
organization of a regional training seminar on service trade statistics   
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POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
iii) LDC-IV Istanbul Conference   
 
Contributions to Istanbul Programme of Action (IPOA)   
UNOHRLLS, UNCTAD, UNIDO, IBRD, ITC, UN Regional Commissions, regional development banks, EIF, CEB 
  
Finalization of IPOA and participation in key conference events and thereafter helping make progress on its trade-related elements 
iv) Enhanced Integrated Framework   
 
Regional and national capacity building in LDCs 
 
  
IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, IBRD, UNDP (core 
agencies along with WTO) plus UNIDO, WEDF, 
UNWTO   
Ongoing programme of multi-agency capacity-
building in trade-related activities  
 
Project development   
IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, IBRD, UNDP (core agencies along with WTO) plus UNIDO, FAO   
Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS) in several LDCs and other supply-side capacity-building activities; EIF also contributes to LDC 
Trade Policy Reviews 
 
v) Aid-for-Trade 
 
Third Global Aid-for-Trade Review 
  
OECD, UN agencies, IBRD, IMF, Regional 
Development Banks (AfDB, AsDB, EBRD, IaDB, IsDB), COMESA, SADC, EAC   
Review of activities, including through 275 case 
studies, the OECD-WTO publication - "Aid-for-Trade at a Glance 2011: Showing Results", and a joint monitoring and evaluation exercise   
 National and sub-regional Aid-for-Trade events in 
Africa, Asia and the Pacific, CIS, Latin America 
and the Caribbean   
Regional Development Banks  and other partners  
Examination and discussion of progress in AFT 
implementation, lessons to be learned and 
preparations for the Third Global Review   
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POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
 Biennial Aid-for-Trade Work Programme -- Deepening Coherence 
  
Partner agencies  
In consultation with members and partner agencies, preparation of work programme to 
provide a framework for action in 2012-2013 in 
areas such as resource mobilization, mainstreaming, engagement of private sector, aid effectiveness and regional dimensions  
vi) Technical cooperation   
 
Global Trade-Related Technical Assistance Database (GTAD) 
  
OECD and other agencies involved in trade and trade-related technical assistance.  
Information sharing and planning technical cooperation more cohere ntly, data currently 
available from WTO, EIF STDF, ITC, UNCTAD, 
UNIDO, UNECE, WIPO  
 Ongoing technical cooperation activities   
Africa : UNECA, AfDB, AU, COMESA, SADC, 
UEMOA, ECOWAS, CEMAC Arab and Middle East countries : IsDB, AMF, 
UNESCWA 
Asia-Pacific : UNESCAP, Pacific Forum 
Central/Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus : 
JVI Caribbean and Latin America : INTAL, ALADI, 
OAS, Andean Pact, SIECA, IICA, CARICOM, 
ECLAC 
Non-region specific partners:  Multiple agencies 
such as IBRD, UNCTAD, ITC.   
Frequent partnering for delivery of technical assistance with regional and other agencies as a means of supplementing WTO content with local and regional context, broader policy context, and 
socio-economic and policy analysis; assistance 
encompasses the range of WTO-related and Doha Round-related issues  
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POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
vii) Agriculture-related activities   
 
Capacity building activities in the context of the Ministerial Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform 
Programme on LDCs and Net Food-Importing 
Developing Countries (NFIDC)         
Other capacity building 
    
 
  Coordinated action on Food Security Crisis  
i) Monitoring of NFIDC Decision: OECD, IGC, UNCTAD, WFP, IMF, FAO  
ii) Coordination with the Food Aid Convention: 
IGC  iii) High-Level Task Force for the Global Food Security Crisis (HLTF): Multiple Agencies  
i) Standards and Trade Development Facility 
(STDF), a coordinating and financing mechanism focusing on SPS, managed by the WTO, FAO, OIE, WHO, IBRD.  
ii) Capacity-building activities:  Codex, IPPC, 
OIE, IBRD, IaDB, IICA.  High-level Task Force for the Global Food Security Crisis (HLTF):  Multiple Agencies.  
i) Monitoring in areas such as food production and  consumption, food security, food price trends;  
ii) Coherence between de velopments in FAC and 
WTO rules on food aid  iii) Development of HLTF's Comprehensive Framework for Action and Updated Framework  
i) Capacity building on SPS, including with donors 
and developing country beneficiaries of the STDF, synergies with EIF and Aid-for-Trade.   
ii) Developing knowledge on SPS issues, 
including standard-setting and implementation  Development of HLTF's Comprehensive Framework for Action an d Updated Framework. 
viii) Trade facilitation 
 
Trade facilitation negotiations 
 
 
  
Annex D organizations: IMF, IBRD, OECD, 
WCO, UNCTAD 
  
Technical assistance and capacity-building support 
to developing countries  
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POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
ix) Intellectual Property and TRIPS 
 Strengthening policy analysis skills and understanding of intern ational dimension and 
policy options in the field of IP and related areas 
of public policy 
  
WIPO,WHO, CBD, UPOV, UNCTAD, WCO, IBRD, ARIPO, OAPI   
A range of technical assistance activities also including civil society, academic and industry partners aimed at building technical know-how 
against a background of enhanced policy and 
negotiating skills and awareness, and an improved empirical base for informed policy-making  Close collaboration with WIPO and UNCTAD on LDC needs assessments 
 
x) Trade finance   
 
Access to trade finance, particularly among 
developing countries, through the WTO's Expert Group on Trade Finance 
  
World Bank, IFC, IMF, AfDB, EBRD, IaDB, 
AsDB (along with commerc ial banks, government 
departments, credit agencies, and the International Chamber of Commerce), BIS  
Monitoring and advocating for access to 
appropriately priced trade finance, and reporting to the G-20 and to the WTO Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance; partly as a consequence of this work the trade finance provisions in Basel II and trade finance programmes of MDBs have 
been relaxed to a certain degree  
  
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POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
 OTHER AREAS OF POLICY COOPERATION 
 
 Trade and health  
i) TRIPS and health; regular contacts at head-of-
agency and working level,  joint seminars, joint 
publication: WHO, WIPO, WTO     
 
 ii) Public health and trade interface relating to agriculture: WHO, Codex, IPPC, OIE   
iii) Tobacco control: WHO 
  
i) The focus of these activities include the WHO 
Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public 
Health Innovation and Intellectual Property and issues relating to access to medicines; joint study under preparation on "Promoting Access to Medical Innovation: the Intersection between Public Health, Intellectual Property, and Trade". 
Collaboration on avian influenza 
 ii) Addressing food safety, plant and animal health issues, SPS measures in the context of SPS  
iii) Engagement on the WHO Framework 
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC); attendance at meetings of the Conference of Parties; attendance at meetings of FCTC's Informal Working Group on the draft protocol to 
eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products 
 
  
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POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
 
 TRIPS and environment   
i) Cooperation in relation to Convention on Biological Diversity: CBD 
 
   ii) Climate change issues: UNFCCC   
i) Observership in Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing (leading to 2010 Nagoya 
Protocol); supportive role in WTO discussions on 
the relationship between CBD and TRIPS in the context of the Doha Round  ii) Participation in Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA); 
support in relation to TRIPS provisions relevant to 
technology and climate change policy  
 Trade in services   
i) Contributions to training/research seminars and policy dialogues hosted by, or jointly organized with, other international organizations such as 
UNCTAD, ITU, AsDB, IaDB (INTAL) and 
UNESCAP  ii) Measuring trade restrictions in service sectors: OECD 
 
 iii) Special event at LDC_IV on tourism in the context of the Steering Committee on Tourism for Development (SCTD): ILO, ITC, UNDP, UNIDO, UNESCO, UNWTO, UNCTAD 
 
iv) Workshop on Regulatory Practices (GATS Working Party on Domestic Regulation): IBRD, OECD, UNCTAD   
i) Improving coherence in GATS-related policy areas from a sectoral or modal perspective  
 
  ii) Support to OECD in the development of their Services Trade Restrictiveness Index 
 
 iii) Seeking to harness tourism's development impact   
 
iv) Raising awareness on regulatory issues in the services context, particularly in respect of transparency, licensing and quantification requirements and procedures and the use of 
technical standards  
   WT/MIN(11)/8
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TABLE:  MAJOR WTO ACTIVITIES INVOLVING OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES, 2011 (cont) 
 
POLICY AREA 
  
COOPERATING AGENCIES/ACTIVITIES  
OUTCOME 
 
 
Trade and environment  
i) UNEP   
 
ii) UN Environment Management Group (EMG); 45 inter-governmental agencies  iii) Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) 
 
  iv) Rio+20: UNCEB, HLCP, UNECESA, EMG and other agencies  
 
  
i) Cooperation through repr esentation at meetings, 
information sharing, joint research and technical assistance 
 
ii) Attendance at meetings where focus includes climate neutrality and the green economy   iii) Cooperation on trade-re lated matters; update of 
Matrix on Trade-Related Measures Pursuant to 
Selected MEAs  iv) Exploration of how to foster a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and an institutional 
framework for sustainable development  
 
Government procurement  
UNCITRAL  
Seeking congruity between the revised texts of the Agreement on Government Procurement and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement 
 Market access   
WCO  
Cooperation on HS nomenclature, customs valuation, and rules of origin  
 WT/MIN(11)/8 
WT/TF/COH/S/16 Page 16 
 
 
  ANNEX 
List of International Organizations and Bodies 
AfDB African Development Bank 
AMF Arab Monetary Fund 
AMIS Agricultural Market Information System  
Andean Pact Andean Community of Nations  ARIPO  African Regional Intellectual Property Organization AsDB Asian Development Bank AU African Union BIS  Bank of International Settlements CARICOM Caribbean Community and Common Market CBD CEMAC Convention on Biological Diversity 
Commission de la Communauté Economique  et Monétaire de l'Afrique Central  
CODEX FAO/WHO Joint Codex Alimentarius Commission 
COMESA  Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa 
EAC East African Community EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction & Development ECLAC United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EIF Enhanced Integrated Framework FAO  Food and Agriculture Organization FCTC Framework Convention on Tobacco Control  G-20 The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finan ce Ministers and Central Bank Governors 
HLCP  High-Level Committee on Programmes 
HLTF  High-Level Task Force for the Global Food Security Crisis IaDB Inter-American Development Bank  WT/MIN(11)/8 
 WT/TF/COH/S/16 
 Page 17 
 
 
  IBRD International Bank for R econstruction and Development  
ICC International Chamber of Commerce IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development  IFC International Finance Corporation 
IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute 
IGC International Grains Council  IICA Inter-American Institute fo r Co-operation on Agriculture 
ILO International Labour Office IMF International Monetary Fund INTAL Institute for the Integration of  Latin America and the Caribbean  
IPPC International Plant Protection Convention IsDB  Islamic Development Bank ITC International Trade Centre ITU International Telecommunications Union 
JVI Joint Vienna Institute 
OAPI  Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle OAS Organization of American States OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development 
OIE World Organization for Animal Health PIF Pacific Islands Forum SADC Southern African Development Community SIECA UEMOA Secretariat of the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration 
Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine 
UNCEB  United Nations Chief Executives Board 
UNCITRAL United Nations Commissi on on International Trade Law 
UNCTAD United Nations Conferen ce on Trade and Development WT/MIN(11)/8 
WT/TF/COH/S/16 Page 18 
 
 
  UNDP United Nations Development Programme 
UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECESA  United Nations Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs 
UNEMG  United Nations Environment Management Group 
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Soci al Commission for Asia and the Pacific 
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Sc ientific and Cultural Organization 
UNESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia 
UNFCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 
UNIDO United Nations Industria l Development Organization 
UNOHRLLS United Nations Office of the High Re presentative for LDCs, Land-Locked Countries 
and Small Island Developing States 
UNWTO  United Nations World Tourism Organization UPOV International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants WCO  World Customs Organization WEDF  World Export Development Forum WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization 
 
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