RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
17 February 2011 
 (11-0845) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Eighteenth Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 7 DECEMBER 2010 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Erwidodo (Indonesia) 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B. STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL .................................................................................1  
C. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK 
PROGRAMME ............................................................................................................................... 2 
1. Monitoring and Evaluation...................................................................................................... 2 
2. Resource Mobilization.......................................................................................................... ....4 
3. Mainstreaming .................................................................................................................. ........5  
4. Regional Dimension – Implementation...................................................................................8  
5. Private Sector ................................................................................................................. ...........8  
D. OTHER BUSINESS ........................................................................................................................9  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  informed that the agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3672.  He said  that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had requested 
that the specific sub-item on the Aid-for-Trade Re view meeting for SPECA countries be considered at 
the next meeting of the Committee on Trade an d Development (CTD) and that, under "Other 
Business", he would make an announcement on beha lf of the Enhanced Integrated Framework. 
2. The agenda , as amended, was adopted . 
B. STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
3. The Director-General  informed Members about the status of preparations for the Third Global 
Review and recalled that the focus of the Review would be on outcomes and impacts of Aid for Trade.  He stressed the importance of Members' input to the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) 
exercise component of the preparations for the Re view and underlined the WTO's role of providing a 
mechanism and fora through which Members could sh are experiences.  Given the constraint on public 
budgets in donor countries and the increasing pressure fro m all sides to show results, there was a need 
to demonstrate that Aid for Trade was effective in helping to make a change and Members' input was 
therefore important if Aid for Trade was to be additional, predictable and sustainable. 
4. He noted the work being undertaken by the WTO and the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) to put the M&E framework in place which included a call for WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
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  case stories officially launched in July 2010 and a formal communication in October 2010 with a 
questionnaire and the call for case stories.  Both th e preparation of the questionnaires and call for case 
stories had benefited from the inputs that Members had provided in informal consultations organized 
by the CTD Chairman.  The M&E exercise had al so been brought to the attention of Members 
through participation at various conferences, in cluding the recently-held African Union and APEC 
ministerial meetings.  Training activities had been or ganized for Members to en sure that capital-based 
officials were all equipped to understand what was being asked of them in the questionnaires and call 
for case stories and for what purpose the in formation provided would be used.   
5. He then referred to the multiyear action plan  on development agreed at the G20 Summit in 
Seoul where leaders had committed to maintain, be yond 2011, Aid-for-Trade spending at levels that 
reflected the average between 2006-20 08.  G20 leaders had also agreed to make progress on duty-free, 
quota-free access for least-developed countries (LDC s) and had mandated the WTO, OECD, World 
Bank and other multilateral and regional developm ent bodies, to evaluate low-income countries' 
capacity to trade and showcase the outcomes at th e Global Review.  In addition, the Seoul Summit 
had asked international agencies to step up thei r support to trade facilitation and coordinate a 
collective multilateral agency response by July 2011.  Other actions in cluded reporting on the 
effectiveness of trade finance support measures a nd on obstacles and barriers to regional trade 
integration in Africa.  He would be actively pursu ing these issues which, he said, should be addressed 
at the Third Global Review as a complement to its core focus on outputs and impacts.   
6. Regarding the Third Global Review, he indi cated that he was receptive to Members' 
suggestions concerning the agenda and said that in formal consultations with  various groupings would 
be on-going in this respect.  In conclusion, he said that the economic crisis had reinforced the case for 
Aid for Trade and that, although there was engage ment from development partners and a growing 
commitment from South-South partners, continued ownership and proactive participation would be 
essential to maintaining the momentum.  He therefor e encouraged Members to actively participate in 
the M&E exercise and to respect the 31 January 20 11 deadline after which further information on the 
preparations for the Review could be provided.   
C. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2010-2011  AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
1. Monitoring and Evaluation 
7. The representative of the Secretariat  provided an overview of preparations with regard to the 
implementation of the M&E exercise and the Third Gl obal Review.  A number of training events had 
already taken place in support of Members' prep arations for the Review:  Libreville, Gabon on 6-
8 October 2010 for Francophone Africa which ha d been organized with support from the United 
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB);  
Hanoi, Viet Nam on 9-11 November 2010 for Asia n economies;  Johannesburg, South Africa on 16 
and 17 November 2010 for Anglophone Africa;  and Quito, Ecuador on 30 November-2 December 
2010 for Latin American countries.  Events had also been organized for Pacific countries in Nadi, Fiji on 9-10 December 2010, and for the Caribbean in Bridgetown, Barbados on 25-27 January 2011.   
8. At the training activities, with  the exception of the Latin Amer ican event where a number of 
presentations had been made on case stories that woul d be submitted for the Review, participants had 
provided indicative lists of case stories which would need  to be translated into official submissions.  
The main themes emerging from the indicative case st ory lists included:  project specific support, 
trade facilitation, in-country EIF (Enhanced In tegrated Framework) processes, transport 
infrastructure, trade promotion, national Ai d-for-Trade processes, support for business-support 
services, trade-related technical assistance, st andards, export competitiveness, regional trade 
agreement convergence and private-public-partnership in  bio trade.  The challenge would be to turn 
these indicative ideas into official case  stories.  One of the issues th at had arisen with regard to  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
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  completion of the questionnaires had been inter-minist erial coordination and the fact that all officials 
were not aware, for example, of the replies that had been provided in 2008 and that not all of those 
replies were recognized by some of the officials that  participated in the training.    Although case story 
themes thus far appeared to lean towards assistance that directly im pacted on trade ministries rather 
than more broadly with respect to other categories of  Aid for Trade, such as transport, infrastructure, 
and productive capacity building, it was hoped that a balance could be achieved through other case 
stories that would be submitted by inter-govern mental organizations a nd multilateral development 
banks. 
9. The call for case stories had also been disse minated to regional de velopment banks, inter-
governmental organizations, other organizations, academia and representatives of the private sector, 
many of which had either already submitted a case st ory or had informed that they would do so.  It 
was expected that these submissions, particular ly those from the multilateral development banks, 
would help cover the main areas of expenditure and would help keep a balance with regard to the 
overall sample of case stories.  Informal consultations and briefings to the donor community had also 
been organized and a positive response to  the call for case stories was expected.  
10. In conclusion, he noted that the case stories were a qualitative analysis exercise and that the 
body of evidence collected was not backed up by quantitative analysis.  The majority of the case 
stories thus far focused on process issues, mainstr eaming, the response at a national level, and on 
projects.     
11. The representative of the United States  noted that the US would likely submit four case 
stories, including one on methodology based on a surv ey done by USAID on how best to evaluate 
their programmes, and three country- or regi onal-based case stories which would focus on 
implementation of the trade agreement, agriculture , and a regional programme dealing with transit, 
trade facilitation, and infrastructure.   
12. The representative of Australia  referred to the workshop for Pacific Island Countries 
organized that week in Fiji by the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat.  Her delegation hoped that the 
questionnaires and case stories submitted by these countries would provide a valuable contribution to 
the Global Review process by providing the Paci fic perspective on Aid-for-Trade challenges and 
priorities.  Australia intended to submit case stori es covering specific Aid for Trade in the Pacific and 
Asian regions and was also coordinating its res ponse to the questionnaire.  Referring to the 
Secretariat's comment on the difficulties in translatin g ideas into case stories, she said that Australia 
would be interested in learning more about what  was being provided as follow-up to the training 
workshops in terms of on-going support to developing countries.  Australia would also be interested 
in any information on the expected format of the compilation of case stories and how this would feed 
into the joint OECD/WTO publication for the Global  Review, particularly with regard to how the 
analysis would be integrated into the publicati on, and how it would be  addressed in the Global 
Review agenda. 
13. The representative of Canada  reported that Canada intended to submit three or four case 
stories and, where appropriate, would explore the possibility of co-sponsorship with its development 
partners.  He said that, for the Global Review, it w ould be useful to pay particular attention to the 
"lessons learned" category in the case stories, and suggested that the data be collated into a single 
analysis that could highlight key themes of lessons learned. 
14. The representative of the European Union  informed that the EU had issued specific 
questionnaires to its field offices so as to ensure  the collection of reliabl e and relevant data for 
completion of the Aid-for-Trade questionnaire. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
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  15. The representative of the Cameroon , on behalf of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) 
Group , said that the ACP Group appreciated the fact that the training workshops had covered all ACP 
regions.  He noted some of the comments that had arisen in the workshops held thus far which had 
included questions on differences on Aid-for-Trade figur es and the prioritization of what could be laid 
out in terms of individual priorities or main themes.   
16. The representative of Kenya  requested additional information on the number of case stories 
submitted by the WTO Academic Chairs and on the ex act nature of those that were likely to be 
submitted by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF).   
17. The representative of Japan  noted that Japan was preparing several case stories.  His 
delegation appreciated the Director-General's leader ship and the Secretariat's commitment in keeping 
up the momentum for Aid for Trade, particularly under the austere financial and uncertain economic 
environment, and would continue to offer support and cooperation to the Director-General, the WTO 
Secretariat and to Members. 
18. The representative of New Zealand  said that New Zealand planned to prepare two case stories 
with respect to the Pacific and intended to submit th em, together with the completed questionnaire, by 
the 31 January 2011 deadline.  He r delegation looked forward to recei ving further information on the 
organization of the Third Global Review as well as any associated documentation. 
19. The representative of Switzerland  said that Switzerland was preparing five case stories which 
would reflect the main areas of Switzerland's eco nomic development cooperation.  These included 
one on the strengthening of the IPR system of a partner country, one on cleaner production or 
economic success through eco-friendly production, one  on cotton, one on the impact of private 
voluntary standards (linked to sustainable agricu lture), and possibly one on an agricultural value 
chain.   
20. The representative of Norway  said that Norway was engaging its bilateral embassies in 
preparing case stories and intended to submit them, toge ther with the questionnaire, by the 31 January 
2011 deadline.   
21. The representative of the Secretariat  acknowledged the engagement a nd interest that had been 
shown by all stakeholders.  Referring to the comments made by the Director-General at the outset of the meeting, he said that the Secretariat would be in a better position to come forward with ideas of 
how the information received woul d be managed at the next CTD- AfT meeting.  Discussions were 
on-going with the OECD and other partners in this  regard.  Turning to the question of how on-going 
support to this process would be given, he noted that  Geneva-based delegations  were being copied on 
follow-up communications with the participants of th e training events.  Other partners, in particular 
UNECA, and the multilateral development banks, were  also assisting in this regard, and support 
would be provided in advance of the deadline, to  the extent possible, to any delegation facing 
particular issues.  Regarding the question on case stories being prepared by the WTO Academic 
Chairs, he noted that endeavours were being made  to work closely with the WTO Institute for 
Training and Technical Co-operation to ensure that  there was a good response from other Chairs.  In 
relation to the topics of the case stories likely to be submitted by the STDF, these included STDF 
work on SPS indicators, on looking at trying to integrate economic analysis into SPS decision making, and on public-private partne rships.  Additional case stories could also be forthcoming in 
relation to projects funded by the STDF. 
2. Resource Mobilization 
22. There was no discussion under this Agenda item.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
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  3. Mainstreaming 
23. The representative of Nepal , as Coordinator of the Group of Least-Developed Countries , 
provided information on the preparations for th e Fourth United National Conference on the Least-
Developed Countries (LDC-IV) to be held in Ista nbul, Turkey from 9-13 May 2011 and the role of the 
LDC Group in the preparatory process leading up to the Conference.  He began by expressing 
appreciation of the priority the WTO placed on enhancing the role of trade aid in development 
(Commitment Five of the Brussels Programme of Action1 (BPoA)) and noted that this could only be 
achieved by the integration of developing and least-developed countries.  The LDC Group therefore 
attached great importance to the accession of its members to the WTO as it provided them with an 
opportunity to integrate into the global trade a nd economic mainstream a nd to implement economic 
and trade reforms.  Technical assistance provided to LDCs needed to be fully aligned with their needs 
and priorities and targeted to overcome structur al impediments, economic vulnerability and human 
capacity weaknesses.  The BPoA had underlined the need to strengthen the supply-side capacity of 
LDCs for integration into the global economy through the provision of financial, technical and others 
forms of assistance.  This was the aim of the Aid -for-Trade Initiative and he noted that, to date, Aid-
for-Trade flows had been encouraging as a result of  the contributions from partner countries, donors, 
regional development banks, regi onal economic communities and inte rnational organizations.   
24. Two countries (Botswana and Cape Verde) ha d graduated from the LDC category and three 
countries (Maldives, Samoa and Equatorial Guin ea) were expected to graduate from the LDC 
category in 2011.  Despite the number of reforms th at had been undertaken, including with regard to 
market diversification and structural transformati ons, the structure and direction of LDCs' trade had 
remained unchanged and they faced challenges such  as transition costs, supply-side constraints, 
stringent market access conditions and structural problems. 
25. The LDC Group placed great emphasis on Aid for Trade and, in its input to the LDC-IV 
process, had made several concrete suggestions w ith regard to having Aid for Trade mainstreamed 
into the final LDC-IV Plan of Action document.  This included inputs on three specific themes – 
building productive capacities, enhancing the role of  trade in development, and mobilizing financial 
resources.  In addition, the LDCs had urged developm ent partners to:  (i) ensure that Aid for Trade 
was predictable and additional to Official Develo pment Assistance (ODA), and over and above EIF 
resources;  (ii) accord priority to LDCs' Aid-for-Trade projects a nd ensure that Aid for Trade was 
available for projects identified by the recipient governments, particularly in the areas of trade 
development, trade-related infrastructure, buildi ng productive capacity and trade related adjustment;  
(iii) create synergies between Aid for Trade and the EIF to cater for projects with a regional 
dimension in order to assist those LDCs that were  in regional groupings to effectively address trade 
related capacity constraints;  and (iv) create syne rgies in monitoring and evaluation mechanisms with 
initiatives undertaken at the national and regional levels in order to address the disparities in 
monitoring aid flows and impact.  With regard to th e lead up to the LDC-IV Conference, he noted that 
a number of pre-conference events had been organized including by UNCTAD, UNIDO, UNDP, 
UNEP, FAO, UN-OHRLLS, and the World Bank.   
26. In his concluding remarks, he said that th e LDC Group looked to a renewed and stronger 
international partnership for result oriented deve lopment and that the LDCs stood ready to ensure 
stronger national commitment and leadership for development. 
27. The representative of Turkey  noted the important role that LDCs played in Geneva to 
contributing substantially to the LDC-IV preparati ons with a view to driving the process forward and 
said that Turkey full supported these efforts.  He  noted that Turkey had already briefed the Sub-
                                                      
1 Brussels Programme of Action fo r the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010, adopted 
by the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Brussels on 20 May 2001. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
Page 6 
 
 
  Committee on LDCs with respect to the preparations  and priority issues to be addressed by LDC-IV 
which included possible deliverables, effective a nd efficient monitoring, and a review mechanism.2  
He referred to one of the pre-Conference events that had been organized with a focus on building 
productive capacities in LDCs and said that the conc lusions of the event had provided an important 
input to the preparations of the Conference.  Equally important was the UNCTAD LDC Report 2010 
"Towards a New International Development Architecture for LDCs"3 which had recently been 
launched and discussed extensively during the Tr ade and Development Board Executive Session the 
previous week.  The Report offered a substantial c ontribution to the preparatory process and also to 
the discussions of the future development paths th at the LDCs should try to follow in the coming 
decade.  With regard to WTO input, Turkey welcomed the Director-General's report on the 
implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action for LDCs for the decade 2001-2010.4  It was 
clear from the report, and from the deriving lessons from the financial crisis, that assistance to LDCs 
was necessary to enable them to better integrate into the multilateral trading system.  The importance 
of rules of origin, for example, could not be over emphasized in this regard.  The contribution of the 
Geneva-based international organizations was also critical for the preparations of the Conference. 
28. He noted that two pre-Conference events were to be held in Geneva befo re the end of the year 
including one organized by UNDP which would a ddress promoting democratic governance for LDC's 
development, and one organized by the World Bank which would discuss Aid for Trade.  Within the 
context of the Conference, capacity building initiativ es such as Aid for Trade, and particularly the 
EIF, should be given due importance since they aimed at alleviating constraints which impeded 
supply capacities, including LDCs' weak trade-relate d infrastructure.  Turkey was fully committed to 
the Aid-for-Trade Initiative and ready to contribute to the efforts of exploring ways to further enhance 
its effectiveness.  An effective implementation of the EIF in LDCs would bring to the LDC-IV Conference concrete results as to how such inte gration and multi-partnership initiatives could bring 
effective results.  He ther efore encouraged all EIF partners to c ontinue their pro-active involvement in 
delivering trade-related technical assistance to the LDCs.  The Aid-for-Trade and EIF initiatives 
should lead the way for creating jobs, sustainable prioritization and in achieving the MDGs 
(Millennium Development Goals).  Recalling his previ ous statements in which he had proposed that 
the Aid-for-Trade Initiative could be leveraged to as sist LDCs' capacity to diversify their export base 
as possible deliverables, he said that firm commitm ent to increase the resources available for LDCs 
through the EIF was particularly important. 
29. With reference to the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade, he noted that Turkey would 
make the necessary preparations to update in formation and share experiences with Members. 
30. The representative of the United States
 said that the US recognized the importance of LDC-
IV in highlighting the work accomplished since 2001 by the United Nations, its Members, and other 
international organizations in enha ncing the role of trade in develo pment for LDCs, and in identifying 
the additional work that was still needed.  The US  looked forward to working with Nepal and other 
LDCs in developing the Istanbul Programme of Action.   She noted that some of the issues referred to 
by Nepal concerning LDC-IV were under the WTO's mandate and said that as work moved forward it 
would be important to ensure that issues under active negotiation within the WTO, or under the 
purview of WTO bodies, stayed within that organi zation and that no shadow negotiations took place 
in other fora, or that other fora's mandates expa nded into issues already addressed by the WTO.  Her 
delegation looked forward to future updates on pre- conference events and the status of the LDC-IV 
meeting. 
                                                      
2 WT/COMTD/LDC/M/56 and 57. 
3 http://www.unctad.org/templates/WebFlyer.asp?intItemID=5737&lang=1 . 
4 WT/COMTD/LDC/17, 14 December 2010.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
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  31. The representative of Canada  noted Canada's support of the Brussels Programme of Action 
and its implementation and said that  Canada looked forward to engagi ng constructively in the process 
leading up to the LDC-IV Conference.  Recogni zing that LDCs were facing many challenges in 
meeting the MDGs, Canada's development prioriti es aimed to address issues such as increasing food 
security, stimulating sustainable economic growth and securing the future of children and youth 
which Canada felt were in line with the LDCs ke y concerns.  Canada was committed to supporting 
LDCs in their efforts meet the MDGs.  He noted, however, that if the MDGs were to be met, LDC 
governments should also continue to exercise effect ive leadership over their development policies and 
strategies.  Referring to the document "Inputs to th e Istanbul Programme of Action", he said that the 
focus of the document was on the actions of donors.  Since countries were primarily responsible for 
their own development and in order to reflect a true  and strengthened partners hip for development, the 
actions of all development partners  and partner countries should be reflected to ensure coherence, 
country ownership and leadership.  Although Cana da recognized the importance of the elements 
outlined in the document, not much was said about important issues such as good governance and 
gender equality which should be considered in a cross-cutting manner to ensure sustainable and 
inclusive growth and development.  It was also important to focus on lessons learned over the past 
decade and to use these effectively to set up a focu sed and realistic plan of action that could be 
monitored and adjusted when possible.  The ne w Progamme of Action should recognize that ODA by 
traditional donors would continue to play a less signifi cant role than other international flows such as 
foreign direct invest (FDI), remittances, as well as  the use of innovative financing mechanisms.  The 
increasing role of new emerging donors as well as the private sector in addressing the specific 
challenges faced by LDCs should also be recognized .  In conclusion, he said that it would be 
important at the outset to put the economic crisis a nd its impact, short- to medium-term, in a proper 
perspective and clearly indicate its implications for LDCs. 
32. The representative of India  said that India attached great importance to the LDCs and to the 
challenges they faced as well as to the positive oppor tunities they presented.  India worked closely 
with its neighbouring LDCs, providing assistance pr ogrammes, provision of funds for human resource 
development, and scholarships.  One example w as a 2-week training programme on WTO issues for 
LDCs and developing-country middle level officials which had been held in November and results 
were being analyzed to see if it could be repeated  on an annual basis.  Another training programme 
was also being scheduled which would focus on accession issues.  In recognition of the fact that trade 
was emerging as a main component of India's growing ties with LDCs, and demonstrating India's 
commitment and contribution to work closely with its LDC partners in ensuring social, economic and 
development, since April 2008 India had extended dut y free tariff preference schemes to all LDCs.  
India was also actively considering to provide target ed trade-related technical assistance to five LDCs 
in Africa, the details of which were expected to be finalized in early 2011.  In conclusion, he said that 
details of India's high-level pa rticipation at the LDC-IV Conference were being discussed. 
33. The representative of the European Union  said that the EU and its members States continued 
to be strongly committed to supporting sustainable development of the LDCs as had been clearly 
demonstrated.  As far as the Brussels process and LDC-IV was concerned, he said that the EU was currently preparing a common position of the Europ ean Union at the political level which, it was 
hoped, would be a clear sign of the commitment an d importance the EU attached to LDC-IV, and 
more particularly to an operational and focused outcome of the Conference. 
34. The representative of Barbados
 said that, as a member of the group of Small and Vulnerable 
Economies (SVEs), Barbados had gr aduated from situations not dissimilar to those of LDCs and 
therefore understood the challenges they faced.  Alt hough not always in a position to give tangible 
assistance in the form of financial and technical as sistance, wherever possible Barbados had attempted 
to offer support which had included middle-inco me – and in some cases high-income – SVEs 
providing funding for many LDC programmes.   In conclusion, she said that the SVEs were highly 
supportive of the work that Turkey and Nepal were undertaking with respect to LDC-IV. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
Page 8 
 
 
  4. Regional Dimension – Implementation 
35. The representative of Viet Nam  reported on a National Seminar that was held in Hanoi, Viet 
Nam on 8 November 2010.  The purpose of the semi nar was to highlight how Aid for Trade could 
help developing countries such as Viet Nam increa se their participation in international trade and 
enhance their development prospects.  The Semina r had been opened by Vice Minister Tran Quoc 
Khanh of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and included a presentation by the WTO on the 
Aid-for-Trade Initiative and a question and answer session.  The importance of Aid for Trade for a 
country such as Viet Nam had been highlighted and emphasis had been placed on monitoring and 
reporting on the impact that Aid for Trade was having on the ground, in particular on the poorer 
sections of the population.  The importance of devel oping national indicators, in line with Viet Nam's 
national development policy, which could then be measured over a period of time and used as a basis 
for taking monitoring and evaluation into the second phase, had also been highlighted.  The question 
and answer session had underscored the level of unde rstanding that Vietnamese Government officials 
had of the role of development assistance in their country's development process, and how trade could 
serve as an engine for growth and development.  In  conclusion, he said that the National Seminar had 
provided a good opportunity for Viet Nam to bring the monitoring and evaluation of Aid for Trade 
and other relevant issues to the polic y agenda of national stakeholders. 
5. Private Sector 
36. The representative of the International Trade Centre (ITC)  reported on the ITC's involvement 
in the SPECA5 Ministerial Aid-for-Trade Conference th at was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 1-
2 December 2010.6  As co-organizer of the event, IT C had facilitated the participation of 
entrepreneurs and representatives from trade promo tion organizations (TPOs) and had ensured that 
the private sector could make a meaningful cont ribution by orga nizing a panel discussion on "New 
Market Opportunities in a Changing Business Envi ronment".  The panel had touched upon three 
issues that were critical to the re gion's entrepreneurs:  supply-side constraints to exporting;  the 
contribution of financial intermedia ries and logistics providers to competitiveness;  and the role of 
TPOs in helping entrepreneurs to enhance thei r export competitiveness and access new markets.  
Among the issues underscored by participants were supply-side constraints, mostly related to 
production capacity and quality require ments, and the need to improve the business environment.  The 
important role of financial interm ediaries had also been emphasized and concern had been voiced that 
limited access to credit was currently hampering the efforts of entrepreneurs in the region to expand 
their business operations.  On the subject of trade logi stics, participants had been concerned that much 
remained to be done to ensure efficient border crossing of goods and services and had noted that 
improvements in the field of trade logistics could result in cost savings of 15-20 per cent for local 
entrepreneurs.  All representatives were unanimously of the view th at TPOs should be strengthened to 
engage in advocating for the interests of the pr ivate sector on trade policy development, and to 
improve their support services, such as market intellige nce, to their members.  In addition, TPOs in 
the region had agreed that further improving the li nkages between their organi zations and engaging in 
joint projects would help to engage government s in solving problems and overcoming existing 
constraints to trading across borders.  
                                                      
5 SPECA economies include Afghanistan, Azer baijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. 
6 Further information on the Conference can be found at http://www.unece.or g/trade/SPECA-
AfTBaku2010/welcome.html .    WT/COMTD/AFT/M/18 
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  D. OTHER BUSINESS  
37. Under "Other Business", the Chairman  announced the official launch of the EIF's new 
website7  and reminded delegations of the informal  session on the OECD Creditor Reporting System 
that would take place later that day where OECD representatives would demonstrate how to extract 
and download Aid-for-Trade statistics.   
38. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
__________  
 
 
                                                      
7 http://www.enhancedif.org