RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
29 January 2010 
 (10-0514) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Thirteenth Session on Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETIN G OF 25 NOVEMBER 2009 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Shree B.C. Servansing (Mauritius) 
  
A.
 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B. DRAFT AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME ............................................................................1  
C. ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SECRETARIAT .....................................................................................9  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  said that the agenda for the m eeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3480 issued on 13 November 2009 and informed that the purpose of the meeting was to present Members the revised draft Aid-for-Trade Work Programme for 2010-2011 which had been 
circulated on 19 November 2009 in document JOB(09) /100/Rev.2.  He added that, in addition, the 
Secretariat wished to make a statement under "Other Business". 
2. The agenda, as amended, was adopted
. 
B. DRAFT AID-FOR-TRADE WORK PROGRAMME  
3. Informing Members of the procedure he wished  to follow with regard to this item, the 
Chairman  indicated that he would first make some in troductory remarks concerning the revised draft 
Work Programme contained in JOB(09)/100/Rev.2, th en give an overview of the changes that had 
been made, and, finally, set out the next step s in the process following the present meeting of the 
Committee on Trade and Development (CTD).  He woul d then open the floor to delegations for their 
comments. 
4. He wished first to acknowledge the impressive level of engagement shown by Members on 
Aid for Trade which, he said, had already been evident in the run up to – and during – the Second 
Global Review of Aid for Trade which had take n place on 6 and 7 July.  The discussions on the 
Aid-for-Trade Work Programme, both in the CTD and during the informal meetings he had held with 
Members, had underscored this commitment.  All th is bode well for the Aid-for-Trade initiative and it 
was clear that there was a genuine commitment and engagement to help  developing countries 
overcome supply-side constraints and trade-related infrastructure limitations which often prevented 
them seizing the market access opportunities that the multilateral trading system offered.   
5. Referring to the changes made to the Work Pr ogramme, he said that one important change 
that had been introduced early on in the drafting process was to highlight that Aid for Trade was a 
partnership.  It was easy for negotiators of trad e rules to see things purely in terms of extracting 
maximum advantage but it should not be forgotten that underpinning this effort was global solidarity 
with developing and, in particular, least-developed countries.  Solidarity between the increasing WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
Page 2  
 
  number of countries whose governments offered devel opment assistance and the recipients of this 
assistance in developing countries in his view was the basis of partnership.  The Aid-for-Trade 
initiative itself gave particular focus to this pa rtnership as could be seen from the 2006 Aid-for-Trade 
Task Force recommendation that "effective Aid for Tr ade enhances the growth prospects and reduces 
poverty in developing countries, complements mul tilateral trade reforms and distributes the global 
benefits more equitably across a nd within developing countries".  As demonstrated by the existing 
partnership and common sense of purpose, he believe d that there remained fundamental convergence 
of Members on this objective.  Although some Member s might wish to tweak things further, in his 
judgement, the point had been reached where furthe r changes might become counter-productive.   
6. It was clear that the revised draft Work Programme was much improved and he believed that 
the current version would allow Members to build on the momentum generated by the Global Review 
and help keep Aid for Trade on the political radar.  The shared objective of Members was to keep the 
political visibility on Aid for Trade up to and beyond  the Third Global Review in 2012.  Maintaining 
that political visibility would contribute to the objective of helping address some of the supply-side constraints, thus improving trade and growth perform ance of developing countries.  One point that 
had become much clearer as a result of discussions  on the draft Work Programme was how the one 
must support the other and where the line n eeded to be drawn between the two.  
7. Turning to the substance of some of the cha nges, he said he had listened carefully to the 
comments made at the 12 October and 3 November CTD Aid-for-Trade meetings and also to those 
made during the informal consultations.  He had a good sense of where convergence lay between 
Members.  He believed the revised draft captured th is convergence.  In general, the changes he had 
made to the current revised draft built on the last revi sion of the text, while at the same time not losing 
the balance of the document.   
8. In response to one of the main concerns raised  during the discussions regarding the role of the 
WTO, the revised draft now clarified that the aim of the Work Programme was to keep an on-going 
focus on Aid for Trade – a "spotlight effect" – whic h would generate conti nued impetus to resource 
mobilization, mainstreaming and ope rationalization.  He hoped that by doing this there would be 
greater clarity between Aid for Trade as a political  initiative (i.e. what happened in Geneva) and the 
operational practice of Aid for Trade on the groun d (i.e. the operationalization of Aid for Trade 
outside Geneva). 
9. He had also sought to find the right balance between, on the one hand, resource mobilization 
in providing resources and, on the other hand, main streaming in creating demand for Aid-for-Trade 
resources.  This meant recapturing the balance betw een supply and demand of the original Task Force 
recommendations.  He recognized that resources – rather  than pledges – were required to meet needs.  
Nevertheless, pledges were a signal of the commitme nt to provide those resources.  To remove any 
reference to pledges would be a disservice to t hose Members who had given new pledges at the 
Second Global Review in July.  On the other side of the equation, he said he had introduced in the 
new revised text a reference that the Director-Gen eral could report on progress in mainstreaming as 
part of the annual General Council debate on Aid for Trade.   
10. With respect to the reference to reporting on r esource mobilization, he said he had taken into 
account comments from the African Group that greater attention could be given to disaggregating the 
flows and, in particular, in trying to distinguish  between grant and loan operations.  He had also 
sought to iron out difficulties which certain phrasing had created, and specific changes had been made 
as follows:  in paragraph 7 – with regard to the Aid-for-Trade needs of developing countries;  in 
paragraphs 8 and 9 – with regard to references made to adjustment costs and mainstreaming;  in 
paragraphs 12 and 13 – rega rding the regional dimension and the need to reflect the importance of 
regional integration as a driver for Aid for Trade and the demand-driven nature of these processes;  
and in paragraph 18 – where the introductory text  on the private sector had been strengthened.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
 Page 3 
 
 
  11. Finally, turning to process, he recalled that at the 12 October CTD meeting he had underlined 
his intention to try and arrive at a text which w ould provide the best balance between the different 
players.  He had also stated that a formal a doption of the Work Programme in the CTD, although 
desirable, was not necessary.  What was essentia l was that the document reflected a broad 
convergence of views – something wh ich he thought it now did.  Give n the quality of the programme 
that was now on the table, as well as the imperative to build on the momentum generated to date, he 
stressed the importance that work now started on implementing the elements of the Work Programme.  He would therefore transmit the Work Programme , under his own responsibility, to the General 
Council.   
12. The Chairman
 then invited delegations to comment on the draft Work Programme. 
13. The representative of Pakistan  requested information on the Aid-for-Trade related events that 
had already taken place, namely the recently-hel d OECD/DAC meeting in Paris and the Asian 
Development Bank Regional Techni cal Group meeting in Bangkok, a nd asked what were the final 
recommendations and how the work would be fact ored into the long-term Aid-for-Trade Work 
Programme. 
14. The Chairman  said that reports on these events would be provided at the first CTD meeting in 
2010. 
15. The representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)  informed that the 
Workshop on Aid-for-Trade N eeds Assessment for SPECA countries1 reflected in Annex 1 of the 
draft Work Programme would he held on 17 and 18 February 2010 and that the Ministerial meeting originally planned for May 2010 would now take plac e in June, although specific dates were still to be 
fixed. 
16. The representative of Dominica, on behalf of  the Small and Vulnerable Economies (SVEs)
, 
thanked the Chair for his efforts in seeking to arri ve at a balanced Aid-for-Trade Work Programme 
that represented a broad convergence of views from the Membership.  SVEs valued the consultative 
manner in which both the Chair and the Secretariat had proceeded to arrive at the current Work 
Programme.  As previously stated, it was importa nt that work continued to advance towards 
fulfilment of the Aid-for-Trade mandate.   
17. SVEs had already indicated their support for th e first revision of the Work Programme which 
had incorporated most of the substantive comments SVEs had made on the text.  In the SVEs' view, 
the revised document was balanced and helped to  highlight SVE priorities as the move was made 
towards more focused and harnessed  Aid-for-Trade implementation.  In that regard, SVEs were 
disappointed that the Work Programme could not have been adopted as intended at the last CTD 
meeting due to additional s ubstantive comments.  The SVEs were of  the view that it would have been 
preferable to have a formal adoption of the Aid -for-Trade Work Programme in the CTD but had taken 
note that adoption was not necessary and that the commitment of the developed partners and the developing countries to what was contained therein remained.  However, SVEs did look forward to 
the General Council taking necessary action on the Work Programme as part of the CTD Chair's 
report.  What was critical for SVEs was that th e Work Programme was implemented and that it 
remained a working basis from which to carry out the work on Aid for Trade. 
18. He said that, following the review of the second revision of the Work Programme, SVEs 
continued to support its objectives, particularly th e call for development partners to honour existing 
pledges and to continue making ne w pledges, and for these resources to  be additional, predictable, 
sustainable and effective.  SVEs also placed impor tance on the role of the WTO in spotlighting the 
                                                     
 
1 Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
Page 4  
 
  Aid-for-Trade agenda through advocacy, analysis, debate, and monitoring a nd evaluation.  SVEs 
would continue to play their part in mainstream ing trade into their development strategies and in 
enhancing dialogue with the private sector.  In conc lusion, he said that SVEs were ready to move 
forward and to get down to the business of im plementing the issues contained in the Work 
Programme, working with the CTD Chair, the Secr etariat and the development partners in this 
endeavour. 
19. The representative of the European Communities
2 said that her delegation appreciated the 
consultations that the Chair had held both in the CT D and in informal settings.  She believed that that 
consultation process was an expression of the partnership that the Chair had recalled in his introductory statement.  The EC looked forward to continuing to meet with its development 
colleagues in the future.   
20. Turning to the Work Programme itself, she said that the document which was now on the 
table identified the right issues that were in need  of attention to move forward and make further 
progress on Aid for Trade.  It gave messages that, in the EC's view, went in the right direction and emphasized continued mainstreami ng and resources mobilization, re gional integration, monitoring 
and evaluation, and the role of the private sector .  The EC was especially pleased with the following 
changes that had been made to the revised draft:  the reinforced wording around regional integration 
processes where the EC considered there to be a lot of potential;  the clear reference to using 
monitoring and evaluation in an active way to improve  developing countries' trade strategies and to 
see whether Aid-for-Trade strategies also helped those countries reach their objectives;  and the 
clarification and definition of the roles played by different actors in the implementation of Aid for 
Trade, including the beneficiary countries, the WTO, donors, and other agencies and stakeholders. 
21. In conclusion, she said that the EC could broadly support the Work Programme as it now 
stood and were fully committed to actively engage in  the next steps.  Echoing Pakistan's comment 
about recently-held Aid-for-Trade related events, sh e said it would be useful to include on the WTO 
website references to the various events, especially as de legations were not able to participate in all of 
them.  In addition to the reporting process in the CT D, a good visibility effect would be if the website 
contained elements of the various initiatives th at were taking place in parallel in the field. 
22. The representative of Trinidad and Tobago
 said his delegation appreciated the Chair's 
consultations and felt that the revised draft repres ented the level at which it would like to see the 
Aid-for-Trade issues pitched.  His delegation had taken note of the Chair's decision to carry forward a text under his own responsibility but, like Dominica  and the SVEs, Trinidad and Tobago would also 
have preferred a formal adoption of the Work  Programme.  However, Trinidad and Tobago 
recognized and took note that the document did not necessarily require formal adoption, and was 
willing to look beyond that and focus on implemen tation which was what mattered to beneficiary 
countries.  Furthermore, Trinidad and Tobago shared some of the objectives referred to in the text.  It 
was interested in resource mobilization and ensuring that pledges were continued and current pledges 
were realized, and that there was additionality in term s of resources.  Finally, in terms of events, his 
delegation agreed with others that there was a  need to post information on Aid-for-Trade related 
events on the WTO website to facilitate maximum participation at all levels. 
23. The representative of Cameroon, on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) 
Group , said that, as stated at previous meetings, the AC P Group believed that the revisions to the draft 
                                                      
2 "On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of  Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty 
establishing the European Community (done at Lisb on, 13 December 2007) en tered into force.  On 
29 November 2009, the WTO received a Verbal Note (WT/L/779) from the Council of the Eu ropean Union and 
the Commission of the European Communities stating that, by virtue of the Treaty of Lisbon, as of 
1 December 2009, the European Union replaces and succeeds the European Community."   WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
 Page 5 
 
 
  document were moving in the right direction and that, taking into account the Chair's preliminary 
remarks, the Group was fully satisfi ed with the current revision.  The document now had a far clearer 
direction and its content was more focussed.  Reca lling that the ACP countries spread over several 
continents and had very varied profiles, he said that  the Group was interested in all parts of the Work 
Programme, particularly with regard to mob ilization and assessment.  In conclusion, the Group 
congratulated the Chair for the excellent work he ha d done – including the process of consultation – to 
ensure that partnerships were properly established.   If the document was not to be formally adopted, 
that partnership would help in continuing the work in future sessions.  The ACP Group looked 
forward to seeing the final version of  the document properly implemented. 
24. The representative of Norway  thanked the Chair and the Secretar iat for their tireless efforts in 
drafting the Aid-for-Trade Work Programme.  As pr eviously stated, Norway was also grateful for 
having been consulted in the preparation process a nd appreciated the difficulty of drafting language 
that reflected convergence between Members.  Norw ay wished to stress its support of the current 
version of the Work Programme and to the Chair issuing it as a document under his own responsibility.  Reiterating Norway's commitment to  the Aid-for-Trade initiative, she said that her 
delegation looked forward to the impl ementation of the Work Programme. 
25. The representative of Canada
 said that his delegation wished to add its voice to commending 
the Chair's extensive efforts in developing an  Aid-for-Trade Work Programme for 2010-2011.  
Canada also welcomed the Chair's consultations an d encouraged a consultative process with respect to 
the Work Programme in the future .  The Work Programme and calenda r of activities provided a useful 
outline of goals and actions that would better allow Members of the CTD to review efforts to advance 
Aid for Trade across a variety of settings.  As su ch, Canada wished to flag its support for the 
document.  In reviewing the Work Programme, his dele gation had been struck by the role to be played 
by mainstreaming and the fact that this was an ar ea that might warrant further work, including in the 
context of regional events and of the WTO's global Aid-for-Trade reviews.  Clearly the 
mainstreaming of trade into national and regiona l development programmes was a matter of critical 
interest and Canada was well aware that this woul d involve multi-faceted effo rts that encompassed a 
diverse range of delivery mechanisms.  The challenge that Canada saw in this respect was in advocating specific efforts to better work with bila teral donors, international financial institutions, and 
multilateral agencies to further this work in a conc rete and pragmatic fashion.  This might be an 
example of one area that warranted further focus a nd appropriate efforts.  Another area where Canada 
saw the need for further reflection was in the focus of efforts on Aid for Trade.  At Hong Kong, it was 
agreed that Aid for Trade should "..... aim to help developing countries, particularly LDCs, to build 
the supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastruct ure that they need to assist them to implement 
and benefit from WTO agreements and mo re broadly to expand their trade".
3  The 2006 report of the 
Aid-for-Trade Task Force4 also recommended the inclusion of, inter alia , assistance to deal with the 
negative consequences or adjustment costs of trad e policy reform.  Canada saw some advantage to 
giving these areas further thought and to looking at  opportunities to review work under way to glean 
best practices so as to gain from the useful wo rk already being done.  The Work Programme was a 
good start in this respect and there was clearly much work to be done in moving forward on the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative. 
26. The representative of Benin, on behalf of the African Group , expressed appreciation for the 
efforts that had been made to achieve the text that  was being considered at the present meeting.  He 
also wished to thank th e Secretariat for the support it had pr ovided throughout the drafting process.  
The African Group took note of the Chair's decision to put forward the Work Programme under his own responsibility but wished to recall its already clear ly stated preference for the first revision of the 
document and its adoption.  Given the current situation, the African Group took note of the 
                                                     
 
3 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, 18 December 2005, paragraph 57. 
4 WT/AFT/1. WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
Page 6  
 
  amendments that had been introduced  in JOB(09)/100/Rev.2, particularly with regard to concerns that 
were important to the Group such as the need to di saggregate trade flows.  He said that the African 
Group would nevertheless evaluate the Work Progr amme on the basis of its implementation and, as 
mentioned by the Chair, believed that it was a good idea that the document be transmitted to the 
General Council which would approve the main areas. 
27. The representative of the United States
 thanked the Chair for the consultation process he had 
led and also the Secretariat for their tireless efforts.   His delegation broadly agreed with the statements 
made by the EC and Canada and, like the EC, appreci ated the clarification in the new revision of the 
roles of the key actors on Aid for Trade.  He said the US supported the Work Programme which 
would play an important role in helping to guide the Aid-for-Trade work in the months ahead. 
28. The representative of Japan  thanked the Chair for initiating the consultation process and also 
for his determination to transmit the two-year Wo rk Programme to the Gene ral Council under his own 
responsibility.  The WTO's Second Global Review of Aid for Trade held in July had provided an 
appropriate and important forum for Japan to announce its commitment of US$12 billion to the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative.  Japan also appreciated the cl arification of the WTO's role in Aid for Trade.  
Finally, although it was desirable to adopt the Wo rk Programme, Japan recognized that the Chair had 
set the Work Programme and partnership for Aid fo r Trade and accepted his decision to transmit the 
document to the General Council unde r his own responsibility.  Japan al so agreed with the Chair that 
the time was ripe for implementation of Aid for Tr ade, building on the momentum achieved so far.  
Regardless of the status of the document, Japan  confirmed that it would implement its announced 
commitments. 
29. The representative of Egypt  thanked the Chair and the Secretar iat for their efforts in preparing 
the Work Programme and said that, although his delega tion's preference was to adopt the document at 
CTD level, following the Chair's clarification of procedure Egypt could go along with his recommendations.  However, his delegation wished to have more clarity on the process.  First, with 
respect to the Chair transmitting the document und er his own responsibility to the General Council, 
Egypt wished to have clarification as to whether th is was the right procedure to follow or whether it 
was different from what had been done in the past.  Second, what status would the Chair's report to the General Council have.  As the Chair had menti oned, his report would include some important 
elements which were not reflected in the Wo rk Programme.  One example was the issue of 
disaggregating the flows of aid which, if Egypt had understood correctly, although not mentioned in 
the substance of the Work Programme, would be men tioned in the Chair's report.  Third, was a need 
for clarity regarding the decision that would be ta ken at the level of the General Council.  Not to 
prejudge that decision, Egypt believed that once th e Chair had transmitted his report as an annex to 
the Work Programme, it should be adopted, approved,  or endorsed by the General Council.  In this 
respect, his delegation wished to know what reco mmendation the Chair would transmit with the report 
to the General Council.   
30. In conclusion, he wished to stress that the exercise in preparing the Work Programme had 
shown that there could be some differences in terms of substance on Aid for Trade.  This exercise and 
the differences that arose during the consultation process should not become a precedent in undermining the mandate of the CTD which was the WTO focal point for discussions on Aid for 
Trade.  This would give a negative sign that, at the level of CTD, countries did not manage to have an 
agreement on an Aid-for-Trade Work Programme. 
31. The representative of Brazil
 expressed her delegation's appreciation for the inclusive manner 
in which the Chair had conducted consultations with respect to the preparation of the revised draft 
Work Programme.  These consultations – as well as the hard work done by the Secretariat – had 
allowed for a far more balanced and improved text than the origin al version.  However, although 
Brazil was pleased to see that many of the changes it had requested had been incorporated in the text,  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
 Page 7 
 
 
  her delegation wished nevertheless to reiterate its pref erence that softer language be used in reference 
to the Paris Principles. 
32. Echoing previous speakers, the representative of Ecuador  also wished to acknowledge the 
transparent manner in which the Chair had conducted consultations as well as the work carried out by 
the Secretariat to prepare the revised draft Wo rk Programme.  The Chair had taken into account 
Member's comments to coordinate convergences wh ich, in Ecuador's view, should be addressed by 
the CTD.  The revised document took into account the concerns of all Members and also made 
reference to the minimum expectations of developing  countries.  However, Ecuador regretted the fact 
that the document being considered at the present meeting was the preferred version of the Work 
Programme for the reasons explained by the Chair in  his introduction.  As Egypt had pointed out, the 
document was a consolidation of the role of the CTD which was the forum for conducting ongoing 
political discussion among beneficiaries and donors to find the necessary convergence and achieve 
consensus on Aid for Trade which was a very importa nt issue for developing countries.  To facilitate 
the CTD's work, he therefore sugg ested that, with regard to the Aid-for-Trade initiative, the Work 
Programme be annexed as an addendum to the CT D's Annual Report and submitted by the Chair to 
the General Council.  He recalled that the original intention had been to adopt the Work Programme.  
Ecuador therefore believed that the process with re gard to the Aid-for-Trade Work Programme should 
be consistent with what had been done for ex ample with the report and recommendations of the 
Aid-for-Trade Task Force which the General Council had taken note of and e ndorsed.  In conclusion, 
he reiterated Ecuador's willingness to follow the mandate as outlined in th e Work Programme and 
hoped that the Chair could clarify the issues raised by Egypt. 
33. The representative of Cameroon, on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) 
Group , thanked the Chair for his efforts in draftin g the Work Programme.  Recalling that the ACP 
Group represented the largest group in the CTD, he wi shed to express concern about the direction that 
discussion might take on the draft Work Programme , particularly when the Group had thought the 
document had been finalized.  Without prejudging what  the Chair might eventually say, he said that 
the ACP Group would like to see the document impl emented as soon as possible.  In order to avoid 
any controversy – and the report of the previous CTD meeting did not appear to indicate that there was any – he asked the Secretariat to recall the work practice that was usually followed in such cases.   
34. The representative of China
 expressed appreciation for the consultation process in which it 
had actively participated, and also thanked the Secr etariat for its work.  As Brazil had said, China 
believed that the text tabled at the present mee ting was much more balanced and China would work 
from that basis.  Having said that, China did have  some concerns, as already explained at previous 
meetings, and most recently at the last General Council meeting, about the various movements by 
some Members to play down the importance of Ai d for Trade and the commitments of developed 
members as well as the role of the WTO.  China also had similar concerns to Brazil about the 
references to the Paris Principles and requested that these be reflected in the report of the meeting.  
Sharing the comment made by Cameroon on behalf of the ACP Group, China said that it, too, looked 
forward to a rapid and early implementation of the Wo rk Programme.  Finally, he wished to reiterate 
China's readiness to participate in and contribute to  the important Aid-for-Trade work that would be 
conducted over the next two years. 
35. The representative of El Salvador  said her delegation supported the statement made by 
Dominica on behalf of the SVEs.  Although El Salvador favoured the adoption of the Work 
Programme by the CTD, it nevertheless took note of the Chair's explanation and understood that this 
was not necessary.  El Salvador understood, too, th at efforts needed to be focussed on implementing 
the Work Programme in an effective manner.  With regard to the amendments the Chair had 
mentioned, El Salvador did not have any additi onal comments to make and therefore could support 
the document that had been submitted to the CTD.   However, her delegation shared many of the 
comments that had been made by other delegations, including the questions raised about the process.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
Page 8  
 
  Like others, El Salvador, therefore looked forward to clarifications in this respect.  In conclusion, she 
thanked both the Chair's and Secretariat' s efforts in respect to this initiative. 
36. The representative of Pakistan
 requested information about th e knowledge network referred to 
in the Work Programme which would be created  to seek to actively disseminate the knowledge 
generated on good practices to the benefit of the broader Aid-for-Trade community.  She asked how 
the network would be implemented, and whether wo rk had already been done on this or whether 
proposals would be sought from Members. 
37. Referring to China's comments and the concern it had with regard to the possible playing 
down of the  importance of Aid for Trade and the co mmitments of developed members, the 
representative of Norway  wondered whether these related to her delegation's comments made at 
previous meetings about involving emerging donors and having focus also on South-South 
cooperation.  She wished to stress that, as men tioned at the 3 November CTD meeting, there had 
never been an intention on Norway's part to shif t responsibility.  On the contrary, Norway believed 
that Aid for Trade should be a partnership invol ving all donors – including emerging donors – and 
that the role of South-South cooperation should also be taken into account in the Aid-for-Trade 
initiative. 
38. In response to Norway's concer n, the representative of China  pointed out that China's 
comments had merely been an expression of a gene ral feeling among developing Members that there 
was a tendency to highlight the role of South- South cooperation while trying to play down the 
existing and long-standing commitments of developed Members. 
39. The Chairman  then gave the floor to the Secretaria t to clarify some of the issues raised. 
40. The Director, Development Division , profusely thanked the Members for their participation in 
finalising the Aid-for-Trade Work Programme and for the enormous amount of time given by the 
Chairman in the consultation process on this i ssue.  Responding on his own understanding and 
responsibility to the questions, he clarified that transmitting documents to the General Council under 
the responsibility of the Chairpersons was an establi shed practice.  However, even though these were 
transmitted on the Chair's responsibility, the document,  including in this case, was clearly a product of 
the work done in the Committee.  He said that the revised Aid-for-Trade Work Programme clearly 
reflected a broad level of convergence, a broad le vel of agreement and a broad level of comfort 
amongst the Members.  On the second point which ha d been raised relating to the reflection in the 
Chair's oral report to the General Council of some of  the issues raised by Members, he said that this 
would largely be the prerogative of the Chair.  Howeve r, he felt that the Chair might find it difficult to 
reflect everything that had been said and there would be a risk, if he went in that direction, of his 
statement not reflecting a few things.  He added that, as it was, the Members would have an opportunity to review the indicative calendar of Ai d-for-Trade events, the Work Programme and its 
implementation, during the annual debate on Aid for Trade in the General Council.  On the third 
point, relating to what the General Council would do with the document forwarded to it, the Director 
of the Development Division clarified that he was not  really in a position to say this with certainty.  
Going by what had been done in the past, howev er, it would seem that since the Work Programme 
would be annexed to the addendum to the CTD's repo rt to the General Council then, like other reports 
of the CTD, it would be taken note of and adopted by the General Council.  On the fourth point that 
had been raised, about the CTD being the focus of th is work, he said that it went without saying that 
the CTD would continue to be the forum where this kind of work related to Aid for Trade would be 
carried out.  Finally, on the question raised by Pakist an about the knowledge networ k, he said that this 
was something that UNDP had been working on and where a lot of progress had been made.  UNDP had a few more final loops to tie, including one of  funding.  What could be done, in keeping with 
Pakistan's earlier suggestion, was that a comprehensive feedback on all issues, including on the knowledge network, be provided at the first meeting of the CTD on Aid for Trade in 2010.  WT/COMTD/AFT/M/13 
 Page 9 
 
 
  41. The representatives of Egypt  and Ecuador  thanked the Secretariat for the clarifications and 
requested that the discussion and the clarification by the Secretariat be put formally on the record of 
the meeting. 
42. The Chairman  informed that the Work Programme would be issued as document 
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/16 and that a reference to it woul d appear in an addendum to the CTD's Annual 
Report to the General Council.  The addendum woul d be presented at the General Council on 17-18 
December under the agenda item "Review of WTO Activities" and he would introduce the addendum 
at the meeting.  The consultation process had been long but he believed that it had been a positive one 
and the Work Programme had been greatly enhanced  by Member's active participation.  Without a 
doubt, the focus of the CTD on Aid for Trade would re main.  He added that the only victim in the 
process had been his time but that he was highly appreci ative of the interest that had been so broadly 
expressed in Aid for Trade.  As stated in his in troduction, genuine commitment and engagement had 
emerged in the process.  There was a fundamental convergence of views that effective Aid for Trade 
enhanced the growth prospects and reduced poverty in developing countries, complemented 
multilateral trade reforms and distributed the glob al benefits more equitably across and within 
developing countries.  In conclusion, he said that  the Work Programme was further evidence that the 
Aid-for-Trade initiative had matured into a pa rtnership.  This bode well for the successful 
implementation of the Work Programme and for main taining the momentum that had been generated 
to date on Aid for Trade.  
43. The Committee took note  of the statements made. 
C. ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SECRETARIAT  
44. The Secretariat, speaking under "Other Business" , announced that the delegation of France 
had informed the Secretariat that it planned to make a presentation on its Aid-for-Trade strategy on 
Monday, 7 December and that an information note provi ding logistical details would be issued in due 
course. 
45. The meeting was adjourned . 
__________