RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/W/14/Add.1
8July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2625)
Original: English Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Seventh Session
12July1996
REPORT ONTECHNICAL COOPERATION
Addendum
Astatus report oftechnical cooperation activities wascirculated totheCommittee onTrade
andDevelopment indocument WT/COMTD/W/14. Atthemeeting oftheCommittee on7June1996,
several Members requested further information concerning thedifferent technical cooperation activities.
Thepresent addendum responds tothisrequest.
InthedocumentpresentedtotheCommitteeitwasemphasizedthattheWTOexercisedflexibility
tobesttailor thetechnical cooperation activities totheneeds andpriorities ofindividual countries,
groups ofcountries orregions, taking intaccount theirlevelofdevelopment. Thisflexibility canbe
exercised through avariety ofinstruments thattheWTO hasatitsdisposal fordelivering suchassistance,
including seminars, workshops, technical missions, briefing session, andtraining through tradepolicy
courses. Theintention istorespond specifically totherequirements ofMembers bothonthecontents
andontheformat.
Each typeofactivity differs innature andinduration, andisdetermined onacasebycase
basis. While some activities, bytheirverynature, arecarried outinthecountry orregion concerned,
others takeplace attheWTO headquarters. Except fortraining courses, thedifferent activities carried
outabroad havesimilar human resource implication, generally twoWTO officials participating ina
given mission. Thefinancial resources involved aredirectly related totheduration andthegeographical
location oftheactivity.
Themain typeofactivities canbesummarized asfollows:
1. Seminars areorganized onanational orregional levelandtheirprogrammes areeither general
orspecialized. Some seminars maycover abroad range ofaspects ofthemultilateral trading
systemincludingthefunctioningoftheWTOandtheAgreements,UnderstandingsandDecisions
which resulted fromtheUruguay Round negotiations. Others mayfocus onanarrowly defined
subject, e.g.customs matters, anti-dumping, subsidies andcountervailing measures. Seminars
generally lastsome threetofiveworking daysdepending onwhether itisspecialized orgeneral.
2. Workshops generally focus ononeparticular areaoftrade policy andaimatdeepening the
understanding ofofficials whoholdresponsibilities inthearea. Inaddition totheoretical
explanations ofthesubject, workshops haveapractical orientation, e.g.through casestudies
andsimulations tofacilitate theimplementation oftheUruguay Round commitments andthe
enforcement ofMember 'srights andobligations under theWTO Agreements. Theduration
ofworkshops varyandgenerally lastbetween twodaysandoneweek. Workshops canbe
heldeither inGeneva orabroad.WT/COMTD/W/14/Add.1
Page2
3. Thepurpose oftechnical missions isonehand, toassist countries indrafting andpreparing
legislation, regulations andnotification requirements and,ontheother hand, tofacilitate
understanding ofissues sothatbenefits canmaterialize, bothinterms oftaking advantage of
newmarket opportunities andinterms offuller participation inthemultilateral decision making
process.
4. Briefing sessions aregenerally heldforGeneva-based delegations andvisiting officials ofleast-
developed countries, developing countries andeconomies intransition including those inthe
process ofaccession. These briefings areprovided either toindividual delegations ortoseveral
delegations atonetime. Asindicated inthemain document, briefing sessions areimportant,
notonlybecausetheyallowtoaddressspecificconcerns,butalsobecausetheyassureafollow-up
ofmissions, seminars andworkshops thatareheldinthedifferent countries. Moreover, it
allows smaller delegations thatdonothavethecapacity toattend allWTO meetings aswell
asMembers thatarenotrepresented inGeneva, tobebriefed andup-dated onrecent
developments inareas ofinterest tothem.
5. Trade policy courses, including special courses, aimatenhancing participants 'understanding
inabroad range oftrade andtrade-related issues covered bythemultilateral trading system,
international trade lawandtrade policy. Until now, theyhavemostly beenheldinGeneva
aspartoftheGATT/WTO training activities. Under theterms ofsome ofthenewprogrammes,
national andregional training activities willalsobecarried out,inparticular under theIntegrated
Technical Assistance Programme forAfrican countries andthetraining programme forPacific
Island countries.
_______________________________________________________
AttachedisalistofalltechnicalcooperationactivitiesheldbetweenJanuary1995andMay1996.
Dataispresented inaregional breakdown, withrespect tothetypeofactivities covered (national and
regional seminars, technical missions, workshops andconferences). There isalsoindication ofthe
main subjects covered andoftheWTO Divisions andnumber ofofficials having participated.
Theabbreviations usedfortheidentification oftheWTO Divisions arethefollowing:
ACC - Accessions Division
AG - Agriculture andCommodities Division
DEV - Development Division
IP - Intellectual Property andInvestment Division
LAD - Legal Affairs Division
MA - Market Access Division
RULES - Rules Division
TCTD - Technical Cooperation andTraining Division
TEXT - Textiles Division
TSD - Trade inServices Division
TE - Trade andEnvironment DivisionWT/COMTD/W/14/Add.1
Page 9TYPE OF
ACTIVITY/
YEARAFRICA ASIA EUROPE LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN MIDDLE EAST OCEANIA TOTAL
FOR THE
YEARCOUNTRY DATE SUBJECT/
DIVISION/
NO.OFOFFICIALSCOUNTRY DATE SUBJECT/
DIVISION/
NO.OFOFFICIALSCOUNTRY DATE SUBJECT/
DIVISION/
NO.OFOFFICIALSCOUNTRY DATE SUBJECT/
DIVISION/
NO.OFOFFICIALSCOUNTRY DATE SUBJECT/
DIVISION/
NO.OFOFFICIALSCOUNTRY DATE SUBJECT/
DIVISION/
NO.OFOFFICIALS
ETHIOPIA,
44ECA
COUNTRIES14-16/2 COMMITTEE OF
EXPERTS AND
FIRST SESSION OF
AFRICAN
MINISTERSPHILIPPINES,
18COUNTRIES18-19/1 WIPO SYMPOSIUM
ONTRIPS
(TCTD) (IP)
(3) (1)
SOUTH
AFRICA,
18COUNTRIES17-19/4 WIPO SYMPOSIUM
ONTRIPSCHINESE
TAIPEI22-24/4 MULTILATERAL
TRADE SYSTEM/
URUGUAY
ROUND, TEXTILES
AND CLOTHING
(IP) (TEXT)
(1) (1)
TOTAL 1995-1996
1.1-31.12.1995 20 18 17 16 6 2 79
1.1-31.5.1996 15 9 4 5 2 0 35