WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/2
17 July 2003
(03-3884)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMITMENT BY MINISTERS TO FACILITATE AND
ACCELERATE THE ACCESSION OF THE LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Status Report by the Director-General
1. Paragraph 18 of the WTO Work Programme for LDCs (WT/COMTD/LDC/11), adopted by
Members in February 2002, mandates that a status report be submitted to the Fifth Ministerial
Conference on the "Implementation of the Commitment by Ministers to Facilitate and Accelerate the
Accession of the LDCs".  This report, drafted in response to this mandate, is being forwarded throughthe General Council, for Ministers consideration at the Fifth Ministerial Conference.  It supplements
the information contained on accession of LDCs in WT/MIN(03)/1.
2. Important progress has been made in accelerating the accession of LDCs to the WTO since
the Doha Ministerial Conference, where Ministers stressed the importance they attached to concluding
accession negotiations, in particular those of LDCs, "as quickly as possible" and agreed to work to"facilitate and accelerate accession negotiations with acceding LDCs".
1
3. Of the 49 countries classified by the United Nations as least-developed, 10 are in the process
of accession (Bhutan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Ethi opia, Lao P.D.R, Nepal, Samoa, Sudan, Vanuatu,
and Yemen).  Most of these accessions have until very recently been at an intermediate or initial
stage.  Over the past two years following the Doha Ministerial Conference, significant efforts have
been made to change this picture. Accession negotiations for Cambodia and Nepal are nearing
completion.  The accession of Samoa has made remarkable progress, and could be concluded by theend of this year.  We hopefully shall soon have the pleasure to welcome the first LDCs as new
Members to have acceded under the terms of Article XII of the Marrakech Agreement.
4. A number of other LDCs' accessions have also been activated and accelerated.  The
accessions of Bhutan, Cape Verde, Lao PDR, and Sudan have gained momentum.  The first Working
Party meeting for Sudan took place in July 2003 in the lead-up to Cancún, thereby effectivelylaunching the accession negotiations, and accession Working Party meetings for Bhutan, Cape Verde,
and Lao PDR are expected to be held by early next year.  The state of play of individual accession
negotiations of LDCs can be referred to in the Annex of this report.
5. A three-pronged approach has been developed for the implementation of the Doha mandates
contained in paragraphs 9 and 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  First, significant work wasinitiated by the Sub-Committee on LDCs resulting in the Guidelines on the Accession of LDCs,
adopted by the General Council on 10 December 2002 (WT/L/508).  The adoption of the Guidelines
represents the willingness of WTO Members to show greater flexibility all around and, in particular,
on the issue of transition periods.  The flexibility shown by Members was matched by positive efforts
by the LDCs to provide precise plans to put in place WTO-related legislation and enforcementmechanisms.  Detailed action plans were submitted by acceding LDCs as an integral part of their
                                                     
1 Paragraphs 9 and 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1).WT/MIN(03)/2
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terms of entry.  WTO Members recognized the critical need for timely and focussed technical
assistance aimed at assisting acceding LDCs in achieving their commitments.  In application of the
Guidelines, Members appeared to exercise rest raint in seeking concessions and commitments in
market access, for example with regard to the partic ipation in the so-called zero-for-zero initiatives.
6. A very positive new development has been the more active engagement of Chairpersons of
Working Party meetings in the work of the Sub-Committee on LDCs.2  As a supportive measure
towards achieving greater focus in the deliberations of Members, background notes (Job(03)/87,
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/27 and WT/ACC/12) prepared by the Secretariat setting out the state of play in
individual accession processes of LDCs helped the Sub-Committee on LDCs to have a better
overview as well as accelerate individual accessions wherever possible.
7. The second front relates to measures taken by the Secretariat, in consultation and agreement
with Members, to streamline procedures and make them as transparent, predictable and open-ended aspossible.  As part of these efforts, the WTO Secretariat organized the first WTO Seminar on
Accessions in Geneva in July 2002.
3  This Seminar was well attended by WTO Members active in the
accession process as well as by acceding countries and provided a valuable opportunity for a mutual
exchange of views on the accession negotiations in a constructive manner.  This development was
highly welcomed by all.
8. A number of concrete steps have since been taken to facilitate accession negotiations.  The
number of formal Working Party meetings for LDCs has been reduced to an average of three or four
(the average figure for other acceding governments is six or seven).  In agreement with WTO
Members, a pragmatic approach to the conduct of negotiations has been developed, which puts greater
emphasis on focussed informal consultations betwee n interested Members and the acceding LDC with
a view to accelerating the accession process and lessening the financial and human resources burdens
of negotiations for LDCs.  The main problem concerns, however, the complex nature of WTO-related
obligations required for membership, particularly in the area of WTO-related legislation and
enforcement, and the need to create capacity in acceding LDCs to enable them to meet the challenge.
9. The third front, i.e. technical assistance, is therefore of critical importance.  A great deal of
energy and resources have been mobilized by the WTO over the past two years to provide technical
assistance to acceding governments, in particular LDCs.  From January 2001 to March 2003, acceding
LDCs participated in 107 different technical assistance activities organized by the Secretariat in
Geneva or at the national/regional level in the form of workshops, seminars, training courses and
technical missions.  These activities covered training and technical assistance on all aspects of WTO
Agreements.
10. In addition, ad hoc technical assistance has been provided upon request outside the WTO
Technical Assistance Plan.  Focused technical assistance was delivered both in capitals and from
Geneva to help the preparation of key documents and data needed for the accession process (Bhutan,
Nepal, Samoa, and Sudan).  The Integrated Fram ework (IF) process in Cambodia, Nepal and Yemen,
has identified assistance for WTO accession as a priority and consequently focussed, timely, and well-
coordinated assistance is being stepped up in these countries.
11. All together, WTO technical assistance activities have shown a very welcome increase from
past years, but the needs of LDCs, in particular, clearly demand that much more be done.
                                                     
2 Chairpersons of acceding LDCs were invited to br ief Members at the Twenty-Ninth and Thirty-Third
Sessions of the Sub-Committee. See WT/COMTD/LDC/M/29 and WT/COMTD/LDC/M/33.
3 The Concluding Remarks of the Seminar are annexed to WT/COMTD/LDC/M/29.WT/MIN(03)/2
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ANNEX
State of play of individual LDC's accession as of 15 July 2003
The current status of individual LDCs' accession is as follows:
A. POSSIBLE COMPLETION IN 2003
1. Cambodia
Cambodia's Working Party was established in December 1994, but the accession did not pick
up until mid-1999, when Cambodia submitted its Memorandum.  With the Geneva process formally
engaged, the process gained momentum.  Four formal Working Party meetings were organized
between May 2001 and April 2003, and informal consultations were held in June 2003 to accelerate
the process and clear the way for Cambodia's accession before the Cancún Ministerial Conference.The Working Party is expected to conclude its mandate at a final formal meeting on 22 July.
2. Nepal
Nepal's accession was inactive for some time.  The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade
Regime was received in final revised form in August 1998, more than nine years after Nepal's
application for membership first in the GATT and subsequently in the WTO.  Following this, workbegan with a first, very constructive meeting of the Working Party in May 2000 and a second one in
September 2002.  Important efforts have been made since then to accelerate Nepal's accession process
and ensure the best chances for completion by Cancún.
Following the visit of a Secretariat team in Apri l this year, the inputs needed to advance the
process to the concluding phase were received from Nepal (e.g. legislative action plans and revisedoffers on goods and services), making it possible for the Chairman of the Working Party,
Ambassador Pierre-Louis Girard, to hold a first seri es of consultations between a high-level Nepalese
delegation and WTO Members on 22-23 May 2003.  A second series of consultations will be held on
16 July.  Depending on the outcome of these consultations, and in particular on the rapid conclusion
of pending bilateral market access negotiations, Nepal's accession to the WTO could be concluded intime for the Cancún Ministerial Conference.
3. Samoa
Samoa's accession process has been progressing well.  The Working Party was established in
July 1998.  The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime was received 19 months later, and the
replies to questions raised by Members were submitted after another 18 months.  A first Working
Party meeting and first round of bilateral negotiations took place in March 2002.
A whole set of accession documents was received in April 2003, enabling the Secretariat to
put together a first version of the draft Working Party Report, circulated to Members on 12 June 2003.
Informal consultations will be held on 17 July, on the fringes of the Geneva Week, to discuss the draft
Report and bilateral negotiations.  The target is to conclude this accession this year.
4. Vanuatu
Contrary to many other LDC's accessions, Vanuatu's accession started in an expeditious
manner.  Vanuatu applied for membership in July 1995, submitted its Memorandum three and a half
months later and answers to the first round of questions after another six months, in May 1996.  TheWT/MIN(03)/2
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process then continued with several informal meet ings and consultations to minimize the resource
drain on Vanuatu.  The Working Party held its final meeting on 29 October 2001 in time for approval
by Ministers at Doha.  However, shortly before the Ministerial Conference, the Vanuatu authorities
informed the Secretariat that they were consider ing whether or not to accept this package.  This
accession could be completed in 2003 if the Government of Vanuatu provides approval or finalresponses with respect to the accession package negotiated and agreed in the Working Party.  The
Secretariat has contacted the authorities to ascertain their latest position.
B. A
CTIVATED AND INTERMEDIATE ACCESSIONS
1. Bhutan
Bhutan's Working Party was established in October 1999.  The Memorandum on the Foreign
Trade Regime was submitted only recently, in February 2003, i.e. more than three years after Bhutan's
request for accession.  Accession negotiations have no t yet started.  Bhutan is  currently answering the
first set of questions submitted by Members.  Depending on when the Secretariat receives Bhutan's
replies to Members' questions, a first meeting could be organized this year.
2. Cape Verde
The Working Party was established in July 2000.  Technical assistance was provided by
UNCTAD and USAID to help the Cape Verde's authorities put together the Memorandum on theForeign Trade Regime.  The Memorandum was received in early July 2003.  Consequently, the first
meeting of the Working Party could take place before the end of the year or early next year.
3. Lao PDR
The Working Party was established in February 1998 and the Memorandum on the Foreign
Trade Regime submitted in March 2001.  Lao PDR is now answering questions from Members on theMemorandum.  We have been informed that all questions from Members on the Memorandum had
been answered.  They are now to be adopted by the Council of Ministers and are expected to be
submitted to the Secretariat by the end of the year.  Should this be the case, we could target a first
Working Party meeting in early 2004.
A delegation from Lao PDR visited Geneva in early July and had a series of technical
meetings with operational divisions of the WTO and the ITC to help them identify technical
assistance needs and put together the required accession documents.
4. Sudan
Sudan applied for membership in 1995.   It submitted its Memorandum on the Foreign Trade
Regime some four years later in 1999, and replies to a first set of questions on the Memorandum were
received in November 2000.  Another two years elapsed before answers to a second set were
submitted, in January 2003, followed in April by additional documentation on agriculture, services,TBT/SPS, and TRIPS.  The first Working Party meeting was held on 11 July 2003.
5. Yemen
Yemen's Working Party was established in July 2000.  The preparation of the Memorandum
on the Foreign Trade Regime, which was circulated in November 2002, took over two years.
Yemen's authorities are now answering questions from Members.WT/MIN(03)/2
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C. ACCESSIONS AT INITIAL STAGES
1. Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the latest country to have applied for membership.  The Working Party was
established at the General Council meeting in February 2003.  We have indications that the
Memorandum would be sent to us shortly.  Should this be the case, a first Working Party meetingcould be organised early next year.
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