RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/W/14
15May 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1896)
Original: English Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Sixth Session
24May 1996
REPORT ONTECHNICAL COOPERATION
1. Introduction
Aspart oftheinformal discussions related totheestablishment ofguidelines ontechnical
cooperation, theSecretariat wasrequested toprovide detailed information ontechnical cooperation
activities carried outbytheWorld Trade Organization. Relevant information wasprepared in1995
fortheFourth Session oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment (WT/COMTD/W/12) andon
Training Activities, fortheGeneral Council inDecember 1995 (WT/L/108). Thepresent note aims
atproviding comprehensive supplementary information onpastandplanned activities inthefield of
technical cooperation andtraining.
II. Main Features ofTechnical Cooperation intheWTO
Theestablishment oftheWTO andthenewmultilateral trading system thatemerged from the
Uruguay Round negotiations, hascertain implications forthetechnical cooperation thatisprovided
todeveloping countries andtoeconomies intransition, both interms ofrequirements andthewayin
which assistance isdelivered. Thepresent activities already largely takeaccount ofthechanging trading
environmentandemergingnewrequirements.Flexibilityisexercisedintechnicalcooperationprogrammes
tobesttailor theactivities totheneeds andpriorities ofindividual countries, group ofcountries or
regions. Atthesame time, thescope oftechnical cooperation activities hasincreasingly been broadened,
covering thelargest number ofcountries, andbecome more specific, dealing with thewidest range
oftechnical issues.
Technical cooperation intheWTO Secretariat isguided bythefundamental objective toassist
recipient countries intheir understanding andimplementation ofagreed international trade rules, in
achieving their fuller participation inthemultilateral trading system andensuring alasting, structural
impact ontherecipient country, bydirecting allinstruments towards human resource development
andinstitutional capacity building. Long-term programmes aredesigned, ensuring thatallcountries
canbecovered inasystematic way. Moreover, acomprehensive approach isfollowed, covering training
through trade policy courses, seminars, workshops, briefing sessions andtechnical missions inorder
tocontribute toabetter understanding oftheWTO rules andtofacilitate their implementation. Technical
cooperation activities arelargely demand driven. Afollow-up oftechnical cooperation isincreasingly
partoftheprogrammes soastoensure long lasting relations with beneficiary countries.
This trend towards geographic expansion andincreasing thematic specialization underscores
theneed tocollaborate closely with other international organizations. Concerted efforts arebeing
undertaken tobetter coordinate WTO activities with other agencies, inparticular inmapping outjoint
technical assistance programmes with ITCandUNCTAD. Contacts areestablished ontheoperational
level between theagencies, both inGeneva andduring missions, toensure making bestuseofavailable
expertise andlimited human andfinancial resources.
Also, more attention inthetechnical cooperation activities isgiven totheroleoftheprivate
sector inthedevelopment process. Efforts areundertaken toincrease thenumber ofparticipants
representing theprivate sector intheseminars/workshops. Specific attention isgiven tothequestionWT/COMTD/W/14
Page 2
ofidentification ofnewmarket opportunities andscope forproduct diversification byproviding data
andrelevant analytical material. Inaddition, theWTO isdirectly associated with thedissemination
ofthebusiness guide byITC, which explicitly focuses onthepotential benefits forandthecontribution
oftheprivate sector tothemultilateral trading system.
III. Funding ofTechnical Cooperation andTraining
Thefunds provided bytheregular WTO budget fortechnical cooperation andtraining activities
have been supplemented byadditional funds provided bysome Members forspecific activities and
programmes. Some ofthese funds have been earmarked forspecial courses, including Trade Policy
Courses forEastern andCentral European andCentral Asian Countries (financed bySwitzerland over
thelast6years, andamounting toSF321,000 in1995), Special Trade Policy Courses forofficials
from Belarus, theRussian Federation andUkraine (financed bytheUnited States in1994 and1995,
atSF329,335 for1995) andaspecial WTO Trade Policy Course forofficials from Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyz Republic, financed bytheUnited States Agency forInternational Development in1996.
Separately, special funds have been provided bysome countries tocover expenditure fortrade policy
courses groups onstudy tours.
Inaddition, anumber ofprojects andprogrammes oftechnical cooperation arenow financed
through special funds, provided bysome Members, inorder tofocus ontheneeds ofdifferent regions
andgroups ofcountries andinsome cases onspecific subjects. Japan hasmade special contributions
tofinance tworegional seminars inAsia (in1995 and1996, amounting toSF242,000); Norway has
provided US$2.5m fortheestablishment ofaWTO Trust Fund fortheLeast Developed Countries
andtobeused over thenext three years; theEuropean Union isfunding aseries ofregional seminars
ontheUruguay Round forACP countries with atotal cost ofECU 1.1m; andNew Zealand has
committed NZ$ 200,000 tobeused foractivities with theForum Island Member Countries over the
nexttwoyears. Other sources ofspecial funds have included theAsian Development Bank which has
financed aTraining Workshop onAnti-Dumping andCountervailing Measures forAsian Developing
Countries; theIBRD which funded aProject onSafeguards, Anti-Dumping andCountervailing Duties
Mechanism forEgyptian officials andNorway, which hasfinanced aWorkshop onAnti-Dumping and
Countervailing Duty Investigations forCountries inTransition.
AnimportantnewtendencyinthefundingofWTOofficialsparticipationinseminars,workshops
andconferences isthattheexpenditures have increasingly been covered bythehost, thus implying
savings intheregular budget. 1995 wasthefirst year when such asituation arose onanimportant
scale andmayberelated tothecoming intoforce oftheWTO. Details onactual expenditures in1995,
including Technical Cooperation andTraining activities, willbeprovided intheDirector General 's
financial report, tobedistributed toMembers forconsideration bytheBudget Committee after the
approval oftheexternal auditor.
IV. Technical Cooperation Activities (1995-96): Institution andCapacity Building
Regional Distribution ofTechnical Cooperation Activities
Since thecreation andentering intoforce oftheWorld Trade Organization inJanuary 1995,
atotal of104technical cooperation activities have been organised, ofwhich 79were heldin1995 and
25inthefirstfourmonths of1996. These activities were held in63countries, with over onehundred
beneficiary countries participating, thereason forthisbeing thatseveral activities were organised at
thesub-regional orregional level, covering participants from different countries inoneseminar, e.g.
APEC, ASEAN, CARICOM, ALADI, ACP-EU-WTO regional seminars. Since thecreation ofthe
WTO, technical cooperation missions have covered atotal of478mission days.WT/COMTD/W/14
Page 3
Table1givesaregionalbreakdown,showingthatwhilemajoreffortshavebeendirectedtowards
assisting African countries, with atotal of32activities held inAfrica, activities forcountries inother
regions have been maintained. Africa willcontinue tobecovered inlarge measure under specific
programmes. Technical cooperation activities carried outinother regions have included 23inAsia,
20inEurope, 19inLatin America andtheCaribbean.
Table 1
Technical Cooperation Activities perRegion
AREAS 1995 1996* TOTAL
AFRICA 20 12 32
ASIA 18 5 23
EUROPE 17 3 20
LATIN AMERICA AND
CARIBBEAN16 3 19
MIDDLE EAST 6 2 8
OCEANIA 2 0 2
TOTAL 79 25 104
*01/01 -30/04
With respect tothetype ofactivity covered bytheWTO, Table 2shows thatthemajority of
activities consisted ofnational seminars (38), regional seminars (25), technical missions (20), and
participation orcontribution totechnical-cooperation workshops andconferences (21). Africa has
benefitted from thelargest number ofnational seminars (10) andtechnical missions (13). InAsia,
most ofthetechnical cooperation activities consisted ofregional seminars (9)outofatotalof25regional
seminars. Most oftheWorkshops andConferences were heldinEurope (10), and(8)national seminars
were alsoheld inthatregion. Anequal number ofregional andnational seminars were held inLatin
America andtheCaribbean (8). TheMiddle East mostly hadnational seminars (4),corresponding
tohalfoftheactivities undertaken inthatarea. Oceania hadtwotechnical missions. Itwould thus
appear thatwhile thetype ofactivity changed perregion, each region hasbeen covered byavariety
ofactivities.WT/COMTD/W/14
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Table 2
Technical Cooperation Activities perType
AREA
TYPE OFACTIVITIESAFRICA ASIA EUROPELATIN AMER.
andCARIBB.MIDDLE
EASTOCEAN. TOTAL
NATIONAL
SEMINAR108 8 8 4 0 38
1995 7 7 8 7 4 0 33
1996 3 1 0 1 0 0 5
REGIONAL
SEMINAR5 9 2 8 1 0 25
1995 3 8 1 6 0 0 18
1996 2 1 1 2 1 0 7
TECHNICAL
MISSION13 2 0 2 1 2 20
1995 10 1 0 2 1 2 16
1996 3 1 0 0 0 0 4
WORKSHOP/
CONFERENCE/
SYMPOSIUM4 4 10 1 2 0 21
1995 0 2 8 1 1 0 12
1996 4 2 2 0 1 0 9
TOTAL 32 23 20 19 8 2 104
1995 20 18 17 16 6 2 79
1996 12 5 3 3 2 025
*01/01 -30/04
Implementation ofWTO Obligations
Themajority oftechnical cooperation activities (Table 3)related inacross-cutting manner to
theMultilateral Trading System andtheUruguay Round (26), followed bymore specialised activities,
including onServices (11), Notification Requirements (9),TRIPS (9)andRules (9).Anumber of
technical cooperation missions assisted officials inthecapitals ofleast-developed countries andsmaller
developing countries inthepreparation ofSchedules ofConcessions onGoods andCommitments in
Services (8). Furthermore, theactivities covered abroad range ofother technical issues, including
theHarmonizedSystem,CustomsValuation,RulesofOrigin,Agriculture,theSanitaryandPhytosanitary
Agreement, Trade andEnvironment. Most WTO Divisions have been associated with thetechnical
cooperation activities, thusallowing countries tobestbenefit from available expertise intheSecretariat.WT/COMTD/W/14
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Table 3
Technical Cooperation Activities perSubject
SUBJECT DIVISION 1995-1996*
MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM ACCESSION, LEGAL AFFAIRS, MARKET
ACCESS, RULES, SERVICES, TECHNICAL
COOPERATION, INT.PROP. AND INV., TEXT.26
SERVICES SERVICES 11
NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS TECHNICAL COOPERATION 9
TRIPS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND
INVESTMENT9
RULES (DUMPING, AD, SUBS.&CVD) LEGAL AFFAIRS, RULES 9
SCHEDULES AGRICULTURE, MARKET ACCESS,
TECHNICAL COOPERATION, SERVICES8
AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE, TECHNICAL COOPERATION 6
SPS AGRICULTURE 5
GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND
INVESTMENT4
TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT 4
HARMONIZED SYSTEM MARKET ACCESS 3
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT COURSE LEGAL AFFAIRS 2
TBT TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT 2
RULES OFORIGIN MARKET ACCESS 1
TEXTILES AND CLOTHING TEXTILES &CLOTHING 1
*01/01 -30/04
Notifications
InMay 1995, theTechnical Cooperation andTraining Division organized aWorkshop on
Notification Requirements oftheGATT/WTO legal system. Asecond Workshop onnotifications was
organized inFebruary 1996 (Table 4).Theobjective wastocontribute toabetter understanding of
notification requirements andtohelp WTO Members discharge their obligations inamore effective
way. TheWorkshops were primarily intended fortrade policy officials from developing countries,
butthemeetings were alsoopen toofficials from other Members andtocountries intheprocess of
accession. TheWorkshops included practical anddetailed presentations andwritten documentation
andindicative notification formats were made available. Onedayineach workshop wasdevoted to
individual consultations byparticipants with Secretariat officials responsible fornotifications under
thevarious Agreements. Intotal, 155participants took partinthetwoWorkshops, representing over
60countries.
Inaddition tothetwoworkshops, explanations onnotification requirements have been provided
incountry missions, aswellasinregional seminars. Thetotalnumber ofcountries inwhich notification
requirements were addressed wasaround twenty. Inaddition, thisarea isregularly covered inthe
assistance provided toGeneva based delegations. Some ofthese countries have, subsequently, madeWT/COMTD/W/14
Page 6
notifications andthecompliance ratewillincrease further asaresult ofimproved understanding of
therequirements andtheprocedures involved.
Asaresult ofrequests made byMembers attheworking group onnotification requirements,
ahandbook iscurrently being developed forconsideration bythegroup toassist Members inresponding
totheir notification obligations. Such ahandbook would include sections containing, inter alia,
information on:(i)listings ofnotification obligations (WT/COMTD/W/1/Add.1); (ii)guidelines for
thepreparation ofthenotifications; and(iii)allformats developed fortherespective agreements.
Table 4
Workshop onNotification Requirements
Description Number of
ParticipantsNames ofCountries which Participated
First Workshop on
Notification
Requirements
16-17 May 1995103
(from 60
countries)Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam,
Bulgaria, Cameroon,Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, ElSalvador,
Estonia, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala,
Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica,
Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Macau, Madagascar, Malaysia,
Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama,
Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Republic ofKorea, Romania,
Senegal, Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain,
Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
Second Workshop on
Notification
Requirements
13-14 February 199652
(from 42
countries)Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Cuba, Czech Republic,
Dominican Republic, Egypt, ElSalvador, Estonia, Ghana,
Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Latvia,
Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua,
Oman, Pakistan, People 'sRepublic ofChina, Peru, Philippines,
Poland, Republic ofKorea, Romania, Singapore, Slovak
Republic, Spain, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad &Tobago, Tunisia,
Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vietnam, Zimbabwe.
Dispute Settlement
Inaccordance with Article 27.3 oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing the
Settlement ofDisputes, theTechnical Cooperation andTraining Division jointly with theLegal Affairs
Division organized thesixth Special Training Course onDispute Settlement Procedures andPractices
from 12-15 September 1995 andtheseventh Course from 6-9February 1996. Theobjective wasto
brief andtrain officials from developed anddeveloping Members, including non-Members intheprocess
ofaccession, onthese matters. Theprogramme ofthese courses consisted oftheoretical lectures on
theGATT/WTO legal system, followed bypresentations onthedispute settlement procedures and
practices, withspecial emphasis onprovisions infavour ofdeveloping countries. Inaddition, itincluded
exercises oncase problems relating tothefundamental principles ofthemultilateral trading system
andasimulation ofpanel hearings. Atotal of63participants were registered forthese courses
(Table 5).WT/COMTD/W/14
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Inseveral cases, andinaccordance withthemandate given totheWTO Secretariat under Article
27.2 oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofDisputes, legal advice
hasbeenprovidedbytheTechnicalCooperationandTrainingDivision,throughaconsultant,toanumber
ofdeveloping countries.
Table 5
Dispute Settlement Courses
Description Number of
Participants
registeredNames ofCountries
registered
forParticipation
Sixth Special Training
Course onWTO
Dispute Settlement
Procedures and
Practices
12-15 September 199532 Algeria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte
d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Jamaica, Republic of
Korea, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay,
People 'sRepublic ofChina, Philippines, Romania, Russian
Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland,
Tunisia,Turkey, Venezuela.
Seventh Special
Training Course on
WTO Dispute
Settlement Procedures
andPractices
6-9February 199631 Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chile, Chinese Taipei,
Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Guatemala,
Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Madagascar,
Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway,
Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, SriLanka, Sweden,
Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Venezuela,
Briefing Sessions
BriefingsessionsforGeneva-baseddelegationsandvisitingofficialsofleast-developedcountries,
developing countries, economies intransition andcountries intheprocess ofaccession areorganized
onaregular basis. These briefings areprovided either toindividual delegations andofficials orin
theform ofbriefing sessions forseveral delegations. These activities constitute avery important aspect
oftechnical assistance andaddress specific concerns ofindividual orgroups ofcountries. They also
assure afollow-up ofmissions, seminars andworkshops thatareheld inthese countries.
Accession
TheSecretariat hasorganized technical missions toassist countries engaged intheaccession
process totheWTO andother countries thatarecontemplating accession. These missions focus on
advice andexplanations ofthebenefits ofthemultilateral trading system andonpractical andtechnical
issues relating toaccession. Data andinformation areprovided regarding issues intheaccession process
aswell asparticular assistance forcountries thathave sorequested, forthetechnical preparation of
theMemorandum offoreign trade, andinaccordance with theWTO 'srules inthisarea.WT/COMTD/W/14
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Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM)
During theperiod under consideration, technical assistance wasprovided toseveral developing
countries inthepreparation oftheir trade policy reviews, including Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Senegal, Uganda andZimbabwe. While thefrequency ofreviews
ofdeveloping andleast-developed countries islower thanfordeveloped countries, itrepresents amajor
exercise; thenumber ofrequests hasthusgradually increased. TheSecretariat isprepared toprovide
assistance inthisareatoallrequesting developing countries, inparticular African andleast-developed.
Provision ofTechnical Information
TheSecretariat hascontinued toprepare studies onindividual products ofinterest todeveloping
andleast-developed countries. Upon request, dataontrade flows, tariffs andnon-tariff measures have
often been made available. Information wasalsoprovided towards theassessment ofother countries '
offers inmarket access ingoods ofrelevance todeveloping countries 'export interests aswell asdata
designed tohelp them assess theimpact ontheir services trade ofspecific commitments onservices
made bydeveloped countries.
Inaddition, comprehensive studies ontheoutcome oftheUruguay Round forrequesting
individual countries orgroups ofcountries, aswellasbackground notes onspecific issues indifferent
areas ofthenegotiations, have been prepared.
V. Special Assistance toLeast-Developed Countries
Toensure theeffective participation ofLeast Developed Countries, there isaneed forparticular
assistance toenable them tofully grasp alldetails oftheWTO Agreements, andspecially those that
areofdirect interest tothem, tobring their legislation inlinewith international obligations, which
inturn willallow them tofully exercise their rights, andtoassist them inidentifying new market
opportunities. Their needs areboth ofaspecific andglobal nature, encompassing abroad range of
trade policy issues, which must beaddressed urgently. Themodalities forgiving substantive meaning
totheMinisterial Decision onMeasures inFavour ofLeast-Developed Countries areunder discussion
intheCommittee onLeast-Developed Countries andwill betaken onboard indesigning and
implementing technical cooperation activities.
In1995 andearly 1996, theWTO hascontinued andstrengthened itstechnical assistance to
least-developed countries, intheform oftechnical missions toprepare individual schedules ingoods
andcommitmentsinservicesaswellasseminarstoexplaintheresultsoftheUruguayRoundnegotiations
andtheWTO legal framework. Least-Developed Countries have benefited from atotal of14missions
totheir countries, comprising national seminars, oneregional seminar andtechnical missions. Atotal
of6technical missions focused onpreparing schedules, others covered bothspecific issues (Harmonized
System, notification requirements) andgeneral topics, including theUruguay Round andthemultilateral
trading system. Furthermore, data andtrade information were provided, including tariff evaluation
ofUruguay Round benefits andnewopportunities forexports ofindividual least-developed countries.
Inparallel tothese activities, many participants from thisgroup ofcountries have followed theregular
GATT/WTO trade policy courses which aredesigned togiveanin-depth knowledge oftheinternational
trading system.WT/COMTD/W/14
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Thepolicy lines followed forproviding technical assistance inorder tomeet thespecific and
general requests oftheleast-developed countries arethus two-fold:
- acontinuation ofimplementation oftechnical assistance programmes tothese countries,
tailoring them asmuch aspossible tomeet individual demands;
- developing newstrategies thatwould allow tofocus more explicitly ontheparticular
situation ofleast-developed countries ingeneral aswellasonaregional, sub-regional
and, where possible, onacountry bycountry level. Specific technical assistance
programmes have been designed tothateffect, taking intoaccount general andspecific
needs ofindividual countries, e.g.theNorway-funded WTO Trust Fund forLeast-
Developed Countries, orthe(partially related) Integrated Technical Assistance
ProgrammeforSelectedLeast-DevelopedandotherAfricanCountries.Theseinitiatives
help toaddress issues ofimmediate importance tothese countries, while atthesame
time developing longer term strategies, geared tohuman resource development and
institutional capacity building.
Taking intoaccount thatLLDCs have until 31December 1996 toratify andbecome WTO
Members under theterms oftheMarrakesh Agreement, special efforts have been undertaken bythe
Secretariat inassisting them intheir ratification process, notably byproviding dataandbackground
information which facilitate their domestic processes.
VI. Special Funded Projects andRegional/National Programmes
Since theestablishment oftheWorld Trade Organization, several initiatives have been taken
thatgive anewdimension totechnical cooperation. These initiatives aimataddressing theparticular
situation ofindividual countries orgroups ofcountries, andmostly arecomplemented bythefunding
ofaclearly defined setofactivities, thus considerably enlarging thescope ofsuch assistance. Some
ofthese initiatives arebuilt around close cooperation between theITC, UNCTAD andtheWTO and
reflect acommon concern toenhance theoverall efficiency andeffectiveness ofpolicy making in
delivering technical assistance todeveloping countries. They arealsoaneffort tobring together into
amore coherent framework arange ofactivities bythethree organizations already present intheir
mandates andwork programmes. Themain objectives andfeatures ofthese projects andprogrammes
canbesummarised asfollows:
i. Africa
- Technical Cooperation forAfrica intheMultilateral Trading System
AttheAfrican Ministerial Trade Conference ontheUruguay Round results held inTunis in
October1994,participatingcountriesemphasizedtheneedforandrequestedincreasedtechnicalassistance
byinternational agencies, specially theWTO/GATT. Inresponse tothisrequest, various initiatives
have been taken toaddress theparticular situation ofAfrica, including possible avenues andperspectives
forproduct andmarket diversification, aswell aspromoting thedevelopment ofnewforms ofjoint
action designed tohelp secure agreater share ofworld trade fortheAfrican continent.
Aprogramme wasestablished inclose cooperation between ITC, UNCTAD andtheWTO,
entitled "Technical Cooperation forAfrica intheMultilateral Trading System, Main Activities bythe
International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/ITC), theUnited Nations Conference onTrade andDevelopment
(UNCTAD) andtheWorld Trade Organization". Itseeks tomapoutabroad spectrum oftrade-related
technicalcooperationneedsAfricancountrieshave,andtoidentifyindividualinstitutionalresponsibilitiesWT/COMTD/W/14
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asperrespective mandates andcompetences aswell asareas ofcommon activity soastoavoid
duplication andturnitintocooperation. Itincludes short-term, medium-term andlonger-term elements.
Itcovers briefings fortrade officials inAfrica, assistance toimplement theresults oftheUruguay Round
withparticularemphasisonimplementingregulationsandlegislations,training,assistancetothebusiness
community inrespect ofidentification oftrade andmarket opportunities, anddiversification ofthe
export base.
- Integrated Technical Assistance Programme inSelected Least-Developed andother African
Countries
This initiative results from thecloser coordination ofwork thattheWTO hasbeen pursuing
with ITC, UNCTAD, astheDirector-General informed theGeneral Council inNovember 1995. It
respondstotheurgentneedsofleast-developedandotherAfricancountriestobeassistedintheexpansion
anddiversification oftheir trade andimprove their integration intothemultilateral trading system,
andtodemands bythethree organizations 'respective memberships forimproved coordination and
cooperationamongthem,inordertobothmaximisetheeffectivenessoftheoverallresultsandtoimprove
theutilization ofavailable resources.
This programme willbeundertaken initially ineight African countries: namely, four least
developed countries -Benin, Burkina Faso, Tanzania andUganda- aswellasthefourcountries visited
inJanuary 1996 bytheWTO Director General andtheITCExecutive Director -Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana,
Kenya andTunisia- asafollow uptothesaid visit. Particularly inthecase ofthelatter group of
countries, theelements ofthisintegrated programme willbeeffected onaselective basis reflecting
both individual needs andresources available. Inlight ofexperience intheconduct ofthisprogramme,
itsfurther development andextension toother African andleast developed countries isenvisaged for
execution intheshort andmedium term. Theobjective istoenhance thedevelopment prospects and
competitiveness ofAfrican andleast developed countries through increased participation ininternational
trade.
Theprogramme willbebased ontwofundamental themes:
• Close coordination atthedesign stage andparticularly intheconduct oftheprogramme among
thethree participating international organizations, i.e.WTO, UNCTAD andITC, alongside
thestrengtheningofrelationshipsonthesematterswiththeWorldBank,andUNDP (inparticular
making greater resort totheir respective field offices) aswell asother organizations;
• acombination oftechnical assistance activities directed towards human development and
institutional capacity building, particularly through theuse, ascollaborators andnotonly as
beneficiaries,oflocalinstitutionsandlocaltrainers,withaviewtoreachingasignificant,durable
impact.
- ACP-EU-WTO Regional Seminars
TheWTOisalsocollaboratingwiththeACPSecretariatandtheEuropeanUnion,whichprovides
thefunding ofaseries ofsub-regional seminars forACP countries in1996 (Table 6).They include
fivesub-regional seminars inAfrica, oneintheCaribbean andoneintheAsia-Pacific region. The
firsttwoofthese seminars have been carried out.Each seminar isattended onaverage bysome ten
countries, with fourhigh level participants percountry, representing both thepublic andprivate sector.
Activities inthese seminars involve theparticipation ofofficials from theWTO, ITC, theWorld Bank,
regionalorganisationsandtwooutsideconsultants,inadditiontostaffmembersfromtheEUCommission
andtheACP Secretariat. Theseminars provide detailed information onWTO obligations andassistWT/COMTD/W/14
Page 11
countries inidentifying new market opportunities inlight oftheir trading possibilities andneeds.
Moreover, theyinclude amodule onnotification requirements. Where practicable, follow-up activities
areprogrammedtoassistcountriesintheregiondischargingtheirWTOobligations,includingnotification
requirements.
Table 6
ACP/EU/WTO Regional Seminars
Gaborone (Botswana) 15-19 February 1996
Yaoundé (Cameroon) 4-8March 1996
Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)
(Asia-Pacific)17-21 June 1996
Georgetown (Guyana) (Caribbean) 8-12 July 1996
Accra (Ghana) 22-26 July 1996
Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) 16-21 September 1996
Kampala (Uganda) 14-18 October 1996
- WTO Trust Fund forTechnical Assistance
TheNorwegian Government hasmade acontribution ofUS$ 2.5m towards aWTO Technical
Assistance Fund forthebenefit primarily ofleast-developed countries, aswell asAfrican countries
asagroup. Asisreflected intheexchange ofletters between theWTO andtheNorwegian authorities,
themain purpose istohelp these countries build thehuman andinstitutional resources andexpertise
necessary toparticipate fully intheinternational trading system, andinparticular tobeinaposition
tomeet their WTO obligations andbenefit from thesystem. These funds willcover athree year
implementation period. TheWTO andtheNorwegian Government expect other countries tocontribute
tothisFund, thus enlarging itsscope. Interest hasalready been expressed byanumber ofcountries
tothateffect.
ii. Asia
-Two regional seminars fortwenty-two Asian developing countries have been financed through
avoluntary contribution bytheGovernment ofJapan; these were organized inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
inMarch 1995, andinManila, Philippines, inMarch 1996.
-New Zealand hascommitted funds totheWTO tobeused over thenext twofinancial years,
which should bedevoted totraining activities, encompassing assistance forPacific Island nations to
meet WTO obligations ortoimplement accession requirements. Afactfinding mission will be
undertaken inJune, inparallel with theACP-EU-WTO regional seminar inPort Moresby.WT/COMTD/W/14
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iii. Latin America andCaribbean
Asindicated, oneoftheACP-EU-WTO regional seminars willbeheldinGeorgetown inJuly.
Otherwise there currently isnospecial funding forprojects inLatin America andtheCaribbean; all
activities arecarried outunder theregular TCTD budget orcovered byspecial invitations.
iv. Eastern andCentral European andCentral Asian Countries
Most activities carried outinEastern andCentral European andCentral Asian Countries relate
totraining andcontain specially financed programmes. Inparticular, asnoted above, Switzerland and
theUnited States have made available funds forspecial training courses covering different countries
intheregion.
Inaddition, ineach oftheabove mentioned regions, there arecontacts with anumber of
institutions interested inorganizing technical assistance activities jointly with theWTO.
VII. Joint Technical Assistance with Other International Organizations
TheWTO technical assistance activities arebeing closely coordinated with anumber ofother
international organizations which provide technical assistance ontrade issues. TheWTO Secretariat
hasmade available theservices ofitsofficials forparticipation inseminars, workshops orcourses
sponsored byother organizations, inparticular theInternational Trade Centre, UNCTAD, theWorld
Bank, theIMF, andRegional Economic Commissions. Ithasalsocoordinated participation byWTO
officials inconferences andother events organized bythese international organizations.
VIII. Trade Policy Courses
TheWTOhascontinuedGATT'spracticeoforganizingtrainingcoursesfordevelopingcountries
ontrade policy, international trade lawandthemultilateral trading system (Table 7).Offered alternately
inEnglish, French andSpanish, thecourses areopen toofficials from developing countries, insome
cases including countries which were notGATT orareWTO Members. Thefirst1995 WTO course
for24officials washeld inFrench, from 23January to28April 1995. Thesecond 1995 course, in
English, included twenty-six officials andwasorganized from 28August to1December 1995. The
third 1996 course, inSpanish, washeld from 29January to3May andincluded 24officials. The
fourth 1996 course, inEnglish, isscheduled for26August to29November 1996. Courses address
theresults oftheUruguay Round andtherights andobligations ofWTO Members, have apractical
orientation andaredesigned tohelp officials prepare themselves forthetasks awaiting them intheir
national administrations. Theprogramme includes participation inseminars andgroup discussions,
aworkshop onnegotiating techniques andsimulated exercises forconducting trade negotiations and
forthesettlement ofdisputes.
Special courses areorganized forofficials from economies intransition. OneSpecial Trade
Policy Course forEastern andCentral European andCentral Asian Countries (thefifth ofthiskind)
andfinanced bytheSwiss Government, washeld in1995 andanother one(thesixth) istaking place
between 20May and19July1996. Amain consideration forholding thiscourse istheneed tofacilitate
effective participation ofthese economies inworld trade andtheconsolidation oftheir processes of
economic reform. Anadditional reason wastoprovide explanations andtraining toofficials from some
ofthese countries while intheir accession negotiations totheWTO. Attherequest andwiththefinancial
support oftheGovernment oftheUnited States ofAmerica, aSpecial Trade Policy Course (thesecond)
wasorganized forofficials from Belarus, theRussian Federation andUkraine (1May to13June 1995).WT/COMTD/W/14
Page 13
Inaddition, aspecial WTO Trade Policy Course for28officials from Kazakhstan andKyrgyz Republic,
alsofinanced bytheUnited States, washeld from 9to29April 1996.
Conclusion
With thecreation oftheWTO, technical cooperation andtraining activities have been given
anewdimension, partly byexpanding thenumber ofactivities both inwidth andindepth, andpartly
through thefunding ofspecial projects andprogrammes, designed forcertain regions and/or groups
ofcountries. This new approach allows theSecretariat toaddress more specifically concerns of
beneficiary countries andpermits ittobetter tailor technical cooperation activities according totheir
needs.
AnothernewfeatureoftechnicalcooperationintheWTOrelatestoenhancedeffortstocoordinate
activitieswithotherinternationalorganizations.Themainconsiderationistomakebetteruseofavailable
resources, expertise andknow how. These efforts arereflected intheprogrammes thathave been
designed, particularly forAfrican andleast-developed countries.
Special efforts aregeared towards theprivate sector, inview ofthecontribution itcanmake
totranslate thetheoretical benefits oftheUruguay Round intorealeconomic gains. TheWTO, jointly
with other organizations, iscommitted toassisting developing countries inidentifying new market
opportunities andscope forproduct diversification.
Insum, thenewmultilateral trading system offers abroad range ofnewchallenges foreconomic
operators andpolicy makers. TheWTO, through itstechnical assistance activities, willcontinue to
provide itsadvice andknow-how with aview tofacilitating participation ofitsMembers inthe
multilateral trading system andmaterializing economic benefits.WT/COMTD/W/14
Page 14
Table 7
Trade Policy Courses
Description Number of
ParticipantsNames ofCountries which Participated
Total number of
Participants inWTO
Regular Trade Policy
Courses from
December 1955 to
November 1995
PerRegion:
-Africa
-Asia
-Middle East
-Latin America and
Caribbean Area
-Europe1441
454
349
83
423
132128countries, 10organisations
48countries, 5organisations
30countries
10countries, 1organisation
27countries, 4organisations
13countries
First WTO Trade
Policy Course
23January 1995
to28April 1995
(French)24 Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Congo,
Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico,
Morocco, People 'sRepublic ofChina, Senegal, Syria, Togo,
Tunisia, Venezuela, Vietnam.
Second WTO Trade
Policy Course
28August 1995 to
1December 1995
(English)26 Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Egypt, ElSalvador, Ethiopia,
Gambia, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos PDR,
Malawi, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, People 's
Republic ofChina, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Sri
Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, Zimbabwe.
Third WTO Trade
Policy Course
29January 1996 to
3May 1996
(Spanish)24 Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador,
ElSalvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, ALADI.
Fourth WTO Trade
Policy Course
26August 1996 to
29November 1996
(English)25 provisional listofparticipants: Bangladesh, Barbados,
Cambodia, People 'sRepublic ofChina, Eritrea, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Korea,
Lesotho, Malaysia, Maldives, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Vietnam, Zambia, Caricom,
UN-ESCWA.WT/COMTD/W/14
Page 15
Fifth Special Trade
Policy Course for
Eastern andcentral
European andCentral
Asian Countries
22May to
21July 199525 Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia,
Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Former
Yug. Rep. ofMacedonia, Moldova, Uzbekistan.
Sixth Special Trade
Policy Course for
Eastern andCentral
European andCentral
Asian Countries
20May to
19July 199625 Albania, Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Estonia, Russian Federation, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyz
Republic, Lettonia, Lithuania, Former Yug. Rep. of
Macedonia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine.
Second Special Trade
Policy Course for
Belarus, Russian
Federation andUkraine
1May to13June 199524 Belarus (8),Russian Federation (8),Ukraine (8).
Special WTO Trade
Policy Course for
Kazakhstan andKyrgyz
Republic
9to29April 199628 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic.