  The
document was signed at the Asian Development Bank 35th Annual Meeting
of the Board of Governors, in Shanghai, China, preceding an ADB
seminar on the Doha Development Agenda negotiations and their
implications for developing Asia.
To
help member governments meet their multilateral trade challenges, the
WTO and the ADB will step up joint efforts working with members to
strengthen their participation in the multilateral trading system.
The
importance of capacity building was highlighted in the Doha
Ministerial Declaration, in which WTO Members sought to place the
priorities and interests of developing countries and least developed
countries at the heart of the WTO's work programme.
The
memorandum of understanding serves as a model for regional development
banks to support their borrowing member countries through technical
assistance and capacity building programmes that will allow them to
play a larger role in the Doha Development Agenda.
Under
the memorandum, the WTO and the ADB will work to establish joint
programmes to support, among other activities, regional and
subregional workshops and meetings, training courses, distance
learning courses and analysis of trade policy and multilateral
negotiations issues.
The
WTO and ADB will also consider cooperating on technical assistance
programmes to strengthen Asian and Pacific countries' capacity in
trade-related areas pertaining to the environment, competition,
government procurement, investment and trade facilitation.
In
recent years the WTO and the ADB have collaborated in numerous
activities, including with the participation of WTO officials as
lecturers in seminars and workshops organized by the ADB.
At
the 10th of May Seminar, Mr. Ravier, in his presentation on the WTO
strategic partnership with the ADB for trade-related technical
assistance and capacity building services to developing countries,
will highlight the fact that
“creative
thinking will help create strategic partnerships to leverage more
resources, to expand our joint activities and meet the technical
assistance expectations of developing and least-developed countries
highlighted in the Doha Ministerial Declaration”.
The
importance of capacity building was prioritized in the Doha
Development Agenda, on which WTO Members placed the interests of
developing and least-developed countries at the heart of the WTO's
work programme. Furthermore, Mr. Mike Moore, Director-General of the
WTO, has convened a meeting with heads of regional banks, funds and
other development organizations, in Geneva on 3 May 2002. He believes
that regional banks and funds can play an important role in helping
countries to meet the capacity building challenges of the Doha
Development Agenda. The WTO is already working closely with a number
of regional banks especially in the area of technical cooperation.
This meeting was an opportunity for the WTO to further develop our
cooperation with them in supporting countries to meet their WTO-related
capacity building challenges and to discuss how our respective
organizations can work more closely together. It was also an excellent
opportunity for these regional banks to explain to WTO Members and
heads of other regional organizations their important work in WTO-related
capacity building and to discuss possible avenues for future
cooperation.
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