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DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: AID FOR TRADE

Aid for Trade and the WTO work programme

Although the volume of aid for trade-related technical assistance and capacity building has been increasing steadily since the launch of the Doha Development Round, the need for further assistance has been widely recognized by the international community. In February 2005, G-7 Ministers called on the World Bank and the IMF to develop proposals for additional assistance to countries to ease adjustment to trade liberalization and to increase their capacity to take advantage of more open markets. Subsequently, in July 2005 Heads of State at the G8 Summit at Gleneagles agreed to increase help to developing countries to building their physical, human and institutional capacity to trade.

In December 2005, at the 6th Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong, the Ministerial Declaration endorsed the enhancement of the Integrated Framework and created a new WTO work programme on Aid-for-Trade. WTO Members gave the Director General a mandate to (i) create a Task Force to provide recommendations by July on how to operationalize Aid For Trade and (ii) to consult with Members, international organizations and development banks on mechanisms to secure additional financial resources.