Workshop on Good Practice in SPS-Related Technical Cooperation

Increasing amounts of public money are being allocated to develop SPS capacity in developing countries. Donors and recipient countries alike expect this assistance to be used as effectively as possible. In 2005 a set of specific actions were agreed at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) — known as the Paris Principles — to improve the effectiveness with which development co-operation funds are provided and utilized.

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> Summary report of the STDF/OECD Workshop on Good Practice

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Application of the Paris Principles in the highly technical area of SPS-related technical cooperation was the subject of a workshop, organized by the STDF in collaboration with the OECD and the WTO Secretariat, in Geneva on 6 October. The workshop was attended by some 250 delegates to the SPS Committee including 60 persons funded by the WTO Secretariat and the Standard and Trade Development Facility (STDF).

The aim of the workshop was threefold:

(i) to review experiences related to good practice in SPS-related technical assistance projects in three pilot regions and identify elements of good practice that could be replicated in future assistance;

(ii) to discuss what is required from donors, development agencies and beneficiaries in order to disseminate and implement the identified good practices more widely; and

(iii) to discuss how to maximize the impact of SPS-related technical assistance on trade performance.

The workshop was organized as part of the STDF's coordination mandate, which encompasses the exchange of experiences and dissemination of good practice in relation to the provision and receipt of SPS-related technical cooperation. The one-day event helped to raise awareness about what works in SPS-related technical assistance, and identified aspects of good practice in project design, implementation, and the achievement of higher-order objectives that could be replicated to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of future assistance.

Background documents

> Good Practice in SPS-Related Technical Assistance an Overview and Synthesis of the Findings of STDF/OECD Research

Good Practice in SPS-Related Technical Cooperation Reports:
> East Africa Region Report
> Greater Mekong Sub-region: Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam
> Central America Sub-region: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama

Programme

6 October 2008

9.30	Opening Remarks
9.40	Overview of research and workshop objectives, Ms Marlynne Hopper, STDF Secretariat Background information on STDF research on good practice (G/SPS/GEN/816) Overview of issues Expected outputs from the workshop
10.00	Session 1: Good practice in SPS-related technical cooperation: conclusions from STDF research in three pilot regions Overview of research on good practice in East Africa Spencer Henson, Professor, International Food Economy Research Group, Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph, Canada (www.inferg.ca) > Presentation Overview of research on good practice in the Greater Mekong Delta Sub-Region Kees van der Meer, Consultant > Presentation Overview of research on good practice in Central America Jason Hafemeister, Consultant > Presentation Discussion Audio: Listen to Session 1 > help
12.00	Session 2: Good practice in SPS-related technical cooperation: lessons from Members' own experiences Break out sessions (by language group English, French and Spanish) Key questions to be considered by each group will include: How do the conclusions arising from STDF research compare with Members' experiences of good practice in SPS-related capacity building activities? How can the OECD Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness be applied in the technical area of SPS-related technical co-operation?¹ What is required from donors, development agencies and beneficiaries to implement these principles? How can SPS-related capacity building activities have the maximum impact on trade performance? How can good practice in SPS-related technical cooperation be replicated more widely?

15.00	Session 2 (continued): Reporting back on Members' experiences of good practice in SPS-related technical cooperation Report from the Spanish speaking group: Rapporteur Mr Edmundo Toro Vallecillo, Honduras > Presentation Report from the English speaking group: Rapporteur Ms Nancy Gitonga, Kenya > Presentation Report from the French speaking group: Rapporteur Ms Mohamed Sidibé, Mali > Presentation Enhancing Aid Effectiveness: Ms Fidelma O'Shaughnessy, DG EuropeAid > Presentation > See DG EuropeAid for more information Discussion
16.00	Session 3: How can the impact of SPS-related technical assistance be maximized on trade performance? Guy Stinglhamber, Director, Pesticides Initiative Programme (PIP) (http://www.coleacp.org) > Presentation Daniel Orellana, SPS Project Evaluator, Foreign Agriculture Service, United States Department of Agriculture > Presentation Nguyen Huu Dat, Post Entry Quarantine, Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam > Presentation Discussion Audio: Listen to Session 3 > help
17.15	Session 4: Taking good practice forward Concluding remarks Linda Fulponi Senior Economist, Directorate for Trade and Agriculture, OECD Secretariat Concluding remarks Michael Roberts, STDF Secretary Audio: Listen to Session 4 > help
17.45	Close

Note:
1. See: http://www.oecd.org for a copy of the text and http://www.oecd.org for more background information. back to text

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What is the STDF?
The Standards and Trade Development Facility is a joint initiative of the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, World Bank, World Organization for Animal Health and Food and Agriculture Organization. The facility acts as a forum for sharing information on past, present and planned technical co-operation activities related to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. It also provides grant financing for projects and for the preparation of projects aiming to enhance developing countries’ capacity to meet SPS standards.

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