RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/W/38
3 March 1998
(98-0831)
Committee on Trade and Development Original:  English
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN GOODS AND SERVICES
Communication from the Delegation of Egypt
The following communication, dated 2 March 1998, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt with the request that it be circulated to the Committee on
Trade and Development for its initial consideration at its meeting on 6 March 1998.
__________
Working Paper Submitted by Egypt on
Electronic Commerce in Goods and Services
Contents
I. Introduction
II. The objectives of addressing this issue
III. The current technological situationIV. Challenges and opportunities
V. Electronic commerce and the immediate needs of developing countries
VI. Policy issues related to electronic commerce
VII. Related Activities in the WTO and in other international organizations
VIII. Specific proposals for future activities
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In a rapidly evolving information age, the potential of electronic commerce has captured the
attention of governments, businesses and consumers alike.  The developments in this area will have a
substantial impact on growth and development.
2. Electronic commerce provides a new mode of conducting commercial transactions and trade
promotion activities and will have fundamenta l implications on the way in which business
transactions and trade are carried out.  It will alter the relations among firms, between importers andexporters as well as between producers and consumers.  Trade in numerous goods and services
through electronic commerce will be much more efficient than trade using traditional means.
3. Electronic commerce will also have a considerable impact on the structure and evolution of
labour markets.  Some intermediate steps in the trade transaction chain will no longer be necessary.
In some cases consumers would be able to contact producers directly.  This will reduce the need fordistributors, wholesalers and even retailer trade for some products.  In some sectors - especially those
of intermediaries - employment will be negatively affected.  However, new products and services will
also be created and demand will dramatically increase for other products and services like computerWT/COMTD/W/38
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hardware and software, network access providers, programmers, website builders, etc.  But these new
activities require very high skills and are less labour-intensive than the traditional intermediary ones.
Furthermore, since information technologies now allow many of these activities to be performed
remotely, their geographical location becomes increasingly neutral.  Important 'delocalisations' are
therefore expected in a number of information intensive activities.
4. These new developments will require changes in  approach and policies to enable
governments to deal effectively with the current situation and the evolving new environment.
5. Electronic commerce is a new area with a huge potential.  There are no text book solutions to
deal with it.  Knowledge in this area is based mainly on recent experience and a hands-on approach.
Therefore, there is a lot that WTO members can learn from the experience of each other in this area.
6. WTO and GATT before it, have dealt with trade related information technology issues on an
ad-hoc basis.  The time has come for a more coherent and comprehensive approach to these issues
with a particular emphasis on electronic commerce and the use of information technology inintegrating developing countries in the Multilateral Trading System (MTS).  The ultimate objective is
to do our best in putting technological developments in trade related areas at the service of
development.
7. The terms of reference of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) include a
reference to the role of the committee in keeping under review the participation of developingcountries in the MTS and the consideration of measures  and initiatives to assist the expansion of their
trade in goods and services.  It is opportune to examine how the WTO can contribute to enhancing
trade and investment opportunities of developing  countries through electronic commerce and the
effective use of information technology in the area of trade.
II. THE OBJECTIVES OF ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE
8. The following is an inexhaustive list of objectives that could be achieved through the
consideration of this issue:
• to deepen our understanding of the issues involved in electronic commerce and
examine ways and means to enhance the participation of developing countries in
international trade in goods and services through the use of electronic commerce inparticular and information technology in gene ral, and to identify ways and means that
would achieve these objectives both at the national and international levels as well as
identify ways to measure the progress achieved in this respect;
• to examine the role of the WTO in bridging  the information gap in the area of trade
between developed and developing countrie s, and to have an overview of how to
develop the technological culture in the area of trade  in developing countries and
how firms in developing countries, and in particular SMEs, could benefit from
electronic commerce;
• to examine how electronic commerce and recent proposals on a possible global
framework for electronic commerce will affect the supply and demand of goods and
services, the market structure and competition and to analyze the impact of the
current developments and the anticipated changes on developing countries;
• to share experiences on policies  that aim at maximizing the benefits from electronic
commerce and examine how they relate to rapid technological developments, as wellWT/COMTD/W/38
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as share success stories and practical ways used by businesses to reduce the
transaction costs associated with international trade operations through electronic
commerce.
III. THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGICAL SITUATION
9. The world is witnessing revolutionary technological developments, liberalization efforts and
rapid developments in the area of information and information technology.  These developments arefundamentally changing the way in which we live.  This section will briefly address the technological
developments that are related to electronic commerce and the challenges facing developing countries
in this respect.
10. Technological developments: Telecommunication technology has witnessed tremendous
developments  in the recent past.  Despite the fact that new telecommunication technology is both
capital and knowledge intensive, several developing countries were able to benefit from technological
developments in this area.  India, due to high costs of laying cables in rural and remote areas used ahighly advanced satellite-base telecommunication system.   In Chile, all the telephone lines are now
digital which is a much higher percentage than in some developed countries.  In Bangladesh a micro-
credit scheme created a rural cellular telephone network.  These developments would have been
unthinkable only a few years ago.
11. Moreover, developments in computer technology made the production, processing and
distribution of information a very important economic activity in its own right.  At the same time,
technological advances in telecommunications dram atically increased the capacity of transmitting
information.  But its most significant impact is probably of an economic nature.  The dramatic
decrease in the cost of transmitting information has opened new - and sometimes unexpected -
opportunities to new forms of international trade, new trade flows, and new modes of delivery forexisting ones.  In many respects, the advent of the Internet has challenged well established economic
models about how information can be produced, transmitted and used.
12. Furthermore, telecommunication is moving ra pidly from a highly-regulated public monopoly
environment to a more liberal deregulated one.  Technological developments as well as liberalization
efforts in the area of telecommunications around the globe is expected to reduce the cost of services inthis area.
13. Weaknesses in telecommunication infrastructure in developing countries:  The level of
telecommunication infrastructure in developing countries is highly diverse.  However, the gap
between developed and developing countries in general remains significant.  Using teledensity (main
lines per 100 inhabitants) as an indicator, the figure for developed countries is over 48, it is around 10for middle income countries and around 1.5 for LDCs.  Access to basic telephonic services remains a
prerequisite for electronic commerce.  Yet some 2 billion people have never seen a telephone and the
vast majority of people in the developing world do not have a telephone within a walking distance of
their homes.  There are still fewer telephones in Africa today than in Tokyo.  This quantitative
difference is further aggravated by qualitative weaknesses of networks affecting the quality and
reliability of communication as well as a huge gap in telecommunication infrastructure between urban
and rural areas in developing countries.
14. Weaknesses in information infrastructure:  The personal computer ratio per 100 inhabitants
gives an indication of the information technology gap.  The figure ranges from 18 for high-income
countries to 2.3 for medium-income countries and  0.1 for low-income countries.  In terms of markets
share in information technology, it is estimated that  the US accounts for 34.7 per cent of the market,
Europe around 29.3 per cent, Japan around 14.6 per cent, and the rest of the world 21.4 per cent.WT/COMTD/W/38
Page 4
These differences are even more striking in the figures for data transmission, the spread of Internet
servers and the number of users.
15. Financial Requirements:  According to the World Bank, to bring the average level of African
teledensity to that of Southern Europe, $ US 50 billion would be required.  International financial
assistance is expected to cover around 5 per cent of these needs.  Given the scarcity of financial
resources in most developing countries, the majority of their infrastructure needs intelecommunications can only be expected to be financed from three sources, namely: increased
development assistance, foreign investment and additional revenues emanating from the use of such
infrastructure.  As far as the use of infrastructure is concerned, electronic commerce and its use by
smaller firms in particular, becomes of strategic importance to generate what can be considered a
'virtuous circle of development'.
16. The advent of the Internet as a global tool for collecting, disseminating and exchanging
information is making a tremendous impact.  Recent developments in global network technology andgraphic-based Internet applications facilitate the transmission of all kind of data in a fast and
relatively inexpensive way.  The Internet offers a low cost alternatives to existing networks andtraditional ways of producing, transmitting and using information.  It will affect trade through
electronic commerce and will change the way in which a number of human activities are done through
providing the locus for convergence between telephony, data transmission and broadcasting.  The
Internet is a tool that can expand intellectual activity worldwide and provides an opportunity for
greater sharing of knowledge.  It can lead to a fairer distribution of information, one of the primary
resources of the next century.  This environment provides the potential of huge benefits and lower
barriers to entry provided that the right approach  is followed both at the national and international
levels.
IV. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
17. In addition to the challenges and opportunities outlined in the previous section in relation to
the technological situation, one of the major opportunities that may be achieved through electronic
commerce in developing countries is due to its low price/power ratio, and its interactive nature.
Developing countries could disseminate their own information in a more effective manner through
electronic commerce.  It will allow firms and new entrants to extend their reach beyond what was
previously possible.  This may be particularly useful to SMEs since it provides a low cost means to
approach potential customers worldwide.  It has also been argued that the Internet can act as the "greatequalizer" by allowing firms to compete on equal footing.  However, there are numerous challenges
that we have to face at the national and international levels to enable developing countries to
effectively use electronic commerce and take advantage of the benefits that it may provide.
18. There is a real fear that if the necessary steps are not taken this mode of trade may remain
beyond the reach of many developing countries.  One of the main advantages of electronic commerceis the speed with which business transactions can take place.  However, this speed will be
meaningless if the physical infrastructure is inadequate.  This will require a parallel consideration of
infrastructure needs as well.  Furthermore, the current trade of developing countries, particularly
products that may be transmitted digitally, can be diverted if they do not participate actively inelectronic commerce as early as possible in the process.  The current gap between developed and
developing countries will widen as a result of rapid change if concerted action is not taken.  The need
to avoid further widening of the gap separating the developed and developing countries is a concern
that is widely recognized and has been expressed both by developing as well as by developed
countries on numerous occasions.
19. This was eloquently stated in a speech by President Martti Ahtissaari, the President of
Finland, at a conference on "Dismantling the Barriers  to Global Electronic Commerce" that took place
in Turku, Finland, on 20 November 1997, where he said: "We must prevent the present technologyWT/COMTD/W/38
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gap from becoming a permanent additional divider between the wealthy North and the poor South.
We must also help developing countries to partake of the benefits of new technology."
20. The need to narrow the gap between the north and the south is both important and urgent and
will be beneficial to both developed and developing countries.  This is because, assuming the basic
infrastructure is in place, once global information networks are built the marginal cost of additional
users will be insignificant while the benefits to and contribution of new entrants are immense.Furthermore, global information networks would not be truly 'global' if a significant part of the world
is not involved.  This would also represent a sizable collective loss to the growth and development of
the global economy.
21. One of the challenges facing developing countries in particular in relation to electronic
commerce is how to create a conducive policy environment that would maximize the benefits of
electronic commerce without compromising legitimate public policy objectives.  For example, access,
information technology and services related to electronic commerce may not provide optimal resultsfrom a social perspective if determined solely by market forces.  Internet services are beyond the
means of the majority of the populations of developing countries.  There may be significant benefits
from providing facilitated or even subsidized access to information and information infrastructure for
specific population groups, such as the poor, the elderly or the handicapped.  This will also serve to
reduce the gap between those with the necessary skills and access that allows them to profit from newopportunities and those who lack such prerequisites.  How to achieve equal opportunity and broad
based access for users will be a difficult challenge facing developing countries.  Moreover, there are
other numerous policy areas related to electronic commerce in which governments will have to weigh
various public policy objectives.
V. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
22. Electronic commerce is expected to grow at a rapid pace in the years to come.  Forecasts of
this growth vary widely and are mostly of a specul ative nature.  Numerous analysts predict the growth
of electronic commerce by a factor of ten by the year 2000.  It is also estimated that international trade
through the Internet will reach US$60 billion by the year 2001.  The Global Information InfrastructureCommission (GIIC) quoted a recent  report produced by ActivMedia in July 1997 indicating that
overall movement to on-line commerce may bring network generated revenues to US$1 trillion by the
year 2001.  Despite their speculative nature, these figures illustrate the trend towards a growing
importance of electronic commerce.
23. Electronic commerce is currently conducted using a combination of means of communication
(the Internet, private networks, telephone, fax, mail, etc.).  It would be very difficult, and probably
unnecessary, to obtain accurate statistics on the importance of the various modes of communication in
a commercial transaction.  However, as electronic commerce becomes more reliable and governed by
clearer rules and practices, more and more transactions will be relying exclusively on various
electronic networks in the completion of various stages of the trade transaction.  An UNCTAD
publication indicated that a survey in March 1997 by CommerceNet/Nielsen found that whereas
54 per cent of Internet users in the US and Canada used the Internet to reach a decision on a purchase,only 15 per cent carried out the final transaction on the Internet.
24. It has been reported that the volume of electronic commerce has expanded dramatically in a
few developed countries affecting diverse sectors of activities in the area of trade in goods and
services.  There is a need to identify areas and sectors where electronic commerce will gain
importance.  Some of the sectors referred to in the literature include:  financial services (insurance,banking, brokerage, currency trading, etc.);  travel and ticketing;  entertainment;  music;  advertisingWT/COMTD/W/38
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and marketing;  information services (collectin g and disseminating information);  education and
training;  media (newspapers, magazines, news services, etc.);  other services (like medical services,
real estate services, legal services, architectural services, business services, etc.);  retailing in books,
flowers, computer software and hardware, highly specialized and other products.
25. It is obvious from these areas that electronic commerce will extend the scope of what may be
considered tradable.  Through electronic commerce some new services will soon become tradableacross borders.  Any good or service that may be provided in digital form can probably be traded
electronically across borders.  These products should be identified on a continuous basis.  It is quite
important to analyze how electronic commerce has penetrated different sectors and why.  Analytical
work on these issues is just beginning.  It should be encouraged in order to enable governments and
businesses to understand the trade, economic and developmental impact of these developments.  It
will also be of vital importance to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to participate in
electronic trade in these sectors especially since the impact of electronic commerce may be significantand relatively fast.  Firms in many sectors will soon realize that cost savings from the use of electronic
commerce and the opportunities that it provides will be necessary for them to maintain
competitiveness.
26. A large portion of the trade on the Internet is in business-to-business trade and not in
consumer sales.  This mirrors the current level of trade in the world today where business transactionsare around ten times as much as consumer sales.  It has been reported for example that General
Electric is doing US$1 billion annually with 1400 of its suppliers through its Trading Process
Network (TPN) website.  It lowered the cost of  business between 5 per cent and 20 per cent with
15 per cent of the orders crossing borders.  It is worth mentioning that the main benefits to General
Electric resulted from their calls for tenders and subsequent bidding by suppliers electronically.However, not many business websites are currently designed to accommodate direct sales but are
rather designed for marketing and customer services.
27. It has also been reported that firms in developed countries faced various difficulties in relation
to electronic commerce.  Some firms found that the actual cost of setting a business on the Internet
tended to be much higher than they originally anticipated.  Other difficulties that were reported on theuse of electronic commerce in firms in developed countries were: organizational inflexibility, it was
not considered a priority by management, the usual complications associated with change, and
training.
28. Enhancing developing countries' interest for and participation in electronic commerce will
require concerted efforts, at the policy, the analytical and the technical level.
• It will be necessary to establish a conceptual/policy platform reflecting the interests
and specificities of developing countries in a global framework for electronic
commerce.  The US, the European Union, Japan and other developed countries have
recently completed policy papers on how to establish a global framework for
electronic commerce.  These papers contain very little about the role of developing
countries in designing, establishing and implementing such a framework.  These
major trading partners have a global responsibility and should consider the role thatthey should play to enable developing countries to cope with this important area in
order to enhance the participation of these countries in international trade in goods
and services including through electronic commerce.  Developing countries need to
become fully aware of the current thinking and the policies contemplated in these
areas and should be assisted and given the opportunity to participate effectively inpolicy discussions at the international level since developments in electronic
commerce will most probably affect their own trade.WT/COMTD/W/38
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• It is also necessary to support developing countries' hands-on approach to electronic
commerce.  Many developing countries have already started efforts in this area.  This
has been achieved with the support of UNCTAD largely through the trade point
programme, and ITC largely through its pilot project of virtual exhibition.  The
Global Trade Point Network (GTP-Net) was officially launched by the Secretary-
General of the UN at the UN International Symposium on Trade Efficiency(UNISTE) that took place in Columbus, Ohio in October 1994.  According to
UNCTAD, since then the number of trade points has doubled.  There are currently
132 trade points at different stages of development and major achievements have
been made in the technological advancement of the Network.
29. The UN Trade Point Development Center (UNTPDC) that has been hosted by the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia since 1995 has been responsible for the development
of innovative tools and interfaces used by GTP-Net including the Electronic Trade Opportunities(ETOs) system (ETOs are electronic trading opportunity messages sent in a format that allows easy
retrieval and database management independent of hardware, software or communication media and
hence can be disseminated world wide at a very low cost).
30. UNCTAD statistics indicate that over 2 billion ETOs were distributed since 1993.  An
estimated  8 million companies in 173 countries received ETOs.  Around 3 million ETOs aretransmitted daily through electronic mail and with around 1.4 million daily hits, the UNTPDC ETO
switch is among the world's top 20 sites (Lsoft statistics, December 1997).
31. A recent survey conducted by UNCTAD on the users of ETOs found that 65.3 per cent of the
users are traders.  Public sector users are around 10 per cent of the total users.  The survey found that
27 per cent of the users have concluded transactions using ETOs.  The value of reported transactionswere as follows:  47 per cent between US$1,000  and $10,000;  17 per cent between $10,000 and
$50,000;  13 per cent between $50,000 and $100,000;  13 per cent between $100,000 and $1,000,000;
10 per cent above $1,000,000.  The number of responses received for ETOs were as follows:  69 per
cent received 1-10 responses, 16 per cent received 11-30 responses, 4.5 per cent received 31-100
responses, 9.1 per cent received 101 and above.
32. Recently Trade Points have extended their operations from the pre-transactional to the
transactional stage where contracts can be signed and payments made.  UNCTAD indicated that
presently a secure intranet link - the Secure Electronic Authenticated Link (SEAL) - is operating by
Australia, China and the US.
33. However, there are a number of difficulties that are associated with the functioning of trade
points.  The difficulties sited by various developing countries include:
• absence of adequate telecommunication infrastructure;
• poor quality and high cost of telecommunications;
• financial constraints in the establishment and operation of trade points (major
obstacle to LDCs);
• lack of funds hinder investment in technology and the development of the trade point
services as well as the development of human resources;
• a very limited number of countries have experienced some difficulties in structuring
and classifying ETOs and in building a customer base;
• limited availability of resources for technical assistance and training needs in various
related areas;
• technical difficulties associated with issues like cost recovery where developing
countries need to learn from the experience of others specially from countries whereWT/COMTD/W/38
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trade points function as private service providers as to how to calculate the price of
the information provided and how to perform the role of information brokers.
34. According to the International Trade Center (I TC), developing countries are using the Internet
extensively for E-mail communication, but many of them are facing difficulties in loading documents,
databases, graphic presentations and pictures on the world wide web which require large bandwidth,
high speed modems and telephone lines.  Developing countries need assistance in the effective use ofthe Internet as a new marketing media to support the development of their trade.
35. For many products marketing is done through specialized sector specific exhibitions.  These
are used by new entrants as well as by established producers.  However, participation is very
expensive and presents various difficulties to producers from developing countries.  A less expensive
alternative is the participation in virtual exhibitions.  This still requires a high level of expertise;  that
is lacking in most developing countries- in orde r to know how to present products, how to approach
markets and establish and retain trade contracts and consumer confidence.
36. Developing countries will also require assistance to help them put their information on the
net.  We need to know how much trade related information on the net originates from developing
countries.  This should be monitored continuously and could be considered as one of the factors that
can contribute to the evaluation of the progress of enhancing the role of developing countries in
electronic commerce.  Innovative ideas to assist developing countries and SMEs should be consideredin this area.  This may be achieved, for example, through pilot projects which would demonstrate to
them the benefits of electronic commerce.  These projects need to be evaluated and their economic
implications assessed.  SMEs and other firms could also start by joining a specialized web page such
as those through the ITC.  Then they may be able to join a national or international specialized web
page.  Firms in developing countries should be helped to assess the potential costs and benefits ofelectronic commerce.
37. Developing countries will also require assistance in establishing the regulatory framework
that would be conducive to the development of the in formation society and in raising awareness of the
public and the private sector of the significance of electronic commerce.  International cooperation
will be necessary in facilitating access to informa tion and to the global information infrastructure, in
promoting the transfer of technology in informati on technology, in the participation of developing
countries in research and development activities in related areas as well as in measures to foster
dialogue and partnerships between developing a nd developed countries, both governmental and
private, in the area of electronic commerce.
38. If electronic commerce were to become of significant importance, as expected, we have to
ensure that the infrastructure in developing countries, both human and physical, is capable of
supporting its development.
VI. POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
39. There are numerous policy issues that are related to electronic commerce.  They may be
classified in three broad areas: financial, legal and access issues.  These include: issues of payments,
taxation issues, certification of documents, confidentiality and privacy, encryption, intellectual
property,  consumer protection, access to infrastructure and other access issues, etc.
40. Some of these policy issues do not fall within the purview of the WTO and others are
addressed by a number of international organizations.  Nevertheless, it would be useful to uprise
WTO members of the latest developments in these policy areas and address the role of the WTO, if
any, in areas where it may make a useful contribution.  However, it is worth confirming thatWT/COMTD/W/38
Page 9
regardless of where issues are being considered, international cooperation in dealing with various
policy and regulatory aspects in relation to electronic commerce will be indispensable.
41. It would also be useful for WTO members to become aware of the policy frameworks that are
being adopted in several developed countries in relation to electronic commerce particularly policies
that may affect the trade interests of developing countries.
VII. RELATED ACTIVITIES IN THE WTO AND IN OTHER INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS
42. A number of WTO agreements and instruments are related in some way or another to relevant
areas in electronic commerce including GATs, basic telecommunication, financial services, TRIPs,
the Agreement on Customs Valuation, the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, etc.  Moreover,
the General Council has recently adopted a decision on the supply of information to the integrated
database for personal computers.  WTO is also working on a joint project with the World Bank to help
developing countries understand and use the rules and mechanisms of the WTO through the use ofinformation technology.  Furthermore, the High Level Meeting on LDCs also welcomed the WTO's
commitment to provide LDCs members with computers equipment and the know-how to access the
information provided on the WTO web site by 1998.  We firmly believe that stronger organic links
should be established among the areas of  WTO competency which are of immediate relevance to
discussions on electronic commerce.
43. UNCTAD has numerous activities including a substantial programme dealing with trade
points that is directly related to electronic commerce issues.  Its ASYCUDA programme, currently
implemented in the customs of over 80 countrie s, is a worldwide network using information
technology to cut customs clearance time and costs.  This system can link enterprises electronically to
their customs administrations.  Furthermore, the system is being expanded to allow it to interface withbanking networks and with information technology systems along the complete transport chain
including UNCTAD's Advance Cargo Information System (ACIS).  It can thus become a
comprehensive information system to allow for the full use of the potentialities of electronic
commerce.
44. UNCTAD is currently organizing a conference entitled "Partners for Development" that will
take place in November 1998 in Lyons, France.  It is expected that the conference will launch a
number of partnerships involving UNCTAD in the area of electronic commerce with national and
local governments, hardware and software firms and network operators.  Some of these partnerships
are relevant to the WTO's work programme.
45. ITC has been active in helping firms from developing countries in marketing their products
using virtual exhibitions.  The initial project on artisanal products is being extended to other sectors.
UNCITRAL has completed work on a model law establishing elements of rules and norms related to
electronic commerce.  Other international organizations are also active in this area like WIPO, ITU,
UN regional economic commissions, etc.
46. A number of organizations are and will continue to deal with various aspects related to
electronic commerce.  These organizations should strengthen their contribution to enhancing the level
of participation of developing countries in current and future discussions on electronic commerce.This can be done through enhancing awareness and knowledge, offering assistance for a hands-on
approach to electronic commerce, and strengthenin g inter-institutional cooperation in technical
assistance and support.  Cooperation among international organizations dealing with issues related to
electronic commerce should be enhanced in order to deal with this issue in an effective manner and to
reflect its evident inter-sectoral nature.WT/COMTD/W/38
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47. Many technical assistance activities in the area of trade are being organized in support of
developing countries by numerous international organizations and through bilateral cooperation.  A
challenge to both the providers and the recipients of such activities is how to integrate information
technology in these ongoing activities and programmes.
48. There is a need for WTO members to become informed of the activities of other organizations
related to electronic commerce and in the use of information technology in the area of trade.  We
believe that it would be useful for WTO members to be able to have a comprehensive and a more
coherent view of the activities of different organizations in this area.This would contribute to a better
understanding of the situation and help in the identification of the best approach to achieve the
identified objectives.  Coherence, transparency, coordination and avoiding duplication as much as
possible should be our guiding principles in this endeavour.
VIII. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE ACTIVITIES
49. In conclusion, a number of specific proposals are herewith presented for the consideration of
the CTD in order to contribute to the achievement of the objectives that were identified in this paper:
• To request the WTO Secretariat to prepare a factual paper on WTO provisions and
activities that are most relevant to electronic commerce;
• To request the WTO Secretariat to prepare an analytical paper on how to enhance the
participation of developing countries in electronic commerce and the use ofinformation technology in the integration of developing countries in the MTS.  This
paper should build on the work done by other organizations in this area and in
particular the work of UNCTAD and ITC and have as one of its main components the
assistance requirements for developing countries in this regard;
• To request the WTO Secretariat to communicate with relevant international
organizations to provide the CTD with information on their activities in areas closely
related to electronic commerce;
• To convene a special session of the CTD to address the issue of electronic commerce
and its implications for development in developing countries with the participation of
the relevant international organizations in order to provide an opportunity for them topresent their activities in this area;
• To request the WTO Secretariat to organize a joint seminar with UNCTAD and ITC
to allow for a better understanding of the issues involved in electronic commerce
focusing on their development implications.