RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/IFSC/M/5
15 January 2003
(03-0196)
Integrated Framework Steering Committee
Fifth Session
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 12 JULY 2002
Chair: Ambassador Henrik Reé Iversen (Denmark)
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
1. The Chairman welcomed members to the fifth meeting of the Integrated Framework Steering
Committee, and proposed that the agenda be adopted with two additional sub-items (2.c(iii) Use of the
IF Trust Fund to support National coordination process in IF Countries – Statement by the ITC on
behalf of the IAWG and 2.c(iv) Role of the IF Facilitator.
2. It was so agreed.
B. REPORTS BY THE IAWG CHAIRMAN ON THE 31ST MEETING , 30-31 MAY 2002 AND THE 32ND
MEETING , 11 J ULY 2002
3. The Chairman handed the floor to Mr. Osakwe, Director, Technical Cooperation Division,
WTO, and Chairman of the IAWG, to report on these meetings.
4. Mr. Osakwe noted that the report of the 31st meeting of the IAWG had already been circulated
among members and that the report of the 32nd meeting was to be circulated shortly after the fifth
session of the IFSC.  He drew attention to some basic points that were made in the reports, whilst
noting that the points covered in his presentation were also dedicated agenda items of the Fifth
Session of the IFSC.  Regarding the extension of the IF Pilot Scheme, he said that IF Heads of
Agencies had, as recorded in paragraph seven of the communiqué issued following their meeting,
received requests for IF extension from 4 LDCs.  These 4 LDCs were Benin, Chad, Sao Tomé andPrincipe, and Togo.  In accordance with the establishment procedure, these requests were sent to the
World Bank for preparation of an assessment paper based of the four agreed criteria
1.  On the basis of
this paper, the IAWG was to make recommenda tions, and submit these recommendations to the IF
Steering Committee.
5. Regarding the decision of whether or not to extend the IF model to non-LDC low-income
countries, as recorded in paragraph eight of the communiqué and its guidelines, Mr. Osakwe reported
that generally there had been a favorable reaction within the IAWG to undertake Diagnostic Trade
Integrated Studies.  It was emphasised however th at no resources would be taken away from the IF
                                                     
1 The criteria for assessing the IF Candidates, agreed by the IAWG at its 25th meeting, 27 March 2001
and endorsed by the IF Steering Committee at its Second Session, 3 May 2001, are as follows: (i) demonstrationof strong commitment by the government to integrate trade into its national development strategy and its PRSP;(ii) the preparatory stage of the PRSP;  (iii) the preparatory stage of upcoming meetings of the World BankConsultative Group or UNDP Round Table;  and (iv) conducive operational country environment (e.g. level ofinfrastructure, resource base of the World Bank/IMF and UNDP country offices, donor response, and the pace
of domestic reform).WT/IFSC/M/5
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Trust Fund for this purpose, and that agency contribution to such DTISs should be covered by each
agency's budgetary resources.
6. Mr. Osakwe said that the IAWG had taken note of the request from South Africa, on behalf of
the NEPAD2, which sought to establish a close working relationship between the NEPAD and the IF
agencies in order to develop a capacity building programme for the African continent.
7. Mr. Osakwe drew attention to the critical importance of follow-up activities and their
effective implementation, and the necessity of improving work between agencies, donors and
beneficiaries in this domain, as recorded in paragraph ten of the communiqué.
8. Mr. Osakwe reported that IAWG members  had agreed that beneficiary LDCs should assume
the responsibility of organizing national integration workshops, in coordination with the World Bank
and the UNDP, in order to improve ownership of the IF process;  the IAWG had recommended that
the LDCs include the conclusions from the DTISs in their PRSPs; and that, based on the experience
and success of Cambodia, it had recommended that trade be included as a subject in the World Bank
Consultative Group meetings (CGs)or UNDP Round Tables.  The IAWG had re-emphasized the
importance of each LDC in this process, in securi ng ownership, and in enabling and encouraging all
Ministries to be able to effectively integrate trade into their PRSPs.  It was acknowledged that each
LDC needed resources to assist or create their national implementation structure.  It was agreed thatthose resources were to  come from the IF Trust Fund. and would be applied on a case by case basis.
The ITC had, on the request of agencies, prepared a paper on this subject that was still under
discussion.
9. On the request to expand the membership of the IAWG (currently 6 core agencies,
2 representatives of the donors, 2 representative s of LDCs, DAC-OECD), Mr . Osakwe expressed the
view that there was merit in preserving, at present, the actual membership structure.  Nevertheless, he
recognised that the Regional Developments Banks, FAO, UNIDO needed to be involved in the stage
of implementation and follow up of the DTISs.
10. The IFSC took note of Mr. Osakwe's presentation.
C. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IF PILOT SCHEME IN CAMBODIA , MADAGASCAR AND MAURITANIA :
FOLLOW -UP TO THE DIAGNOSTIC TRADE INTEGRATION STUDIES
11. The Chairman recalled that the revamped IF was proceeding in the right direction and had the
potential to help LDCs' integration into the multilateral trading system.  He said that trade-related
capacity building and the mainstreaming of trade into national poverty reduction and development
strategies were key aspects of the IF, and that donors played a key role in the coordination of the
follow up process.
12. The Chairman handed the floor to the representatives of the three Pilot Project countries –
Cambodia, Madagascar, and Mauritania, which had benefited from the DTIS process.
13. The representative of Cambodia said that his presentation would be the same as during the
CG Meeting, on the occasion of which donors had pledged a total 635 million dollars in assistance.
He said that the DTIS was a 5-stage process.  The first one, the elaboration of an integration and
competitiveness study, had been completed in 2001.  The second stage consisted of the approval bythe government of the DTIS and its endorsement by donors.  The third, the adoption of the matrix of
technical assistance and policy, had received, in early January, the endorsement by the IAWG and the
DAC.  Stage four consisted of finding financial support to fund activities outlined in the technical
                                                     
2 The New Economic Partnership for African DevelopmentWT/IFSC/M/5
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assistance matrix.  A Japanese funded project was the first one to become operational, and Cambodia
was working with both bilateral and multilateral donors at the same time.  The last stage was fund
raising through the CG Meeting, which had been a useful exercise in informing and presenting the
matrix to a large number of donors.  He reported that, during the visit of European Trade
Commissioner Pascal Lamy to Cambodia, the EU had given a 3 million Euro grant, and a team is now
installed to develop and implement the project covered by the grant.  He reported that the World Bank
fund had been used in very effective ways, such as the translation of the text of the Uruguay Round
Agreement into Khmer and publishing and translat ing the DTIS, activities necessary to keep the
momentum going.  He outlined a large list of projects underway or completed in his country along
with the support provided by the agencies and countrie s.  He drew attention to the fact that his country
had achieved it’s goal of mainstreaming trade, integrating it into the national development policy
process, and finally, completing the integration of  trade policy into the PRSP.  He reported that
Cambodia maintained the trend of recording total exports worth more than 1 billion US dollars, and
that the trade deficit was decreasing.  Regarding Cambodia’s accession to the WTO, he reported that
the second working party had concluded and that a third meeting was scheduled for September.  He
was hopeful to have a completed draft accession report by that stage.  He said that the officials from
the Ministry of Trade of Uganda had gone to Cambodia to learn about their IF experience.
14. The representative of Madagascar said he was not able to report any positive elements of
development since the last meeting.  He commented that progress in Madagascar remained
deadlocked due to internal political strife, although the situation appeared to be moving toward
stability.
15. The representative of Mauritania said that his presentation was based on three aspects: i) the
preparatory process for the round table on trade;  ii) experience of the Pilot Project;  and iii) outlook
for the future.  With respect to the preparator y process for the Round Table (assessment of needs,
survey on topics related to foreign trade and a promotion strategy for the export sector), he said that
the necessary adjustments were made in accordance with the revamped IF, one of the reasons why
Mauritania was chosen as a pilot country.  Regarding the experience of the pilot project, he said that
the process had begun in May 2001, the Competitiveness and Trade Integration survey was realized
during July-August 2001, and endorsed by a national workshop in November 2001.  In December
2001, the results of the DTIS process were presented to the Consultative Group meeting for
Mauritania held in Paris.  The government was co mmitted to integrate the findings of the DTIS into a
poverty reduction strategy and adopt a priority action plan in April 2002.  This was already well under
way.  The matrix of Technical Assistance needs clearly identified priority areas of action.  The three
main project areas were submitted during the meeting of March 2002 and were: a trade informationcentre, a centre to promote fisheries projects, and a program for training of trainers in international
trade matters.  After five years of process and studies, the government was looking forward to seeing
the first concrete responses materialize in the field.  Turning to the outlook for the future, he reported
several factors that limited the effectiveness of the IF.  Those were: a lack of transparency in the rules
and procedures of the IAWG; a lack of harmony between the agencies; the discretional use of theresources of the Trust Fund; the lack of accommodation for the structure of the IF to the request of
LDCs; insufficient resources to cover the needs of beneficiary countries; and no cooperation between
the IF and other cooperation mechanisms.  He noted that the functioning of the IF needed to be
improved to clarify the eligibility criteria for Windows I and II of the Trust Fund, and rationalize the
existing working methods to shorten the deadlines.  He said that the credibility and future of the IF
depended on this.  He suggested that the IAWG and IFSC hold a special meeting before the end of
July 2002, in order to study the problems that have appeared in the implementation processes within
the Pilot Countries, and to review the modalities of financing priority projects from windows I and II.
He thanked the European Union, the IF Facilitator for Mauritania, for the work done in Mauritania.
He said that the date for a Round Table to discuss the integration of DTIS findings into Mauritania'sPRSP would be decided shortly.  Finally, he reiter ated that the IFSC needed to establish clear
guidelines for resource allocation in order to help LDCs in improving their capacity building.WT/IFSC/M/5
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16. Mr. Osakwe, on behalf of the agencies, requested the representative of Mauritania to provide
more details and information regarding his comments  on lack of transparency in the IAWG process
and lack of harmony between the agencies.
17.  The representative of Japan, appreciated the efforts and commitments undertaken by the
Cambodian government regarding the IF process, in particular, attracting various donors and
resources.  He noted that, as a major donor, his country was very satisfied with the progress made and
he expressed his country's full commitment to Cambodi a.  He said that if most of the technical
assistance were to be devoted to building human and institutional capacity, Japan was prepared to
hear the specifics needs in those areas of trade-related capacity building, which were essential for
sustainable development.  He proposed that the funds for the follow up of the DTIS not come from the
Trust Fund.
18. The representative of European Communities said that the IF faced a challenge related to two
issues.  The first lay in preserving the integrity of the IF, notably in view of problems with
mainstreaming trade into the national policy of LDCs; and secondly, the pressure and need of quick
implementation.  As facilitator for Mauritania, th e European Communities wanted to outline some
procedural matters.  The PRSP was finished in 2001, the next CG was to be held in 2005, but the
implementation of the DTIS findings in the PRSP needed to go through before that date.  The EC, asfacilitator, proposed a practical solution.  This was to hold a Round table discussion with donors in
September 2002 in order to discuss and approve, not only the priority projects, but the enire Technical
Assistance Matrix.  The Mauritanian government had given a strong commitment to continue
integrating the finding of the DTIS in the PRSP.
19. Responding to Mr Osakwe, the representative of Mauritania made the following points.
Regarding the lack of transparency, he noted that: the rules of procedures did not seem fixed; different
rules were applied with different interpretations; the decision-making process did not seem to be
clearly set; and there was no response from the agencies, including a clear explanation to some
official requests.  Regarding the lack of harmony, he noted that there existed a divergence in
interpretation between agencies regarding some speci fic rules, i.e the use of the special Trust Fund.
He thanked the EC for accepting the role of faci litator for his country, and took note of the date
proposed for the Round Table discussion.
20. The representative of India refered to remarks made during the presentation of the
representative of Cambodia, concerning the relationship between good governance, labour standards
and trade.  His government was of the view that the WTO was not the appropriate forum to discuss
such issues.
21. The representative of Zambia said that the Cambodia process was a model for the rest of
LDCs.  He expressed his preoccupation with the situation in Mauritania, where there appeared to be
problem in the implementation of the DTIS.
22. The representative of Cambodia said that the IF was not the solution to all problems faced by
LDCs, but was a very useful tool .  From his point of view, once a country had adopted the DTIS an
effort has to be made by each country in the approa ch for the follow-up activities and contact with the
potential donors is an effort that has to be made by each country.
23. The representative of European Communities agreed that the secret of the success of the IF,
was based on the country’s own efforts for the follow up as demonstrated in the Cambodia case.
24. Mr. Osakwe, on behalf of the IAWG, said that the information provided by Mauritania did
not present enough evidence to support the claims of lack of harmony, but noted that the issues raisedwere important for the work of the IFSC.  Regarding the issue of lack of transparency, he recalled thatWT/IFSC/M/5
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the IAWG had expanded its structure to include tw o representatives of the LDCs and two from the
donors.  The minutes of the meeting were public and we no longer restricted.  With respect to the
claim of different interpretations, he stated that there was not one instance where any decision taken
had been subjected to any different interpretati on that undermined the decision taken in the IAWG.
He confirmed that there were no rules of implementation on the follow up of the DTIS.  This was animportant matter, and the IAWG needed to define a process rather than rules.  On the eligibility of
what could be funded by the Trust Fund, he said that this had never been questioned, and two
windows existed: Windows I to be used mainly for trade mainstreaming (DTIS) activities and
Windows II for projects to be funded in support of Windows I.  The position of the IAWG was that
the donors should not make any contributions to projects that did not result from the DTIS process,
because this would undermine the process and the agreement establishing the revamped IF.  He said
that the IF Trust Fund would not be used to fund projects that agencies delivered that were normallyin the jurisdiction of their agency work.
25. The representative of Canada said that work was done in an open way in the IAWG, and that
decisions were taken in a consistent manner.  She recalled that the IF was a pilot project, and could be
improved, and this was an important ongoing process.
26. The representative of Mauritania took note of Mr. Osakwe’s replies and explanations.
27. The Chairman said that the statements made were encouraging, and showed that the IF
process could make a difference.  He reiterated the importance for Mauritania of the Round Table
discussion scheduled for September.  He outlined the critical importance of follow-up to priority
technical assistance recommendations contained in DTIS.
28. The representative of Switzerland said that the definition of the criteria for the use of the
Windows II fund was something essential, and that th e IFSC should analyse this issue during its fifth
session.
29. The representative of Mauritania supported the views expressed by the representative of
Switzerland.  He asked if the Trust Fund would not finance the three projects (trade information
center, centre to promote fisheries projects, programme for training for trainers), which mechanismwould do it.  He clarified that the date of September for the Round Table was a proposal made by the
EC.
30. The Chairman responded to Mauritania.  He stated that the Round Table would be the
appropriate place to seek answers to his questions and doubts.
31. The representative of European Communities re stated that the main principle of the Trust
Fund was to finance the elaboration of DTIS.  He recalled that proposals developed by the ITC on
behalf of the IAWG, to extend the use of a so called "Management structure" meant to be put in placefrom the start of the IF operation in the country, constituted the only extension approved by the IFSC.
He noted that the IFSC had the responsibility of managing the IF Trust Fund. He proposed not to open
the debate about using the Trust Fund for implementation projects.  He reminded Mauritania that a
Fishery Agreement was signed between them, contai ning some funds for promotion and development
of the fishery industry, that could be used for his Fishery project.
D. I
MPLEMENTATION OF THE IF IN BURUNDI , DJIBOUTI ERITREA , ETHIOPIA , GUINEA , LESOTHO ,
MALI , MALAWI , NEPAL , SENEGAL AND YEMEN
32. The representative of the World Bank said that the work had already started in four countries,
Lesotho, Malawi, Senegal and Yemen.  During April and May missions had visited those countries,
and the DTISs were in the process of being finalized.  She expected that by the end of September, theWT/IFSC/M/5
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National consultation workshop would take place.  She expected that for the next round of countries
(Ethiopia, Eritrea, Nepal, Guinea) the preliminary mission would take place in August, in September
for Burundi, and in October for Mali. (Annex III – Report of the 31st Meeting of the IAWG, 30 and 31
May 2002).
33. The representative of the UNDP said that it would lead the DTIS in Djibouti as requested by
the World Bank.  He expected that the preliminary mission would start in August-September.
34. The representative of Guinea said that she regretted that the World Bank preliminary mission
was now scheduled for August instead of July.  She noted that, a mission from Cambodia, funded by
the ITC, would visit her country to share the Cambodian successful experience with the IF.
35. The representative of Ethiopia expressed her country's complete commitment to the IF.  She
recalled that studies were already made and that they could be used for the DTIS.  She noted the
importance of the follow up process and the facilitator role, asking for a facilitator from the verybeginning of the process.
36. The representative of Yemen said that the National Seminar would take place in the month of
October.
37. The representative of the World Bank took note of the statements made by the countries.  She
recognised the point made by Ethiopia on the necessity to avoid duplication by using existing studies,
and recommended that each government made a list of existing material and research to facilitate the
process.  She reported that the role of facilitator for Yemen would be the Netherlands, and for
Senegal, the European Communities.
E. USE OF THE IF TRUST FUND TO SUPPORT NATIONAL COORDINATION PROCESS
38. On behalf of the IAWG, the representative of the International Trade Center submitted a
proposal to use the IF Trust Fund to support national coordinating processes in IF countries.  The
specific objectives were to: (i) strengthen inter-institutional capacity of the LDCs, but also
complement and reinforce their own efforts to participate effectively in the entire IF, establishing a
solid partnership; (ii) ensure stronger LDC ownershi p of the IF;  (iii) maximize benefits from their
participation.  He said that the different ways would be: (i) training IF local points through afamiliarisation mission with the IF core Agencies and Organization.  Briefings among LDCs would be
organized in order to exchange experiences on the IF implementation; (ii) enhancing the capacity of
national IF steering committee, by providing them with basic office equipment, establishing a
permanent focal point, training officers and project development, and the appropriate use of reference
centres, such as the one established by the WTO and JITAP; (iii) arranging the participation of the
local focal points in IF events of relevance for each LDC; (iv) providing support for identifying
training needs for multilateral and regional trade negotiations and identifying ways to address thoseneeds; (v) strengthening the private sector, using workshops.
39. The representative of  Switzerland supported the ITC proposal but raised three points.  With
regards to the DTISs, he pointed out that consultants were often unfamiliar with the country and its
needs.  He questioned how effective these studies were if conducted on this type of basis.  He
questioned whether fixed funding allocations to countries were acceptable considering that theallocations were not based on the different necessities of each country.  He suggested that allocations
be made on a case by case basis.  He also wondered who would be the partner to each government in
order to ensure local capacity building and institutional infrastructure progress.  He asked whether the
6 Agencies or the core donors would carry this out.WT/IFSC/M/5
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40. The representative of the UNDP supported the proposal from the ITC but wanted to draw
attention to the financial situation.  At the time  of the IFSC meeting, 300,000 USD were available to
finance these kinds of activities covering six LDCs.  UNDP stated that if members agreed to accept to
do new DTISs for 2003, the budget needed to be expanded, otherwise, financial limitations would be
constraining.
41. Mr. Osakwe, on behalf of the six Agencies re sponded to the delegate from Switzerland.  He
commented that the ITC would not necessarily “tie up with” the JITAP process due to the fact that the
JITAP process was currently being reviewed and that this had not yet been completed.  He said that
the matter was to be discussed at he next IAWG meeting.  Mr. Osakwe also assured the Swiss
delegate that the allocation of funds per country would be decided on a case by case basis.  Lastly, he
mentioned that the partner of the government would be coordinating on behalf of all the members of
the IAWG, but that all of the key elements fo r approval would be decided within the IAWG.
42. The representative of the United States asked for the ITC proposal to be considered with
caution, and suggested that further consultations be undertaken before a decision was to be made.
The United States focused on the role of the facili tator and the fact that the facilitator did not have
unlimited funds.  He noted that the most important aspect of this process was to ensure success.
43. The Chairman supported the view that fixed funding allocation for LDCs were problematic
given that they would not be based on a needs basis.  He recognized that the amount for each country
would have to be coordinated with the facilitator in each process.
44. The representative of Canada agreed in principle with the ITC proposal but only if it was to
be decided on a case by case basis according to the discretion of the IAWG, which was responsible
for funds management.
45. The representative of Zambia thanked the ITC for their proposal and agreed that not all LDCs
would need this type of funding.  He stressed the importance that the funding allocation decisions be
made on a case by case basis.  He also strongly mentioned that the creation of capacity before
implementation of the IF was a very critical point for the effectiveness of all the process.
46.  The Chairman stated that there was no current agreement on the proposal although they did
agree on the main idea of the proposal.  He suggested that the matter be discussed further at the next
meeting.
47. The delegate from the European Communities suggested that the ITC proposal be accepted as
a pilot project in five countries in order to gather experience and invited views from other Members.
48. The representatives of United Kingdom, World Bank , Mauritania  and Cambodia  all supported
the EC proposal.
49. The delegate from the United States. reiterated the point that funds were, limited.  She
suggested that funding allocations of 50,000 USD should be decided on a case-by-case basis.
50. Mr. Osakwe, on behalf of the six Agencies, requested the Chairman to clarify his decision to
send the ITC proposal to the IAWG.  He proposed that the ITC proposal be remitted to the IAWG in
its role as the relevant decision making body.
51.  The representative of Switzerland agreed with the proposal but observed that links should be
identified between the facilitator and the ITC propos al and that the link between the ITC proposal and
the terms of reference from the diagnostic team also be viewed carefully.WT/IFSC/M/5
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52. The representative of the World Bank said that the identification of needs varied according to
each country’s situation.  She suggested that these needs be identified at the beginning rather than the
end of the process in order to ensure effective private sector and government participation.
53. The delegate from the European Communities did not see the reason why the IAWG would
not permit the implementation of the ITC proposal in a pilot situation.  He also questioned the
operation of the ITC proposal, found in the last paragraph of the implementation arrangement,
regarding the core agencies coordination of the project activities.
54. The representative of the ITC said that it s proposal would provide support to LDCs in
building inner institutional capacity in order to benefit from the IF process.  He noted that waiting
until the next IFSC meeting to approve the ITC proposal, would risk losing valuable time.  He
suggested that they discuss the matter at present.
55. The Chairman accepted the EC proposal but advised that caution be used when allocating
those funds due to funding limitations.  He then urged donors to pledge more funds.
F. ROLE OF THE IF FACILITATOR
56. The representative of Switzerland underlined the importance of consolidating the internal
capacity of each LDC to manage trade policy and trade-related operations as these vary from country
to country.  He expressed that some donors had already indicated that they would take on the role offacilitator.  He recalled that one role which could be played by the facilitator prior  the DTIS was to
review past and ongoing studies in the trade sector in order to determine the need for new analyses
and their terms of reference.  Duplicating was to be avoided.  He recommended that local resources be
used for these processes.  During the DTISs, the facilitator needed to be associated, and coordinate
with local agencies in the respective country thus en suring that priority inputs were included in the
DTISs, and needed to participate actively in the dissemination of the final DTIS.  He noted that once
the DTIS was concluded, the role of the IF facilitator would be to help the country in organizing
workshops and donor meetings.  In the long term, the facilitator needed to be associated with
monitoring the IF process.
57. The Chairman proposed to take note of the statements made by the representatives of
Switzerland, and recommended that those principles were included in future work of the IFSC.
58. The representative of Senegal wanted to thank th e EC for taking the role of facilitator in the
process of Senegal.  He also agreed that the Cambodia IF process should be used as a model for the IF
experience among LDCs.  He suggested that funding matters be treated with more flexibility.
59. The representative of United Kingdom recalled her country's role as facilitator in the Nepal
and Lesotho processes.  She noted that the revamped IF was a new process with many opportunities
for its continued improvement.
G. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOLLOW -UP ACTIVITIES TO THE IF ROUND TABLES
60. The representative of ITC reported on the five relevant countries.  In Bangladesh, the main
priorities were to improve the leather sector, and pr omote its exports.  For this purpose a study on the
leather sector was being realized.  The Gambia's main priority was to strengthen the capacity of its
Trade Ministry, and to assist in the preparation of sectorial strategies.  In Haiti, the process focused onthe improvement of its legal trade framework and capacity building of lawyers, on the strengthening
of the capacity of its Trade Ministry, development of human resources in trade information and
negotiation, and preparation of a DTIS in order to promote and develop a trade strategy.  In the caseWT/IFSC/M/5
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of Tanzania the process focused on the examination of a national trade law, to adopt to WTO
agreements, strengthen references centres and the management of capacity building.
H. FINANCIAL REPORT BY UNDP ON THE IF TRUST FUND
61. The representative of UNDP presented a document with the financial report of the Trust
Fund.  The report was an update of the management of the Trust Fund, and the information included
was until June 2002.  It incorporated a summary and the main issues as well as guide lines.  He
mentioned that some funding included conditions by donors, which complicated the task of UNDP in
managing the Trust Fund as UNDP also had its own criteria.  He welcomed the close collaboration
between UNDP and the World Bank.  He noted that the balance for Window I stood at 300.000 USD,
taking into account all the activities and for Window at 700.000 USD.
62. The representative of Canada took note of the report made by the UNDP, and suggested
changing the word condition.  She recalled that for some donor countries it was not possible to donate
funds without time frames.  She took note of the points raised by the UNDP representative, to be
considered in any further donation.
63. The representative of United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden and Norway questioned the
amounts included in the UNDP report, and requested their correction.
64. The representative of EC reiterated the importance of a discussion in the IFSC about
Windows I and II.  He said that it was fundamental to define the function of each one to avoid further
misinterpretations.  He requested that in the next meeting of the IFSC, Members be given clear
guidelines from the IAWG about this matter.  This would be a useful tool for donors, and was also a
question of transparency and clarity matter.
65. The Chairman took note of the suggestions of the UNDP representatives.  But he also recalled
that each country had its own rules and methodologies on donor funding.  He asked for more
flexibility from each part.  He endorsed the EC proposal to invite the IAWG to provide clarifications
on the use of Windows I and II at the IFSC's next meeting.
I. RATIONALIZATION OF ACTIVITIES UNDER JITAP AND IF
66. The Chairman recalled that this item had been adjourned until completion of the review of the
JITAP process, which had now been completed.  The document containing its conclusions was
available.
67. The representative of Canada said that the JITAP and IF were two complementary processes,
as was clearly reflected in the document of JITAP II.  She proposed to continue to maximize
synergies between both instruments.
68. The Chairman took note of the statements made and proposed to revert to this item at the
Committee's next meeting.  Regarding the external evaluation of the IF, he invited the Chairman of
the IAWG to draw up a document containing the draft Terms of Reference and addressing procedural
issues to be discussed at the next IFSC meeting.
69. The representative of Switzerland questioned the need to wait until the next meeting, given
the importance of the matter.
70. The representative of Canada noted that the inputs for the terms of references needed to be
done in a tripartite manner, according to the composition of the IAWG (Donors, LDC and CoreWT/IFSC/M/5
Page 10
Agencies).  In this context she recalled that the United Kingdom assumed the role of Donors'
representative.
71. The Chairman took note of the statements made and requested the representative of the
United Kingdom to send her remarks regarding the external evaluation of the IF directly to the
Chairman of the IAWG.
J. JOINT IF SEMINAR "TRADE MAINSTREAMING AND ENHANCING THE IF APPROACH "
72. The WTO Secretariat made a presentation of the programme for the Joint IF seminar.  The
programme was circulated among members.
K. OTHER BUSINESS
73. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.
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