Statement at the Pledging Conference on the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund from Ambassador Takahashi, Special Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan

March 11, 2002

Mr. Chairman,

On behalf of the Government of Japan, I wish to express our deep appreciation for the efforts made by you, Director-General Moore and the Secretariat to organise this pledging conference on the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund.

As is clearly stated in various parts of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, WTO-related technical assistance and capacity building are integral parts of the Doha Development Agenda.

The WTO needs to assist developing Members in implementing the WTO Agreements and in preparing to engage in the New Issues. In this context, establishment of this Global Trust Fund is significant and opportune. The Government of Japan therefore contributes the amount of CHF 1.5 million ($US 0.9 million) to this Fund.

Mr. Chairman, as the long list prepared by the Secretariat illustrates, demand for technical assistance and capacity building is strong among developing Members. In order for the WTO to effectively and expeditiously implement necessary assistance with the limited Fund, we need to focus our efforts on '' WTO related or New Round related '' projects. In this regard, I would like to propose a couple of guiding principles.

First, working-out of projects should be demand-driven. Developing Members are now asked to make clear what they expect from WTO technical assistance and capacity building programmes in a concrete manner. Without active participations from the recipients, no project can be useful for them. In other words, ownership is important.

I would like to take '"The APEC Strategic Plan" as an example. This plan, aiming to assist APEC Members in implementing the WTO Agreements, formulates programmes after carefully hearing the needs of each member. On the basis of the results of such hearing, JICA, Japan International Cooperation Agency, has recently started a series of workshops in Bangkok on TBT, AD / CVD and GATS, in cooperation with the Thai government and the WTO Secretariat. I am glad to report that the workshops were quite successful. We will continue similar programmes which will be tailored to specific needs of each member in other capitals of the region. APEC SOM …? in February decided to confirm the importance of the capacity building on the New Issues; to compile a matrix on WTO-related capacity building activities in APEC; and to involve relevant international organizations in these activities.

Second, the WTO should seek further cooperation from international aid and development organisations as well as bilateral donor countries to effectively implement technical assistance and capacity building programmes. The WTO is not an aid agency and its capacity is limited, while UNCTAD, UNDP and various national and international technical assistance agencies such as JICA have been working in this field for a long time and have accumulated experiences and expertise. The cooperation with those organizations is therefore fruitful and even indispensable. There are already a number of examples: The Asian Regional Symposium on trade, investment and development held in Malaysia last year is one example, which was co-organized by WTO and UNCTAD, and funded by the Government of Japan. This year, the Government of Japan is planning to conduct, through JICA, several capacity building programmes on the New Issues in Geneva, combining professional knowledge of the WTO Secretariat with expertise of the UNCTAD and other organizations. Utilizing the regional organizations is also extremely effective. Last month, the Government of Japan sponsored the WTO Accession Seminar for non-WTO members in Asia Pacific organized by ESCAP that has deep regional networks in the field of trade and development.

Mr. Chairman, Japan is aware that developing Members need technical assistance and capacity building on a wide range of issues, including supply-side assistance to strengthen, in particular, their export capacity and competitiveness. Although the WTO cannot provide such assistance by itself, the international community should do more. The Government of Japan launched, 2 years ago, an extensive human resource development program which aims at training 2,500 people in developing countries over 5 years to enhance their trade-related capacity. During the past two years, Japan has contributed the total amount of approximately US$ 107.8 million to the multilateral, regional and bilateral trade-related technical assistance. Japan will continue this type of long-term technical assistance as well as various types of assistance such as aids to develop necessary infrastructure.

This year, from Monterrey to Johannesburg, "trade and development" will be highlighted as one of the key subjects of the international fora. They provide good opportunities to focus on the importance of trade-related technical assistance and capacity building.

Mr. Chairman, the legitimacy of the multilateral trading system depends on whether all its Members, both developing and developed alike, can reap the benefits of the system. The Government of Japan believes that the new round of trade negotiations along with adequate and targeted trade related technical assistance and capacity building will best ensure the benefits from the multilateral trading system.

Thank you for your kind attention.