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The WTO Committee on Trade & Development approved the Terms of Reference for the Strategic Review of Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) activities undertaken by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its meeting held on 11th May, 2005. These terms of reference call for the establishment of a Steering Committee which will monitor the strategic review and select the members of the review team that will conduct the exercise. The review team would consist of three experts with experience in and knowledge of developing countries’ trade policies, strategies and capacities. They should have experience in hands on management and evaluation of trade related technical assistance and training systems and as a team, be able to communicate and work in the three official languages of the WTO.
At the first meeting of the Steering Committee, it decided to invite bids from individuals, teams and companies that are interested in carrying out this evaluation and to seek assistance from the various Missions to the WTO in Geneva to give appropriate coverage for this invitation. The deadline for submission of bid is 23rd September, 2005.
This has been communicated by the Chairman of the WTO Steering Committee on Strategic Review of Trade Related Technical Assistance to the Ambassador of India to the WTO, requesting that this information be appropriately disseminated within the country for the information of all concerned.
Background
In November 2001 at the WTO Doha Ministerial Conference, technical cooperation and capacity building were recognised as important components of the development dimension of the Multilateral Trading System. Subsequently, the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) was established to finance TRTA activities in line with: (i) the technical cooperation and capacity building mandates in the Doha Declaration; (ii) the New Strategy for Technical Cooperation for Capacity Building, Growth and Integration; and (iii) the coordinated WTO Secretariat Annual Technical Assistance Plan. The annual resources for TRTA and training have doubled, both in the regular budget and in extra-budgetary funds between 2002 and 2004 to meet technical assistance and training needs of the Members concerned in all areas of multilateral trade.
SB/MRS
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