Report on the Joint AITIC/OECD Workshop: Aid for Trade Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Challenges for Developing Countries
7 April 2008, 15.00-18.00, Room B, Conference Centre Varembé

I. Introduction

1. AITIC organised in collaboration with the OECD a workshop on 7 April 2008 on the Aid for Trade (AFT) Self-Assessment Questionnaire . The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness on the importance of the self-assessment process in paving the way for the success of the AFT initiative. The event provided the participants with an opportunity to discuss the challenges they faced in replying to the evaluation Questionnaire. The Workshop was chaired by AITIC’s Executive Director, Dr Esperanza Duran. Annex I contains the Evaluation Report of this seminar on the basis of a questionnaire filled in by the participants and Annex II sets out the list of participants.

II. Presentations and Discussions

2. Dr Durán welcomed the participants to the workshop and expressed her appreciation to see so many delegates present. She noted that the choice of the subject and its timing had been designed to explore the reasons why the prospective recipients’ response rate to the questionnaire was so low, and what could be done to encourage less-advantaged countries to participate in the information gathering phase of the AFT initiative. Dr Durán recalled that AITIC had issued a Discussion Paper in light of the workshop.

Monitoring Mechanism – Importance of the Questionnaire

3. In her opening remarks, Ms Martina Garcia, Senior Trade Policy Analyst, OECD, stated that the workshop was an opportunity to make sure that the next monitoring exercise enabled partner countries to “tell the story that needs to be told” about AFT. She further gave a presentation on “ Monitoring Aid for Trade” where, among other issues, she pointed out that AFT is not a new global fund. AFT is in fact part of official development assistance (ODA). However, she stressed that the monitoring exercise is about raising awareness and improving the effectiveness of trade-related ODA, and that through this process additional resources might hopefully be available. On the AFT Questionnaire that had been sent out during summer 2007, Ms Garcia noted that there was room for improvement. She raised a number of issues that could be discussed, among others on how to measure the success of the Questionnaire.

Self-Assessment Challenges for Least-Developed Countries

4. The Geneva-based speakers from LDCs shared a number of concerns regarding the self-assessment exercise. These issues were:

1. More time should have been allowed for governments to respond, as the Questionnaire had been sent out during the summer break, with a relatively short deadline less than 2 months) Given that it had to be sent to capital and there, it was difficult to organise the compilation of the information requested, as this involved inter-ministerial coordination.
2. The already existing structures of the Integrated Framework (IF) should be used to implement AFT.
3. The low response rate from recipient countries could be attributed to the fact that AFT is a relatively new concept that is not clear to all.
4. Inter-Ministerial coordination was needed to respond to the Questionnaire.

5. Mr Sambassi, Minister Counsellor, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), considered it premature to already assess the success of the initiative before its actual implementation. In his view, UNCTAD should be leading the self-assessment exercise, in consultation with the WTO and the OECD. He noted that the private sector should be taken into account in the next exercise. Regarding the DRC’s experience, the Ministry of Commerce should send the response following consultations with other ministries and the private sector.

6. Mr Ambroise Balima, Economic Counsellor, Burkina Faso, recalled the AFT mandate in paragraph 57 of the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Declaration. He noted that for AFT to be visible, contributions should appear in the national budget. He made recommendations on how to ensure an optimal response process, inspired by the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Mr Balima proposed to hold national and regional seminars to strengthen capacities and to raise awareness of AFT.

7. In the view of Mr Abdoulaye Sanoko, Third Counsellor, Mali, the Questionnaire was a good tool for the AFT self-assessment exercise. However, recipient countries’ involvement in the design of the Questionnaire could ensure stronger ownership of the process. Mr Sanoko highlighted Mali’s experience in responding to a number of similar questionnaires. In his opinion, the reason why Mali had not yet provided input to the self-assessment exercise could be found in recent political developments.

8. The national experts from LDCs gave a personal and technical viewpoint on the challenges faced by LDCs in replying to the Questionnaire. Common issues were:

1. The objective of the Questionnaire was not clear, which could generate some confusion about AFT among recipient countries.
2. The request for quantitative information on past AFT flows received by developing countries lay in the hypothesis that AFT already existed in 2002, which is contradicted by the “launch” in 2005 of the AFT call for mobilising funds. It could be more accurate to use 2007 as a year of reference.
3. Given that LDCs dispose of the IF to access AFT, differentiated Questionnaires for LDCs and other developing countries could be envisaged.

9. Ms Aminata SY, national expert from Senegal, considered that the departments in charge of data collection within national governments would need to be upgraded to coordinate across ministries to provide the requested data. She further reflected on who could be the appropriate official within national administrations to send the questionnaire to.

10. From a technical point of view, Mr Jules Ahouantchède, national expert from Benin, called for a better coherence of the set-up and the terminology used. He proposed to include an introduction to the Questionnaire which could contain background information on the objectives, the expected outcome, and guidelines on how to reply. He also noted that information on how to access AFT funds from donors would be useful.

Linking Aid for Trade with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) for LDCs

11. In her presentation Ms Annet Blank, Counsellor, WTO, stressed that the main message for LDCs was that they could access AFT funding through the EIF. She noted that AFT was not a new concept, and that it was part of ODA. She encouraged LDCs to use the IF, including the list of trade priorities (Action Matrix), and other existing tools such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) to reply to the Questionnaire and to obtain AFT project funding. Ms Blank recalled that resources of the IF Trust Fund were to be complemented by bilateral donors. As regards a revised Questionnaire, she seconded the proposal for a differentiation between LDCs and other developing countries, using elements from the IF.

Review of the Questionnaire – Room for Improvement?

12. HE Mr Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing, Ambassador of Mauritius, viewed AFT as a conceptual approach to development, which integrates the principles of the Paris Declaration. He stated that Mauritius had spent substantial resources preparing a development strategy, which had enabled it to reply to the Questionnaire. The Ambassador recommended providing assistance to developing countries to establish such a strategy. In Mauritius’ case, the combination of national ownership and political will, inter-Ministerial coordination and private sector consultations, budgetary support, and concrete evaluation tools had proved to be a successful formula in establishing a strategy. Regarding the Questionnaire, he suggested that it should address issues specific to LDCs, contain guidelines on how to reply, and be followed up with special sessions to explain it. He pointed out that while LDCs have the IF, other developing countries need to establish a structure to channel AFT.

13. In his presentation HE Mr Manuel A. J. Teehankee, Ambassador of the Philippines, noted that it had been challenging to answer the Questionnaire as it was very general and as it assumed that all developing countries have a conscious AFT strategy. For many developing countries, economic trade strategies are not always dependant on external sourced funds. The Questionnaire should take into account domestic sensitivities on the nature of such funds. He called for country workshops to conceptualise and define AFT. In the view of Ambassador Teehankee, the Questionnaire should clearly define AFT, indicate how to develop an AFT strategy, and give room to link it to existing strategies, such as national economic development plans or poverty alleviation programmes.

14. In the discussion that followed the presentations, a number of participants raised issues regarding AFT in general and voiced suggestions for improvements to the Questionnaire. Participants called for greater clarity of AFT, particularly as regards the funding. It was noted that statistics on AFT between 2002 and 2005 were either not available or accurate, as the conceptualisation of AFT was not the same as trade-related assistance prior to December 2005. It was felt that some questions had a dual meaning and that officials needed training in replying to them. The objectives of the Questionnaire needed to be clarified. Duplication of work should be avoided by requesting donor countries to provide information on financing of aid provided, while recipient countries should provide information on how the projects had been implemented and their effect. It was underlined that the regional aspect should be explored. Coordination between donors and recipient countries is needed to ensure that all are working towards the same goal.

15. Dr Durán closed the meeting by thanking the speakers for their valuable contribution to the workshop and the participants for the open and constructive discussion that had taken place. A summary of the evaluation forms that were given to the participants is attached in Annex II.

III. Issues for Follow-up

16. The following issues, taken from the speakers’ presentations and the ensuing discussions, could be taken into consideration for the follow-up from the workshop:

On AFT implementation:

1. Clarification of what is meant by AFT;
2. National and regional seminars should be held to define and raise awareness of AFT;
3. The existing structures of the IF should be used to implement AFT for LDCs;
4. Assistance was needed to develop an AFT strategy;
5. National ownership of the development strategy and inter-Ministerial coordination were indispensable elements for a successful approach to AFT;
6. The regional aspect of AFT should be explored;
7. The appropriateness of using 2007 as a reference year for AFT flows.

On improvements to the Questionnaire:

1. A new questionnaire should be designed following consultations between the OECD, the WTO and recipient countries;
2. Differentiation of the Questionnaires for LDCs and non-LDCs;
3. The objectives of and results expected from the Questionnaire should be highlighted;
4. Clarification of questions and facilitating replies, perhaps by means of examples;
5. Donor countries could provide information on financing of aid made available, while recipient countries could inform on how the projects have been implemented and their impact;
6. The addressees of the Questionnaire could be better identified;
7. A more realistic deadline for the receipt of replies is needed;
8. The private sector should be taken into account in the Questionnaire;
9. How to measure the success of the Questionnaire, either in terms of the number of responses or the quality and accuracy of the information?

Annex I: Evaluation Report

I. Introduction

1. AITIC organised in cooperation with the OECD a Workshop on the Aid for Trade (AFT) Questionnaire on 7 April 2008 with the participation of 41 delegates from developing countries, including LDCs, donor countries and international agencies.

2. Speakers included 5 LDCs, 2 developing countries and two international agencies.

3. 30 delegates (16 English-speaking and 14 French-speaking) filled in the evaluation questionnaire which provides the information that follows. The rating system in the questionnaire uses a scale from one to four, in which one stands for “Below Average” and four corresponds to “Excellent”.

II. Evaluation Questionnaire

A. General Opinion of the Workshop    

4. 93 % of the participants gave a positive opinion about the Workshop, which means that the Workshop was a success.

B. Achievement of the Workshop Objectives

5. On average, 82% of the delegates considered that the objectives of the workshop were achieved. Suggesting improvements to the AFT Questionnaire was the least successful objective, with 20% of delegates rating it at 1 or 2.

  C. Presentations Rating  

6. All presentations were rated good or excellent by 88% of the attendees on average. The presentation on “Self-Assessment Challenges for Least-Developed Countries” was particularly praised with 93% of the participants giving it a positive assessment, including 41% rating it as excellent. The presentations on the “Review of the Questionnaire – Room for Improvement?” achieved a 49% excellent note. The other two sessions presented by the OECD and WTO were rated somewhat lower.

D. Usefulness for Professional Responsibilities  

7. 93% of the delegates found that the workshop was relevant to their professional responsibilities, with 66% of them giving it a top mark.

E. Comments and Suggestions

8. A number of participants congratulated AITIC on the successful event.

9. Several countries requested follow-up activities in the form of additional seminars, dialogues or workshops. Suggestions included:

• A seminar with donor and recipient countries, including representatives from capitals, to follow-up on the recommendations from the workshop;
• A workshop on how to design a revised Questionnaire;
• A seminar on how to reply to the Questionnaire;
• A workshop with focus on LDCs;
• A workshop with focus on middle- and low-income countries;
• A seminar on the regional dimension of AFT.

10. Certain countries had national requests. Honduras, Lesotho, and Mozambique expressed an interest in holding a similar workshop at national level. Gabon requested technical assistance to set up an AFT strategy and to perform a self-assessment of its trade facilitation needs.

11. Some delegates called for more time for the discussions.

Annex II: List of Participant