ADB, WTO Agree to Join Efforts to Promote Trade in Asia

SHANGHAI, People's Republic of China (9 May) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed today to cooperate in enhancing Asia's trade environment.

Myoung-Ho Shin, ADB Vice-President (Operations 1) and Paul-Henri Ravier, WTO Deputy Director-General, signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) on behalf of their respective organizations before the start of the 35th Annual Meeting of ADB's Board of Governors.

The MOU lists 11 potential joint activities:

• courses in ADB's developing member countries (DMCs) on capacity building and training relating to WTO rules and regulations.
• workshops/seminars with negotiators/Ministers from ADB's DMCs and other regional development banks at regional or subregional levels.
• distance learning programs in collaboration with the WTO Training Institute to strengthen the organizations' universities networks and programs.
• Supporting DMCs' participation in the Trade Policy Review process.
• research on trade policy and Doha negotiating issues.
• capacity building in trade, environment and technical barriers to trade issues.
• trade and competition policy, transparency in government procurement, trade and investment, and trade facilitation.
• assistance to ADB's DMCs in the legal and technical WTO accession process.
• improving DMCs' participation in the WTO Integrated Data Base.
• customs valuation technical assistance activities.
• information exchange in trade chapters in regional development banks plans/strategies/reports on the promotion of trade in the region.

The MOU is in line with the Doha Ministerial Declaration (a trade agreement reached at Doha, Qatar in November 2001), which seeks to place the needs and interests of developing countries in the program of WTO. It supports ADB's priorities and strategies to promote economic and social development of its DMCs through trade and integration.

Both organizations will work on an annual work program in collaboration with ADB's DMCs.