The objective of this report is to offer a UN-wide coherent perspective and a comprehensive contribution to the international policy debate on how to practically operationalize the Aid for Trade initiative.

Aid for Trade (AfT) has become a major item on the international trade and development discourse. This is to a large extent in response to concerns expressed by developing countries and economies in transition with regard to their capacities to implement trade agreements, especially WTO agreements, and undertake necessary adjustments to increase net development gains from emerging trade opportunities.

In this World Report, major UN agencies active in development cooperation and longstanding providers of trade-related technical assistance and capacity building discuss ways to sustain the momentum towards the operationalization and implementation of the AfT initiative and the supportive role to be played by the UN system. This is consistent with UN's role in promoting development and helping to achieve poverty reduction, as committed in the Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit Outcome.

The Report should be of particular interest to government officials, officials of regional organizations, representatives of the private sector dealing with trade agreements and negotiations, civil society and academia.

Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD

Lakshmi Puri is Acting Deputy Secretary-General and Director of the Division on International Trade and Services, and Commodities at UNCTAD in Geneva.

Philippe De Lombaerde is Associate Director of United Nations University (UNU-CRIS) in Bruges.

In collaboration with: UNCTAD, ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA, UNECE, UNIDO, UNDP, UNEP

Presents a number of concrete proposals and policy recommendations Contributions from within the UN system are complemented with contributions from the academic world Describes the specific AfT-related needs and priorities in each developing region and also cross-regional perspectives as well as institutional mechanism at national, regional and global levels which need to be set up for planning, strategizing, conceptualizing and implementing AfT Discusses the role that global and regional organizations and processes play to help developing countries identify needs, successfully prepare projects and mobilize donor support

Inhalt
Aid for Trade: Global Perspectives.- Aid for Trade and Development.- Perspectives on Aid for Trade.- Aid for Trade, Aid Effectiveness and Regional Absorption Capacity.- What Does The European Experience Tell Us On Aid For Trade?.- Aid for Trade for Sustainable Development.- Aid for Trade: Supporting the Use of Standards.- Building Productive Capacities for Trade Competitiveness: Economic Partnership Agreements (Epas ) and Unido's Response.- Aid for Trade: Regional Perspectives.- Aid for Trade and Public-Private Partnerships in the Asian And Pacific Region.- Promoting Aid For Trade In Western Asia.- Building Africa's Supply Capacities And Competitiveness Through Aid For Trade.- Aid For Trade: Strengthening Latin American And Caribbean International Linkages And Regional Cooperation.