Aid for Trade: How ADB can help Well before Aid for Trade, ADB has been active in trade related development. This booklet illustrates how ADB can help in Asia and the Pacific. View the brochure
Overview
The increasing number of trade agreements bilateral, regional, and multilateral creates major opportunities for developing countries in the Asia and the Pacific to better participate in the international trading system and thus accrue the benefits of globalization. Some countries especially in East Asia have reaped the benefits of globalization adopting outward-oriented development strategies and investing in infrastructure. But others particularly the least-developed countries (LDCs) and small states lack the productive capacity and infrastructure needed to take advantage of open markets and to connect with the global economy. These 22 LDCs and small states are spread across all the sub-regions of the Asia and the Pacific. Read more
Quotes
"Aid for Trade is all about empowering developing countries to benefit from trade. It is about helping the private sector entrepreneurs, traders, investors to seize export opportunities."
All countries, developed and developing countries alike, have the responsibility for ensuring that Aid for Trade will help secure the full benefits of trade for developing countries. We expect spending on Aid for Trade to increase to $4 billion, including through enhancing the Integrated Framework.
- Pre-Summit Statement by G8 Finance Ministers 19 May 2007, Potsdam, Germany
Top global and regional trade officials along with key private sector representatives will gather in Manila on 19-20 September to discuss how to empower less developed economies and small states to benefit from global trade. To find out more about arrangements for the conference please read the conference advisories for participants and Ministers.
Participation in the Asia-Pacific AfT Review is by invitation only.
Online-Registration
Thank you for your interest in the Aid for Trade (AfT) conference.
However, the registration is now closed. Your participation in the
conference is no longer possible. Should you need to contact the
AfT Secretariat please send your email to aft_asia@adb.org.
Mobilizing Aid for Trade: Focus Asia and the Pacific Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines, 19-20 September 2007
Registration
Venue: Ballroom 1 , Edsa Shangri-la Hotel
18:00 20:00
Welcome Cocktail Reception co-hosted by ADB President and WTO Director-General
Venue: Ballrooms 2 to 4, Edsa Shangri-la Hotel, 1 Garden Way, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
DAY 1 - Wednesday, 19 SeptemberProgram overview
7:45 8:45
Registration
Venue: Auditorium Lobby, ADB Headquarters
9:00 9:30
Opening Remarks: AfT in Asia and the Pacific
ADB President
WTO Director General
Venue: ADB Auditorium Zones A and B
9:30 9:40
Break
Venue: ADB Auditorium Lobby
9:40 10:55
Plenary 1: Why AfT Matters in Asia and the Pacific
Minister from a large developing country
Minister from an LDC
Minister from a small state
Minister from the Philippines
Venue: ADB Auditorium Zones A and B
10:55 11:15
Networking Break (20 min)
Venue: ADB Auditorium Lobby
11:15 12:30
Plenary 2: Public-Private Sector Partnership (PPP) for AfT in Asia and the Pacific
Infrastructure fund representative
Trade finance representative
Export credit agency representative
1-2 other private sector finance representatives
Venue: ADB Auditorium Zones A and B
12:30 14:00
Lunch
Venue: ADB Executive Dining Room
14:00 17:00
Parallel Break Out Sessions 1: Big Picture on AfT in Regions/Philippines
Philippines (including regional dimension)
Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS)
South Asia
Venue: GMS Session ADB Auditorium Zone C South Asia Session ADB Auditorium Zone C Philippines Session ADB Auditorium Zone D
Networking Break (20 min)
Parallel Break Out Sessions 2: Thematic/Sector Issues on AfT in Regions/Philippines
Philippines (including regional dimension)
Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS)
South Asia
Venue: GMS Session ADB Auditorium Zone C South Asia Session ADB Auditorium Zone C Philippines Session ADB Auditorium Zone D
17:30 20:00
Dinner Reception
Venue: ADB Executive Dining Room
DAY 2 - Thursday, 20 SeptemberProgram overview
8:00 9:30
Plenary 3: Ministerial Roundtable on AfT in the Asia and the Pacific: (reports on break outs and discussion by Ministers)
Minister from a large developing country
Minister from an LDC
Minister from a small state
Minister from the Philippines
Venue: ADB Auditorium Zones C and D
9:30 9:40
Participants are requested to transfer to Auditorium Zones A and B.
10:00 10:30
Keynote Address
Venue: ADB Auditorium Zones A and B
10:30 10:50
Networking Break (20 min)
Venue: ADB Auditorium Lobby
10:50 12:05
Plenary 4: Donor Partnerships for AfT in Asia and the Pacific
Traditional and new donors
Venue: Auditorium Zones C and D
12:05 12:25
Closing Remarks: Summary and Next Steps
ADB President
WTO Director General
Venue: ADB Executive Dining Room
12:25 14:00
Lunch
Venue: ADB Executive Dining Room
18 September 2007
Workshop on the Standards and Trade Development Facility
18 September 2007, ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines (9am-5:45pm)
Making market access opportunities a reality means complying with a growing body of non-tariff requirements. These requirements may be legal obligations or commercial realities. Particularly difficult can be standards related to the complex area of food safety, animal and plant health (collectively known as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures). Compliance with SPS measures is becoming an increasingly important determinant in market access, not just into developed country markets, but also in regional trade relations. The fall-out from health scares related to food and feedstuffs can have global and long-lasting negative consequences.
The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) side event will bring together senior officials concerned with SPS compliance and trade, key donors and private sector representatives. The focus will be on how to galvanise SPS-related assistance in this highly technical area so as to best address needs. The side event will have a regional focus, looking in detail at a sub-group of Mekong Delta countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam), but the conclusions which will be drawn should have significance for the whole Asian region.
Workshop on Private Sector and Aid for Trade
18 September 2007, ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines (9:00am - 5:00pm)
The WTO Task Force on Aid for Trade has foreseen an important role of the private sector in Aid for Trade. It recognized that "an increased dialogue between the public sector and private entrepreneurs would improve effectiveness in assessing aid for trade needs, in diagnostics and in implementation as well as in evaluating effectiveness in implementation." Organized by WTO/UNCTAD's International Trade Center (ITC), this event will provide an opportunity to take stock of public-private sector partnerships to promote SME exports and to look for means to replicate successful initiatives. Based on presentation of experiences drawn from different parts of Asia, the event is designed to foster a dialogue and gather insights into the public-private collaborations for trade development.
OECD Practitioners Forum : Making the Most of Aid for Trade
20 September 2007, ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines (2:30pm -6:30pm)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is working to make Aid for Trade more effective and has been collaborating with the WTO in setting up a monitoring framework for aid-for-trade. Organized by OECD, this event aims at ensuring that developing countries take full advantage of the aid-for-trade initiative and in particular the WTO-led monitoring framework. The forum will include a discussion on the objectives and process of the monitoring framework and a special session dedicated to the use of the WTO-OECD recipient questionnaires as a reporting template for the WTO Global Aid-for-Trade Reviews. A second session will target implementation issues and aim at developing a regional dialogue on how to address the most common trade development challenges in the region through aid for trade. Participants should be trade development experts with responsibilities spanning from the design and implementation of aid-for-trade programmes to reporting to the WTO monitoring framework.
Hotel Rating: 21 San Miguel Avenue corner Lourdes Street Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1600, Philippines Telephone: +63 2 689 8416 Fax: +63 2 638 4650 E-mail: areyes@richmondehotel.com.ph Website: www.richmondehotel.com
Hotel Rating: 37 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1600 Philippines Telephone: +63 2 638 7878 Fax: +63 2 631 6547 E-mail:karamos@lindensuites.com Website: www.lindensuites.com
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SECRETARIAT
Office of Regional Economic Integration 7/F Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila PHILIPPINES E-mail: aft_asia@adb.org
Tel: +63 2 6325276 or +63 2 6326938 Fax: +63 2 6362183
Where can I find more information about the conference? This website contains information regarding the conference. Please check this website for updates.
Where do I get background materials and conference program? Background materials are available for download here.
How do I know that I have been included in the participants list? Participation in this event is by invitation only. If you have been invited or coming as a representative of a government or organization, you are required to register here and an email confirming your participation in the event will be sent to you. For any technical problems in registering, please contact our webmaster.
I have been invited but want to bring some colleagues to also attend. Do they also need to register? Yes. All participants need to register. Please check with the Secretariat first as to the number of people we can accommodate.
I want to bring some materials back with me after the conference. Where can I get them? During the conference, papers and other relevant materials will be available at the Secretariat's desk. Papers prepared during the conference will also be posted on this website for download.
How do I keep updated on Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific after the conference? We will keep updating this website even after the conference and will post information on the progress of the Aid for Trade Initiative in the Asia-Pacific.
What are these side events and how are they related to the Aid for Trade conference? The following three side events are planned: 1) Workshop on the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) sponsored by the WTO; 2) Workshop on Needs Assessment and Monitoring Aid for Trade sponsored by the OECD; and 3) Roundtable on the Private Sector and Aid for Trade sponsored by International Trade Center (UNCTAD/WTO). More information about these side events can be found here.
These workshops will be conducted in collaboration with ADB and will be held about the same time as the Aid for Trade conference. Participants in the Aid for Trade conference may wish to attend some of these workshops as they are also related to trade and development. We shall provide a link to these side events once details have been finalized.
For other questions, please contact the Secretariat directly.
How do I book a hotel? You may contact the hotel directly. We have provided a list of hotels that are near ADB for your convenience. It would be best to book early as occupancy rates in these hotels vary. To make sure that reservations are confirmed, please talk to the person in charge of reservations and get confirmation.
How do I get to the hotel from the airport? Although taxis are available outside the airport, it is better to request airport transfers from the hotel you are staying in. The taxi drivers charge about the same as what hotels would charge for airport transfers.
How do I get to ADB from the hotel and back? The hotels listed here are walking distance from ADB. Discovery Suites and Crowne Plaza are the closest to ADB (about 3 minutes walk), followed by Linden Suites, Richmonde Hotel, and EDSA Shangri-La (about 8 minutes walk). Astoria Plaza may take more than 15 minutes to walk so taking a cab from this hotel is suggested. The hotels may have transport service to ADB but this should be requested.
How do I contact ADB when I get to Manila? From a landline phone, dial 6324444 (ADB trunk line) and an operator will assist you. If you are dialing from a hotel phone, dial 9 first and then the ADB number. If you are using a cell phone, dial 02 before the number (i.e., 02 6324444).
How do I get information on getting around Manila? The hotel staff are a good source of information on getting around the city. If you get information from the internet, check with the hotel staff first to make sure that the information is still valid.
Are there places to eat around ADB? If you are staying in one of the recommended hotels, there are good bars and restaurants located in the vicinity, including El Pueblo, The Podium, Robinsons Galleria (where Holiday Inn is connected), SM Megamall, Shangri-La Plaza (located in the same complex as EDSA Shangri-La Hotel), and Metrowalk.
Where do I go if I need to shop? There are shopping malls around ADB. SM Megamall, The Podium, Robinsons Galleria, and Shangri-La Plaza are department stores with supermarkets. St. Francis Square (located between SM Megamall and The Podium) has cellphones and call cards available at affordable prices.
Where is ADB located in Manila? It is called Ortigas Center. It is located in Mandaluyong City, which is part of the Metro Manila area.
For all other queries, please send an email to the conference Secretariat.
