Dar es Salaam was the largest of three high-level regional reviews held as part of the World Trade
Organization’s Aid-for-Trade initiative – following on the Lima conference on 12-13 September, for Latin
America and the Caribbean, and the Manila conference on 20-21 October, for Asia and the Pacifi c. Over
450 participants took part in the discussions, including 34 ministers of fi nance and trade, key donors,
international agencies, and the private sector. Over the day-and-a-half meeting, participants discussed
the relevance of Aid for Trade to Africa, the importance of regional or cross-border challenges, the
role of regional development banks, the need to strengthen public-private partnerships, and a roadmap
for future action. Side meetings examined the central role of the private sector, the importance of
monitoring and evaluation, and the challenges involved in meeting international standards.
The following report is a brief summary of these discussions. It identifi es main themes that emerged,
suggests broad objectives for future action, and offers recommendations on how these objectives can
be met. It provided an action plan to move the initiative forward in the medium term, while laying the
foundation for a longer-term strategy. As such, it serves as an important contribution to the WTO
Global Aid-for-Trade Review to be held in Geneva on 20-21 November 2007.