Dear
Ambassadors/Permanent Representatives,
I am enclosing the latest version of
the Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance (_WT/CFMC/6/Rev.36) for
review by Members in advance of the next Round of the Director‑General's
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC), scheduled for 7 May 2024.
The enclosed Evolving Table (ET) contains
project updates by Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, and The Netherlands.
In addition, the document includes updates on projects implemented by the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Atomic
Energy Agency.
I am pleased to report that the total
value of active cotton-specific projects under Part I "Cotton-specific
development assistance" increased to USD 362 million, from the USD 355 million
recorded in the previous revision of the ET, and that the value of disbursed
amounts increased to 39% of the committed amounts, from the previous ratio of
37%.
The total number of active projects under
Part I also increased to 42 (up from 37 in the previous revision). As regards
Part II "Agriculture and Infrastructure-Related Development
Assistance", there are 37 active projects.
Part III of the ET lists cotton focal
points from developing country Members, with updates received from Benin, Burkina
Faso, Chad, Mali, and Togo.
Part IV of the ET compiles
cotton-related development assistance requests submitted by developing country
Members. A total of ten project requests have been submitted by Benin, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Cameroon, Mali, and the C-4 as a group, for consideration.
The 41st Round of the DGCFMC
will be held on 7 May 2024, starting at 10 a.m. The twenty‑first Dedicated
Discussion of the Relevant Trade-related Developments on Cotton will take place
in the afternoon of the same day, starting at 3 p.m.
The enclosed document will form the
basis for the 41st Round of Consultations of the DGCFMC.
Yours
sincerely,
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala