The Economic Relations Division is examining three separate project proposals.

"Besides the Export Promotion Bureau, the ministries of agriculture and fisheries and livestock have prepared these project proposals following a commerce ministry directive," a high official of the Commence Ministry said yesterday.

Several other ministries and division such as Ministry of Shipping, National Board of Revenue and Ministry of Finance will also submit some other project proposals under the package, the source added.

The Commerce Ministry invited project proposals under the WTO package from different ministries on April 16 this year at an inter-ministerial meeting as some developed countries had offered a huge amount of aid as package.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry has decided to convene a meeting, which will be chaired by minister Hafizuddin Ahmed, within a short span of time to determine strategy of how Bangladesh could reap maximum benefit from the proposed aid for trade package.

This meeting will also deliberate on the suggestions made by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private think tank.

These organisations advised the government to take necessary actions, including formation of a national committee on 'aid for trade', for utilising the package.

Progress in the Bangladesh Trade Policy Review (TPR) that took place at the WTO headquarters in Geneva of Switzerland between September 13 and 15 and main features of the G-20 meeting in Brazil, where Bangladesh also took part, will come up for discussion, among other things, at the forthcoming meeting.

Meanwhile, representatives from different countries and donor agencies, including Japan, USA and European Commission, had a number of meetings with Commerce Secretary Firoz Ahmed in the last couple of months to talk the aid for trade issue.

Sources said the British government has promised to hike the aid to $750 million to the LDCs by 2010 under the WTO package plan, pushing the total European Union (EU) yearly contribution to $2 billion until then. Japan has promised $10 billion over three years and the US $2.7 billion a year by 2010.

While talking to The Daily Star, a local trade expert said the WTO package will contribute to the capacity building of the LDCs' infrastructures besides meeting export standards of these countries.

Negotiations on the WTO Doha Development Round were suspended in July this year amid widespread differences among the members.

The Aid for Trade Task Force, which was formed early this year by the WTO, submitted their report in July this year where they suggested more focus on aid for trade package to poor countries.