This report presents the results of the second monitoring exercise of the Aid-for-Trade Initiative and documents its success so far. Although the main conclusions of the report are positive, the outlook is affected by the current global economic crisis. However, aid for trade is now and more than ever essential to help suppliers from developing countries build capacity to compete in global markets. The key message of the report is clear: aid for trade must remain an essential component of development assistance. In this respect, the report offers a number of steps to advance aid-for-trade dialogue.