19th WTO trade policy course ends

Government officials from 30 countries and customs territories attended the closing session of the 19th WTO Trade Policy Course, on 5 April 2002. The ceremony, during which the participants were presented with a Diploma testifying that they had successfully completed the three-month training programme, was chaired by Mr. Paul-Henri Ravier, Deputy Director-General of the WTO. On behalf of Mike Moore, he congratulated all the participants for their achievement.

Mr. Ravier referred to the substantial effort made by WTO Members and donors to allow the Secretariat to cope with the challenges in the area of capacity building and technical cooperation, in particular after last year's launch of the Doha Development Agenda. Against this background, he underlined the substantial increase of training activities carried out by the WTO Secretariat in general and the Training Institute in particular. The Deputy Director-General nevertheless confirmed that Residential Trade Policy Courses would remain the main benchmark for the development of a diversified programme of training activities which will also make use of modern technology to disseminate information and increase the interactivity between trainers and participants. Mr. Ravier stressed the importance of keeping alive the network of contacts that participants were able to make during the course.

On behalf of the thirty participants to the course, Mr. Andrew Osborne Satney, from Saint Lucia, thanked the WTO Secretariat and the WTO Training Institute for hosting the course. He underlined the importance of this type of capacity building event which permits to understand from the inside how the WTO functions. He underscored Mr. Ravier's appeal to maintain the contact with the WTO and conveyed the appreciation of the participants to the WTO for having allowed them to constitute solid bases for building a more active participation of their countries in the work conducted under the auspices of the WTO, and in particular in the negotiations leading to the next WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Mexico in 2003.

The WTO Training Institute's mandate goes beyond organizing the traditional three-month trade policy courses, which were instituted already under the GATT, in 1955, and includes the development of activities in the following areas: training for trainers, a diversified range of short-term trade policy courses, distance-learning services, as well as increased co-operation with universities and other institutions of learning handling WTO and trade-related issues.

The list of participants of the 19th Trade Policy Course

Belarus	Mr. Aleksandr KULINKOVICH, First Secretary, WTO Section, Department of Tariff Regulation and WTO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minsk.
Belize	Miss Carmen Melina SILVA, Foreign Service Officer, International Trade Desk, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belmopan.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Mr. Emir DJIKIC, Senior Official, Sector for International Trade Relations, Department for Multilateral Trade Relations, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Sarajevo.
Brunei Darussalam	Mrs. Ainatol Zahayu MOHAMMAD, Project Officer, International Relations and Trade Development Division, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Bandar Seri Begawan.
Bulgaria	Mrs. Rouslana Anguelova STOYANOVA, Head, WTO and other International Economic Organizations Division, Multilateral Trade and Economic Policy Directorate, Ministry of Economy, Sofia.
Cameroon	Mrs. Marie Madeleine Cocovi NGUIDJOI, Sub-Director of External Trade Affairs, Department of Commercial Promotion and Services, Ministry of Industrial and Commercial Development, Yaounde.
Eritrea	Mr. Berekhet-AB Habtemariam OGBAZGHI, Director, Foreign Trade Division, Department of Trade, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Asmara.
Gambia	Mr. Lamin JAMMEH, Trade Economist, Trade Division, Department of State for Trade, Industry and Employment, Banjul.
Grenada	Mr. Junior Glenroy MAHON, Trade Officer/Economist, International Trade Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, St. George's.
Hong Kong, China	Mrs. Kit Mui Patricia LUI, Principal Trade Officer, Multilateral Division, Trade and Industry Department, Kowloon.
Indonesia	Mr. MBA MUGHOFUR, Section Manager of Environment and Development, Sub-directorate of Trade Policy, Directorate of Multilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Jakarta.
Iran	Mr. Mohammad Reza ALIPOUR NANDEL, Expert, Multilateral Economic Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tehran.
Kenya	Mr. Michael Moses OTIENO, Trade Development Officer II, Department of External Trade, WTO Division, Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Nairobi.
Lebanon	Miss Lama OUEIJAN, Trade Economist, Minister's Cabinet, Ministry of Economy and Trade, Beirut.
Malawi	Miss Christina ZAKEYO JERE, Trade Officer, Foreign Trade Section, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Lilongwe.
Malaysia	Mr. Mohd Daud MOHD ARIF, Assistant Director, Regional Economic Cooperation Division, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Kuala Lumpur.
Mauritius	Mrs. Soraya Farah RAMJANALLY-NUTHAY, Trade Analyst, International Trade Division, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and International Trade, 8th Floor, Air Mauritius Centre, Port Louis.
Mexico	Mr. Guillermo MALPICA SOTO, Director of Multilateral Negotiations and Regional Organizations, Directorate General of Negotiations in Services, Ministry of Economy, Mexico D.F.
Mongolia	Mr. Urjinlhundev TUGSBILGUUN, Desk Officer, Department of Trade Policy and Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ulaanbaatar.
Qatar	Mr. Khalifa Ahmad ALSOWAIDI, Foreign Trade Researcher, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Economy and Commerce, Doha.
Russian Federation	Miss Elena Sergeevna ALDAKUSHKINA, Chief Specialist, Department for Trade Policy and Multilateral Negotiations, Trade in Services Division, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Moscow.
Rwanda	Mr. Elias BAINGANA, Executive Assistant to Ag. Commissioner General, Office of the Commissioner General, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Kigali.
Saint Lucia	Mr. Andrew Osborne SATNEY, Senior Economist Affairs Officer, Economic Affairs Division, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, Castries.
Samoa	Miss Aida FAUMUI, Principal Trade and Investment Promotion Officer, Trade and Investment Promotion Unit, Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry, Apia.
Singapore	Mr. Soo Chuan ONG, Desk Officer, International Economics Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore.
Tuvalu	Mr Pugameau TAUFILO, Trade Officer, Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Commerce, Funafuti.
Yemen	Mr. Hamoud Ali AL-NAJAR, Commercial Attaché (WTO Affairs), Permanent Mission of Yemen to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other specialized Agencies in Europe, Geneva.
Yugoslavia	Mrs. Sofija ARANJELOVIC, Senior Advisor, WTO Department, Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, Beograd.
Zambia	Mrs. Ikayi Gertrude SAMBONDU, Economist, Trade Department, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Lusaka.