Launching of the Regional Trade Policy Course for African Countries in partnership with Mohammed V Souissi University in Rabat, Morocco

Presiding over the ceremony were Dr Taïeb Chkili, President of Mohammed V - Souissi University, and Mr Mustapha Mechahouri, Minister of Foreign Trade of the Kingdom of Morocco. The Minister of National Education, Higher Education, Staff Training and Scientific Research and the State Secretary for Vocational Training also attended.

Also present was Mr Paul Rolian, Director of the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Co-operation who, in his opening address, welcomed all of the participants on his own behalf and on behalf of the WTO Director-General, Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi. He thanked Mohammed V - Souissi University for its active cooperation in the course preparations and encouraged the participants to make the most of the weeks ahead.

Mr Mustapha Mechahouri, Minister of Foreign Trade, began his address by thanking the World Trade Organization for the technical assistance it had provided in favour of the developing countries, and reminded participants of the importance of the occasion: "This regional trade policy course is an excellent opportunity to complete the training of our human resources and better assimilate the concepts that govern the multilateral trading system."

Over the next twelve weeks, participants will be able to become acquainted with the rules of the WTO and the way the organization operates. The courses will be given by WTO representatives as well as regional representatives, in the form of presentations, discussions, practical exercises and simulations.

This partnership scheme with higher education institutions in the developing countries was developed with a view to achieving three basic goals. The first is to increase the number of government officials in the developing countries by providing them with a solid foundation of knowledge on the WTO, and thus build up their governments' capacity to articulate and defend their national interests. The second objective is to build partnerships between the WTO and the institutions of the countries of a given region. In this case, Mohammed V - Souissi University will be assuming a greater share of the responsibility by adapting the courses as it sees fit and using them as a basis for developing other activities. Finally, the third objective is to establish research links between universities and other institutions of the region and the international organizations, including the WTO.

Regional trade policy courses are part of the WTO's technical assistance and capacity‑building programme, and are modelled on three-month trade policy courses that have been organized by the GATT/WTO in Geneva for over 40 years. They were first introduced in 2002, and have since been held in Africa, in the Asia/Pacific region, and in the Caribbean. There are plans to organize a regional course in Latin America in 2005.

The course will end on 10 December 2004.

List of participants