The main purpose of the internship programme is to provide officials with an opportunity to directly participate in the WTO's work in Geneva and to enhance their understanding of the multilateral trading system. Their internships will last up to the end of the year.

They were welcomed to the programme by Hakim Ben Hammouda, Director of the WTO's Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, and by Maarten Smeets, Chief of the Technical Assistance Coordination Section.

During the internship, the trainees will work on specific issues to suit their individual needs. They will have the opportunity to follow the meetings of WTO committees and other bodies, and to keep abreast of all the latest developments in the Doha Round negotiations.

The full list of trainees taking part in the 2009 Netherlands Training Programme is as follows:

Mr. Lodey WANGCHUK (Bhoutan)
Mr. Kyaw SAN (Myanmar)
Mr. Gosalamang MANE (Botswana)
Mr. Adamu Mohammed ABDULHAMID (Nigeria)
Mr. Saïd Abdou SALIME (Comores)
Mr. Mohammad OWAIS KHAN (Pakistan)
Mr. Patrick Osei BONSU (Ghana)
Ms Sara Ali Abed Alrahim ALI TAHA (Sudan)
Mr. Saïdou Yaya BALDE (Guinea)
Mr. Anh Ngoc QUYEN (Viet Nam)
Mr. Abraham DUKULY (Liberia)