Mr. Serafino Marchese, Chief, Training and Capacity Building Section, ITTC, and Ms. Gretchen Stanton, Head, SPS Measures Section, ACD presided over the diploma ceremony held at the end of the course.

Twenty-six government officials from developing countries, economies in transition and least-developed countries who are WTO Members or Observers, participated in this three-week training course, held in English, a level 3 activity, which is the highest level in the WTO's progressive learning framework.

This course enabled participants to immerse themselves in the work of the WTO and provided a unique opportunity for “hands-on” learning on the multilateral trading system in general, and more particularly on the implementation of the SPS Agreement. During the second week participants attended the meetings of the SPS Committee, including a workshop on transparency. They had the opportunity to interact with other WTO Members' representatives, thus facilitating networking and the exchange of experiences in the implementation of the SPS agreement. During the last week of the course, participants became acquainted with the work of the three international standards-setting organizations (commonly referred to as the “three sisters”, namely Codex, OIE and IPPC) and learned from the experience of other countries on how they participate effectively in these international organizations. A field trip was organized to visit Nestlé headquarters in Vevey providing participants with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the food safety management and alert systems of a major company involved in international trade in food products.

The overall aim of the course was to promote leadership in addressing SPS implementation issues. Participants developed and presented action plans to address implementation challenges in their countries which they are expected to implement when they return to their home countries (“You make the difference” is the informal motto of the course). They will report periodically on their progress until they return for a follow-up session planned for June 2011.

  

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