The Director of International Organizations and Conference Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Solomon Maina, welcomed the establishment of the Reference Centre and said that “it demonstrated WTO’s commitment to strengthening the capacity of Kenya to participate more actively in the work of the WTO and the multilateral trading system”.  He noted that the Centre would be of great assistance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as it prepares to assume responsibility for international trade matters.  He further noted that the Centre would enable officials to benefit from the progressive learning strategy and deepen their knowledge about the WTO.  Given that the general public would have access to the Centre, he said that “it would be a valuable tool for exporters seeking information about the tariff profiles and other commitments of WTO Members”.  A briefing on the latest developments in the Doha Round was organized for officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Furthermore, users of the Reference Centre are encouraged to benefit from the E-Learning facilities provided by the Secretariat.

Trizah Nebi was officially appointed as the Coordinator for the Kenya Reference Centre established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  She was briefed with the new Result's based management concept and was informed that periodically reports of the use of the Reference Centre should be provided to the Secretariat.