The official ceremony to mark the occasion was presided over by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr Manuel García Arévalo, and the Director of External Trade, Ms Yahaira Sosa. The Vice Minister of External Trade, Mr Marcelo Puello, was also present. Trade officials from various ministries as well as members of the business community also attended the ceremony.

In his statement, Mr Arévalo expressed his appreciation and underlined the importance of interaction between the WTO and the business sector through the WTO Reference Centre (RC). He thanked the WTO for the RC being established at the Ministry and made a statement about the importance of the RC for “accessing information on world trade which is required by the different sectors of the national economy”. 

A training course was delivered as part of the activity, which was attended by 30 people. The training delivered consisted of a series of technical presentations on the features available to users of the RC (WTO publications, documents on-line, Integrated Database, notifications, etc.). 

Another important aspect of the role of the RC that was underlined is its potential role in the expansion of a variety of training and outreach activities. The press coverage in several newspapers outlined this aspect of the RC’s functions and provided important visibility for the event. The IT equipment installed in the RC was financed by the Ministry, and the WTO Secretariat donated a number of WTO official publications, including electronic documentation.

On the occasion of this event, the Universidad Iberoamericana showed its interest in organizing a project that would involve other Dominican universities and government bodies such as Industry and Trade or Foreign Affairs. The RC could play a critical role in this endeavour.