The twenty participants are from 11 CEECAC countries which are members or observers of the WTO. It is the second RTPC to be organized in partnership with the UIB and the Government of Kazakhstan.

The RTPC was opened with an address by Dr Darkhan Akhmed-Zaki, President of the UIB, and by Mr Roberto Fiorentino of the WTO's Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation.

Dr Akhmed-Zaki thanked the WTO for entrusting the UIB with the implementation of the RTPC for a second consecutive year. He highlighted how the UIB's partnership with the WTO has made a valuable contribution to trade policy capacity-building for the UIB and government officials from the region.

Mr Fiorentino thanked the UIB and the Government of Kazakhstan for their ongoing support for the WTO's training activities. Dr Akhmed-Zaki and Mr Fiorentino ended their address by saying they hoped the participants would find the course rewarding.

RTPCs are intermediate (Progressive Learning Strategy Level 2) "generalist" training courses specifically designed for government officials from ministries/agencies dealing with trade-related issues who have already undertaken basic WTO training.  The eight-week courses take place in Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Central Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Arab-Middle East and the Caribbean and are organized by the WTO in partnership with regional academic institutions.

The courses are delivered by officials from the WTO Secretariat and by trade policy specialists and academic experts from the region. The course covers the WTO agreements and other trade issues, including regional trade policy issues. It is delivered through a combination of lectures, case studies and exercises and ends with an exam.