LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDCS)

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The participants studied the various WTO Agreements and the flexibilities granted to LDCs with experts from the WTO Secretariat, and had the opportunity to engage with external speakers specializing in international trade. The topics addressed included trade in cotton, trade facilitation and preferential rules of origin. The outcomes of the Twelfth Ministerial Conference, held in Geneva in June, were also on the agenda.

In addition, the course sought to familiarize the participants with the practical functioning of the WTO. The participants therefore attended a meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on Mexico, followed by a meeting of the General Council, the WTO's central standing body. They were also able to follow certain sessions of the WTO Public Forum, organized from 27 to 30 September, in parallel to the course.

The programme included case studies and group exercises that enabled the beneficiaries to gain practical trade policy experience. The objective of this introductory training activity was to help government officials from various ministries, including trade and foreign affairs, to support their respective country's efforts to participate as actively as possible in the multilateral trading system.

“The WTO attaches particular importance to the training and capacity-building of developing countries and especially LDCs, with the latter accounting for approximately one fifth of all Members. Accordingly, LDCs continue to receive special attention within the WTO in order to help them improve their capacity to trade and to better integrate into the multilateral trading system”, said Juan Manuel Fernandez Azpiroz, Chief of the Technical Assistance Coordination, Partnerships and Internship Programmes Section of the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC), at the opening ceremony on 19 September. Mr Fernandez Azpiroz was speaking on behalf of the ITTC Director, Bridget Chilala.

Highlighting the teaching skills and availability of the speakers as well as the quality of the material used, Ibrahim Tanda Bonkano, Director of the Promotion of Trade, Services and Electronic Commerce for the Republic of Niger and a participant in the course, said: “The expertise gained throughout this course will help me to discharge my duties and to ensure compliance with the commitments taken on by my country within the WTO. […] The knowledge acquired — particularly in relation to trade in services and electronic commerce, trade policy, trade facilitation and the importance of notifications — will enable me to participate effectively in the work of the various committees and to successfully run training and awareness-raising workshops for trade stakeholders (public, private and civil society).”

The following countries were represented: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

At the closing ceremony on 7 October, Mr Fernandez Azpiroz, speaking on behalf of Ms Chilala, underscored how important it is for the WTO to “strengthen, on a long-term basis, the human capacities” of LDCs. “To fulfil this objective, the WTO uses an approach to training activities that is based on the Progressive Learning Strategy. We hope that this capacity-building will increase the participation of each of your countries in the multilateral trading system and that your fellow citizens will also reap the expected benefits”, he told the participants.

The programme is available here.

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