This course, which comprised 20 different modules and practical exercises, enabled participants to acquire tools to better understand and apply multilateral trade rules in their duties.

In a video message shown during the closing session, Bridget Chilala, Director of the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, highlighted the key role played by technical assistance in supporting developing countries' participation in world trade. “With your newly acquired knowledge of all WTO Agreements, we trust that you will help your respective governments better seize the opportunities that open trade provides, particularly to developing and least-developed countries,” she said.

Emphasizing the importance to Togo of organizing this technical assistance activity, Rose Kayi Mivedor Sambiani, Togolese Minister of Trade, Handicrafts and Local Consumption, said to participants, “I urge you, once you get back home, to build on the knowledge acquired here to enable our countries to participate more meaningfully in world trade.”

Welcoming the fruitful collaboration between the WTO and the University of Lomé, the President of the University of Lomé, Professor Mawulé Adama Kpodar, highlighted the importance of the programme for building the capacity of African officials in the field of trade. “Trade openness, trade facilitation and regional integration are key development levers, and through this course, you have acquired crucial skills to contribute to the implementation of effective policies,” he told participants.

The activity was welcomed by all participants, who stressed the importance of the knowledge acquired for helping to promote trade in their countries. Doha El Manouni, Lawyer at the Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade and a course participant, said, “The course is a unique opportunity that has allowed me to better understand the legal instruments available to Members and build my capacity to navigate and look up provisions in different agreements.”

Another participant, Jycklan Pavlik Ibata Odiki, Head of the Conception and Analysis of International Trade Issues at the Trade Ministry of the Congo, said, “I am leaving this course completely informed and equipped with respect to trade policymaking. This course is an opportunity for participants to use and become well versed in the WTO Agreements and enable their countries to take full advantage of multilateral trade.”