Advanced trade policy course underway at WTO

The course is designed to foster participants' autonomy in conducting WTO-related work, enabling them to effectively engage in trade policy formulation, implementation and monitoring, as well as in WTO negotiations and dispute settlement. Legal and economic aspects of WTO rules will be addressed through interactive sessions, which will provide opportunities to share experiences on contemporary trade issues.

In his opening remarks, the WTO Permanent Representative of Barbados and Patron of the course, Ambassador Matthew Wilson, emphasized the importance of multilateralism and strategic partnerships. He said: "Multilateralism must never be taken for granted. Gaining a seat at the negotiating table is not easy. To influence global politics — whether it be trade, human rights, climate change or the digital revolution — it is crucial to work with other economies on consolidating global cooperation."

In addition to honing their negotiation skills, Ambassador Wilson encouraged participants to share their experiences and to actively engage with each other in a critical and constructive manner.

Emphasizing the pivotal role of these courses as part of the WTO's technical assistance activities, Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang referred to his own participation in the programme after the WTO was created in 1995. He said: “I benefited a lot from this course, not only from the knowledge and expertise point of view but also by taking advantage of the opportunity to establish a network of contacts, many of whom became my counterparts during trade negotiations and with whom I worked on various bilateral and multilateral initiatives. I encourage you to participate actively in order to make the most of the time you have invested in this course.”

Participants in this year's course hail from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East.  Six come from least-developed countries.

The list of participants is here.

The programme can be found here.