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WTO NEWS: 2004 NEWS ITEMS

2 April 2004
WTO TRAINING COURSES

56 developing countries' representatives complete their three-month training at WTO

Government officials from 56 countries attended on Friday 2 April the closing ceremony marking the conclusion of the 27th and 28th WTO Trade Policy Courses (TPC), which were held in parallel at the WTO Headquarters from 12 January to 2 April 2004. Dr. Kipkorir Aly Rana, Deputy Director-General of the WTO, chaired the ceremony.

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During three months, the participants have been immersed in the WTO work and had the opportunity to learn in a theoretical and practical way the functioning of the organization. Participating officials became acquainted, through lectures, debates, attendance of WTO meetings and simulation exercises, with virtually all the issues dealt with in the framework of the organization. Visits to other international organizations located in Geneva allowed participants to become acquainted with trade-related aspects of their work. Switzerland hosted a visit to Bern where contacts were made with government officials in charge of WTO and development issues. Participants had also the opportunity to exchange views and opinions with some economic actors, in particular during their visit to Nestlé, and with delegates based in Geneva and representatives of various NGOs, on the occasion of two round-tables.

Dr. Rana congratulated the two groups for completing the demanding training programme. He praised the dedication of the participants and expressed the hope that this experience will bear its fruits for the fifty-six States and Customs territories which benefited from it.

On behalf of the 27th TPC, Mr. Tarek Ben Youssef, from Tunisia, expressed "the gratitude and the high appreciation of the participants to the WTO Senior Management , its competent staff, and to the WTO Members for their indispensable support and commitment for making this undertaking a stimulating and successful experience". Mr. Ben Youssef underlined that "through the exposure to the functioning and procedures of the multilateral trade system, a better understanding of WTO agreements and the acquired knowledge and competences, (the participants) could contribute, in the different responsibilities they will assume in the short and medium term, to reinforcing their respective country's active and efficient participation in the Multilateral Trading System".

Before the participants received their diplomas from the hands of Dr. Rana, and on behalf of 28th TPC, Mr. Norberto Martinez Leon, from Colombia, stated that "there is a good reason why one calls these ceremonies commencement exercises. Graduation is not an end; it is a beginning. After twelve weeks here at the WTO, after many lectures, meetings, negotiations, and sometimes even very heated discussions, we (the participants) go back to our respective countries to a new beginning ... taking back what we have learned and what we have experienced, and utilizing it to promote our countries' respective interests, and all this within a rules based system that we ought to preserve for the benefit of us all". Mr. Martinez also stressed that "participants from fifty-six different nationalities represented had come to realize that they have in common more than what set them and their respective countries apart."

The 56 participants come from developing and least-developed countries, as well as transition economies and countries in the process of accession to the WTO.

The 27th and 28th TPC were held in English. Two additional 3-month TPCs will be organized this year in Geneva, one in French and the other one in Spanish. Several other specialized courses will complement the training activities conducted by the Institute for Training and Technical Co-operation at the WTO Headquarters this year. In parallel with the Geneva-based training activities four three-month Regional Trade Policy Courses are also being organized in the field this year in co-operation with local and regional partner institutions.

Lists of the participants  back to top

27th Trade Policy Course

28th Trade Policy Course