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WTO NEWS: 2000 PRESS RELEASES

Press/176
26 April 2000

14th WTO Trade Policy Course gets underway

The 14th WTO Trade Policy Course, which is being held in Spanish, has been inaugurated today in Geneva by Mr. Miguel Rodriguez Mendoza, Deputy Director-General of the WTO. Speaking on behalf of Director-General Mike Moore, Mr. Rodriguez welcomed the 24 participants coming from 20 WTO Members and Observers and one regional integration secretariat.
In his welcoming statement, Mr. Rodriguez highlighted four elements which differentiate the current multilateral trading system administered by the WTO from the GATT system which was in place until 1994: i) a new profile of the organization, with more than two thirds of the Members made up by developing countries and economies in transition; ii) a broader scope of coverage of policy measures, including policies which were formerly solely under national jurisdiction; iii) a common set of binding obligations for all Members, not precluding special and differential treatment for developing countries; and iv) an improved dispute settlement mechanism.

The aim of the training courses is to provide the participants with greater understanding of trade policy matters, the functioning of the multilateral trading system and the work of the WTO. The courses also address the provisions of the agreements resulting from the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations and the rights and obligations of WTO Members. Offered in English twice every year and in French and Spanish every second year, the courses are open to officials from developing, least-developed countries/customs territories and economies in transition, including countries/customs territories which are not WTO Members.

The courses have a practical orientation and are designed to help participating officials, who already have responsibilities for the formulation and conduct of foreign trade policy in their respective governments, to perform their functions more effectively, and to promote a more active and effective participation of their countries in the multilateral trading system. Apart from a series of lectures on WTO law, the programme includes participation in seminars and group discussions, a workshop on negotiating techniques and simulation exercises for conducting trade negotiations and for settling trade disputes. The participants also attend official meetings.

During the course, the participants undertake a one-week study tour abroad as well as shorter study tours in Switzerland, which include visits to institutions and enterprises connected with foreign trade. Spain will host the study tour abroad for the participants of the fourteenth Course. In addition to WTO Secretariat officials, many guest lecturers, including senior officials of government delegations and international organizations, as well as academics, are invited to address the participants.

The course has a duration of 12 weeks during which participants, all developing-country trade officials, will attend lectures, workshops, study tours and simulations on the WTO Agreements and related issues. The participants of the 14th TPC come from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela and the Mercosur Secretariat.

The 14th WTO Trade Policy Course is the third one to be held in Spanish since the creation of the WTO in 1995. The year 2000 marks the 45th anniversary of the training courses organized by the WTO and its predecessor, GATT. Since 1955, GATT/WTO has organized 98 regular courses for more than 1,800 officials from over 160 countries or customs territories.

List of Participants

Argentina

Sr. Luis Ariel CASTILLO, Secretario de Embajada y Cónsul de 1era. clase, Dirección de Asuntos Económicos Multilaterales, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto, Buenos Aires.

Bolivia

Sra. Norah VELASCO ORELLANOS, Jefe de la Unidad de Acuerdos, Vice-Ministerio de Inversión y Privatización, Ministerio de Comercio Exterior e Inversión, Edificio Palacio de Comunicación, La Paz.

Chile

Sr. Felipe Eugenio LOPEANDIA WIELANDT, Asistente, Departamento de Servicios, Inversiones y Transporte Aéreo, Dirección General de Relaciones Económicas Internacionales, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Santiago.

Colombia

Sr. Alberto LORA AGUANCHA, Asesor, Subdirección de Relaciones de Integración y Organismos Multilaterales, Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, Bogotá.

 

 

Sr. Hugo Gilberto MARÍN BLANCO, Jefe, División de Investigación, Instituto Colombiano de Comercio Exterior -INCOMEX, Bogotá

Cuba

Srta. Rebeca Gertrudis GONZÁLEZ LÓPEZ, Especialista en Política Comercial, Dirección de Organismos Internacionales, Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, Habana.

Ecuador

Sr. Segundo Humberto JIMÉNEZ, Consejero del Servicio Exterior, Dirección de Integración, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Quito.

El Salvador

Sr. Francisco Alberto LIMA MENA, Subdirector de Política Comercial y Asesor del Despacho Vice-Ministerial, Dirección de Política Comercial, Ministerio de Economía, San Salvador.

Guatemala

Srta. Mónica Dessiree GUERRA GARRIDO, Consultora en Comercio Exterior, Acceso a Mercados, Área de Política Comercial, Unidad de Políticas e Información Estratégica, Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación, Ciudad Guatemala.

Guinea -

Bissau

Sr. Luis Filipe ARAÚJO, Director de la Inspección Comercial, Secretaría del Estado de Comercio de la Industria, Turismo y Artesanado, Dirección General del Comercio, Turismo y Artesanado, Bissau.

Guinea

Ecuatorial

Sr. Wenceslao OBIANG MENGUE, Jefe de Sección de Comercio Exterior, Dirección General de Comercio, Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Promoción de Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas, Malabo.

Honduras

Sr. Johel Nectalí ROMERO, Consejero Legal, Integración Económica y Política Comercial, Ministerio de Industria y Comercio, Tegucigalpa.

Mercosur

Sr. Carlos Eduardo PÉREZ DEL CASTILLO, Técnico Contable, Sector Recursos y Servicios, Secretaría Administrativa del MERCOSUR, Montevideo, Uruguay

Mozambique

Sr. Ribeiro Carlos JUNOT, Jefe, Departamento de Relaciones Internacionales, Ministerio de la Industria, Comercio y Turismo, Maputo.

Nicaragua

Sr. José Abraham MORENO, Responsable de Departamento, Departamento de Prácticas Internacionales de Comercio, Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio, Managua.

 

 

Srta. Urania RAUDEZ OBANDO, Analista Económico de Comercio Exterior, Dirección de Organismos Internacionales, Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio, Managua.

Panamá

Srta. Mara Imelda PARDO BARAHONA, Economista Negociador, Dirección Nacional de Negociaciones Comerciales, Vice-Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias, Panamá.

Paraguay

Sra. Gilda Susana ARRÉLLAGA VELILLA, Directora de Negociaciones Multilaterales, Subsecretaría de Integración, Ministerio de Integración, Asunción.

Perú

Sr. Pedro Antonio BRAVO CARRANZA, Segundo Secretario, Departamento de Coordinación de APEC, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Lima.

República

Dominicana

Srta. Isabel Antonia PADILLA ROMÁN, Ministro Consejero, División Europea, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Santo Domingo.

Tailandia

 

Srta. Kaewta SASIVANIJ, Economista, Departamento de la Economía Política del Comercio, Ministerio del Comercio, Bangkok.

Uruguay

Sra. María Ramona FRANCO OXLEY, Secretario de Primera del Servicio Exterior, Dirección Organismos Económicos Internacionales, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Montevideo.

Venezuela

Sr. Luis Rafael ARRIAGA CARRILLO, Director General de Planificación Políticas, Vice-Ministerio de la Agricultura y la Alimentación, Dirección General de Planificación y Políticas, Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio, Caracas.

  

Sr. Luis Alberto RUSSIÁN CARRASQUEL, Director, Dirección de Normativas del Mercado, Dirección General de Comercio Interior, Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio, Caracas.