WTO starts 16th trade policy course

During a brief ceremony held on 15 January, Mr. Paul-Henri Ravier, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization, officially launched the 16th Trade Policy Course held under the aegis of the WTO.

Mr. Ravier welcomed on behalf of the WTO Secretariat the 30 trade officials from developing, least-developed countries/customs territories and economies in transition. "You are lucky to be here, not only because these courses are one of the best products offered by the WTO, but also because there were many candidates who, like you, were very eager to be counted in", Mr. Ravier said. He mentioned that these courses were a good occasion to observe from inside the work of the WTO and what goes on behind the scenes. It should also be a very interesting year to be in the WTO with the next Ministerial Meeting to take place at the end of 2001.

Mr. Ravier referred to the situation faced by the WTO Secretariat where the demand for training exceeds by far the available financial and human resources. He also highlighted the high interest that the WTO and the Director-General have placed on activities aimed at increasing the capacity of developing and in particular least-developed countries to participate in the multilateral trading system.

Officials from Belarus, Dominica, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are participating for the first time ever in these regular courses.

The 12-week course will run until 6 April 2001. Since their inception in 1955, 94 residential trade policy courses have been organized under the GATT and the WTO and close to 2,000 officials have participated in this training. In addition, a number of short trade policy courses are also organized by the WTO in the context of its technical cooperation programme.

List of participants:

Bahrain	Mr. Waheed Jaffar Khalil SULTAN, Head of Foreign Trade & International Trade Organizations, Foreign Trade Relations Directorate, Ministry of Commerce, Manama.
Bangladesh	Mr. Md. Mizanur Mizan RAHMAN, Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Dhaka.
Belarus	Mr. Yury Pavlovich RABKO, Foreign Trade Analyst, Department Chief, Foreign Trade Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minsk.
Belize	Mr. David Maurice GOMEZ, International Trade Policy Advisor, Ministry of Budget Management, Investment and Trade, Belmopan
Brazil	Mrs. Vera Figueiredo MALTA, General Coordinator, International Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Finance, Brasilia DF.
Dominica	Mr. Ricardo Marcus JAMES, Trade Officer I, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Marketing, Roseau.
Ethiopia	Miss Eftihia MARIO, Senior Economist, Trade Registration and Licensing Department, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Addis Ababa.
Gambia	Mr. Saikou SAIDILY, Acting Senior Trade Economist, Trade Division, Department of State for Trade, Industry and Employment, Banjul.
Georgia	Mr. Levan CHITEISHVILI, Deputy Head, International Relations Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Tbilisi.
Hong Kong, China	Mr. Ka-shing AU, Trade Officer, Regional Cooperation Division (APEC), Trade and Industry Department, Commerce and Industry Bureau, Kowloon.
India	Mr. Manoj JOSHI, Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce, New Delhi.
Jamaica	Mr. Dale Elliott JONES, Foreign Service Officer I, Foreign Trade Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kingston.
Latvia	Mrs. Ivita BURMISTRE, Attaché, International Economic Organisations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riga.
Lesotho	Miss Lineo LEBONA, Trade Promotion Officer, Department of Trade, Trade Promotion Unit, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing, Maseru.
Lithuania	Mr. Raimondas ALISAUSKAS, First Secretary, Foreign Trade Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vilnius.
Malta	Mr. Dennis GRECH, Economics Officer, Economic Planning Division, Ministry for Economic Services, Floriana.
Moldova	Mr. Octavian Zaharia CALMIC, Deputy Head, WTO Division, Ministry of Economy and Reforms, Chisinau.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Miss Nicola Careen ST CATHERINE, Administrative Cadet, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and CARICOM Affairs, Basseterre.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Miss Silvonne Henrietta JACK, Economist, Trade Division, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Consumer Affairs, St. Vincent, W.I.
Saudi Arabia	Mr. Saleh SHOAIB, Assistant Commercial Attaché, Office of the Representative to the WTO and Commercial Office in Geneva.
Singapore	Mr. Kevin Boon Hwa LIM, Country Officer (Asia-Europe Meeting), Policy, Planning and Analysis Directorate II, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore.
Suriname	Miss Thilde Jacqueline ELSTAK, Trade Officer at the Caricom Desk, International Economic Relations, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Paramaribo.
Swaziland	Mr. Newman Sizwe NTSHANGASE, Assistant Secretary, Political Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mbabane.
Chinese Taipei	Mr. Hsiu-chuan Alex CHEN, Staff Member, The Third (WTO) Department, Board of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan.
The Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia	Mr. Aleksandar DAMJANOSKI, Advisor of the Minister, Multilateral Division, Ministry of Economy, Skopje.
Tonga	Mr. Paulo S. KAUTOKE, Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Commerce and Industries, Nuku'alofa.
Uganda	Mr. Silver OJAKOL, Senior Foreign Trade Officer, Department of Trade, Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Kampala.
United Arab Emirates	Mr. Saeed Suwaid AL-NASIBI, Director, WTO Division, Economic Affairs Department, Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Abu Dhabi.
Viet Nam	Miss Nga NGUYEN THI QUYIN, Head, WTO Division, Ministry of Trade, Hanoi.
Zimbabwe	Mr. Samson MUTANHAURWA, Principal Administrative Officer, External Trade, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Harare.