A total of 84 senior government officials from more than 40 developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs) started on 14 February a seven-week WTO Virtual Executive Trade Course to increase their expertise on WTO matters. The course will present current issues of interest to WTO members and will seek to enhance participants’ capacity to provide advice to their governments.
Virtual executive trade course underway for senior officials from developing countries
The course is the second of its kind and will run until 8 April 2022. It follows a successful first edition organized in 2021 and seeks to ensure trade-related technical assistance continues to be made available to government officials from WTO members and observers in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the countries represented are 11 LDCs — Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia, The Gambia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia — and two WTO observers, Algeria and Serbia. Over 60 per cent of the participants are women.
The course is composed of seven modules, each one dedicated to a specific WTO issue. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade and related policy challenges are among the topics presented. The course will be delivered through a combination of pre-recorded and live sessions, including roundtables with external speakers, allowing for participants to follow the course while managing their daily work responsibilities.
