Twenty-four government officials from developing countries and economies in transition concluded the three-month intensive training course on 2 December 2010 at the WTO.

The Patroness of the first Advanced Trade Policy Course, H.E. Ambassador Mrs. Venetia Sebudandi of Rwanda, and ITTC Director Hakim Ben Hammouda participated in the closing ceremony, with the Head of the ITTC's Geneva-based Courses Unit, Susan Hainsworth.

The 1st Advanced Trade Policy Course (ATPC), held in English, was organized by the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) and held in Geneva, at the WTO Headquarters. The diploma ceremony was held in the presence of the Patroness, H.E. Mrs. Venetia Sebudandi, Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the WTO.

Mr. Hakim Ben Hammouda, Director of the ITTC, thanked H.E. Mrs. Sebudandi for her participation and commitment throughout the course.  He congratulated the participants on successfully completing the training programme, as well as for the high quality of the written projects prepared during the ATPC, and invited them to keep in touch with the network of contacts that each of them had developed throughout the three-month period.

 In her address to the participants, H.E. Mrs. Sebudandi expressed her satisfaction and pleasure at having been asked to be Patroness of the course.  She conveyed her willingness to continue providing guidance to the participants in the future and invited them to contact her should they come again to Geneva or need any assistance.  She commended them for their hard work and commitment during their three-month stay in Geneva.

 On behalf of the participants of the 1st ATPC, Mrs. Kitica Slade Pavicic from Croatia thanked H.E. Mrs. Sebudandi for providing advice and recommendations to the group and for sharing her personal experiences with them.  She also thanked the WTO for the valuable contribution that the training course had made in enhancing their trade knowledge and personally and professionally enriching their lives.
 
The ATPC is a “level 3” training activity implemented within the WTO progressive learning framework and, as such, it represents the highest level of learning among WTO training activities. Due to its advanced nature, the course is targeted at participants who already possess a sound knowledge of the general features of the WTO system and the WTO Agreements. The learning approach of the course is multidisciplinary in that it considers both legal and economic aspects of WTO rules and disciplines. The course's training methodology is conceived to encourage the active involvement of participants through a series of interactive modules comprising lectures, exercises and simulations, covering most of the areas of work of the WTO. More specifically, participants will be given regular coursework and individual/group assignments and are expected to complete a project relating to their country's trade policy profile by the end of their three-month stay. The course also includes visits to other international organizations active in trade-related matters as well as attendance at selected meetings of WTO bodies and briefings on WTO work-in-progress. Contacts with WTO Secretariat officials and delegates and representatives from Missions and other international organizations are also a common feature. The course seeks to promote critical thinking about trade policy formulation by consolidating participants' understanding of the linkages between WTO rules and disciplines and their respective country's interests in the multilateral trading system.
 
The 2010 programme of training activities carried out by the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation at WTO Headquarters comprised two three-month Trade Policy Courses, of which the second one was an Advanced Course, several advanced thematic courses covering areas such as intellectual property, TBT, SPS, agriculture and dispute settlement and two Introductory Courses on the WTO for least-developed countries. In 2011, the programme of training activities will comprise two Advanced three-month Trade Policy Courses, several advanced thematic courses covering areas such as intellectual property, TBT, SPS, agriculture and dispute settlement and an Introductory Course on the WTO for least-developed countries. In parallel with these training activities in Geneva, regional trade policy courses are organized in other parts of the world in cooperation with local and regional partner institutions.

  List of the participants 

Antigua and Barbuda

Mr. Joseph SEALEY

Bahamas

Ms Bernadette BUTLER

Bangladesh

Mr. Nesar AHMED

Botswana

Mr. Keleemetse GAREBAMONO

Cambodia

Mr. Yuvaroath TAN

Croatia

Mrs. Kitica SLADE PAVICIC

Fiji

Ms. Radika Devi KUMAR

Indonesia

Mrs. Novita SARI

Iran

Mr. Mirhadi SEYEDI

Jordan

Miss Nour SHUQAIR

Kenya

Mr. Michael Moses OTIENO

Lao PDR

Mr. Sonthanou SINGDALA

Mauritius

Miss Mandusa Devi RAMBACCUSSING

Myanmar

Miss Mya Mya SEIN

Namibia

Mr. Kleopas SIRONGO

Pakistan

Mr. Liaquat ALI

Philippines

Mrs. Maria Lourdes SALUTA

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Mrs. Ayana Okolo JOHN-PATRICK

Seychelles

Miss Melanie STRAVENS

Sudan

Miss Amani MUSAAD

Chinese Taipei

Miss Yueh-Ting CHENG

Thailand

Mr. Chet SUKSANG

Trinidad and Tobago

Ms Trudy LEWIS

Ukraine

Miss Olena FELENYUK



2 December 2010

Source: wto.org