The Government of Thailand and UNCTAD today agreed to establish an International Institute for Trade and Development, to be hosted by Thailand at Chulalongkorn University, one of the leading universities in Thailand and in Asia.
The Institute, which will be non-profit and independent, will operate as a regional training centre. Its main objective is to strengthen the capacities of Asian and other countries to deal with a broad range of regional and international trade and development issues and to help them integrate effectively into the global economic system. The Institute will, for example, assist countries in formulating economic policies and legislative changes to cope with globalization in accordance with their development objectives.
Training and research will be conducted by the Institute in the fields of globalization and liberalization, commercial diplomacy, international trade, finance, investment and related development issues. The Institute will provide a venue for seminars, workshops and other training activities using state-of-the-art telecommunications media, from the Internet and videoconferencing to distance learning. It will also serve as a focal point for training and capacity-building activities in Asia and will establish an academic network within Asia and beyond. UNCTAD and other international organizations will also use it as a focal point for their training programmes in the region.
The Institute will be a legal entity under the laws of Thailand, endowed with the legal capacity to enter into legal arrangements and contracts and to institute legal proceedings. It will be financed from a trust fund to which national Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other parties will be invited to contribute.
