Officials, academics and representatives of business organizations from four African countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d´Ivoire, and Tunisia -- took part in a three-week, Geneva-based training course that will help them better manage their integration into the Multilateral Trading System (MTS). It began on Monday, 23 November, and ran through 11 December 1998.
The course was organized jointly by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the International Trade Centre (ITC), as part of the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme in Selected Least-Developed and Other African Countries (JITAP).
This francophone "training-of-trainers" course was the second in a series; a similar one was organized last year for English-speaking countries, namely Ghana, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. The course aimed to build up national networks of trainers and experts on multilateral trading system matters in the participating countries. Participants were expected to identify training needs related to the multilateral trading system. By the end of the course, they were able to train in turn other trainers in their countries, and to set up national information networks which would be interlinked.
The joint training approach adopted by UNCTAD, WTO and ITC for this course was designed to give a comprehensive overview to MTS issues. For each topic, WTO explains rules stemming from the Uruguay Round, UNCTAD addresses policy implications, and ITC examines business aspects and opportunities. Group discussions allow participants and experts to consider international trade issues in the context of the economic circumstances prevailing in their respective countries.
The participants were 23 senior officials from government, trade-related and private sector development institutions, as well as from business and law faculties. The location of the course rotated weekly between UNCTAD, WTO and ITC.
JITAP was announced jointly by the three multilateral Geneva-based organizations on the occasion of UNCTAD IX in May 1996 in Midrand, South Africa. It has initially focused on eight African countries, four of which are LDCs. A Common Trust Fund was created for JITAP in March 1998; it is administered by ITC. To date, thirteen donor countries have contributed to the Fund, for a total amount of US$ 7.8 million. Of this amount US$ 6.9 million is allocated to Window II of the Fund, for earmarked country projects. The remainder is allocated to Window I, for unearmarked programme development and generic activities. The contributors are: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
