UNCTAD will hold a workshop from 17 to 19 October in Sierra Leone to initiate relevant government officials into a process designed to coordinate trade, finance and overall development planning processes so that they can help the country mainstream trade into poverty reduction strategies and increase its participation in the international economy.
The workshop, which will take place in Freetown, is the country´s first step in the Integrated Framework process. The goal of the Integrated Framework, or IF, is to help the LDCs design and coordinate government policies so that they can build their capacity to trade, increase employment and reduce poverty.
The workshop will feature officials from three other least developed countries, or LDCs, who have gone through the IF process, so that they can share their experiences. The three-day meeting has been prepared in close collaboration with core agencies involved in the IF programme and with the financial support of the Government of Finland. The workshop will be hosted by Sierra Leone´s Ministry of Trade and Industry. Representatives of IF core agencies, donor representatives from the Department for International Development (DFID, UK), USAID, Finland, and various UNCTAD experts will serve as resource persons.
The workshop is intended to:
- Provide a better understanding of the IF process,
- Help Sierra Leone to establish "ownership" of the process;
- Provide a better understanding of the importance of trade and coordinated trade policies for national development;
- Foster closer communication and collaboration among IF-participating least developed countries;
- Trigger better IF institutional arrangements and coordination within Sierra Leone; and
- Stimulate better use of the country´s national capacities for trade, employment, and economic growth.
The Integrated Framework process consists in part of carrying out a Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) tailored to the specific circumstances of the country concerned. Experience has shown that national "ownership" of the process is important for its success, and that training and support are needed when the process is launched if national Governments are to take effective control. This need was identified during a Regional Pre-Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (Pre-DTIS) workshop in Kigali, Rwanda, held on 18 to 20 October 2004.
An IF Manual prepared by UNCTAD to help participating countries understand the process, as well as country case studies to give examples of "best practices" achieved under the programme, and recent reports on IF activities in other least-developed countries, will be used as reference materials during the Sierra Leone workshop.
