The WTO has launched its first online Regional Trade Policy Course (e-RTPC) to ensure that capacity building continues to be provided to government officials despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty participants from ten Caribbean members are attending the e-RTPC from 10 August to 13 November 2020.
The course opened with an address by Ms Bridget Chilala, the WTO’s Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) director, who recalled the important role of trade-related technical assistance in strengthening government officials’ ability to actively participate in the work of the WTO. She stressed the importance of continuing the delivery of such training especially in times when the rules-based multilateral trading system is under strain due to global circumstances such as the current pandemic. She also underscored the importance of voluntary contributions from donors to the global trust fund which allow the ITTC to organize and deliver training activities. She concluded by encouraging the participants to actively engage in the e-RTPC.
The course aims to reproduce most of the training components offered by face-to-face RTPCs. It provides intermediate-level training and is specifically designed for government officials working on trade-related issues who have already undertaken basic WTO training.
The curriculum covers the WTO Agreements, the organization’s rules and procedures, and regional trade policy issues. The course will be delivered in a blended learning approach consisting of self-learning, interactive case studies and exercises, and webinars by WTO experts and Caribbean trade policy academics and practitioners. The course will also feature several round table discussions on multilateral and regional trade issues. Participants will be evaluated through weekly exams.
Source: wto.org