The WTO, in collaboration with the Department of Trade of the Seychelles, held a training programme on “Trade Negotiation Skills” from 27 November to 1 December in the Seychelles.
The primary objective of the training activity was to familiarize participants with the theory of trade negotiations and to practise, using simulation exercises, negotiation skills and techniques. Twenty-two officials from various government ministries and departments in the Seychelles along with two private sector representatives took part in the programme.
The workshop was conducted by Willie Chatsika, Head of the English-speaking Africa Desk in the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) at the WTO Secretariat, and Franziska Kirschke, Training Officer in the ITTC.
The training programme included a series of sessions during which the participants familiarized themselves with the general concepts of negotiation theory. They were also able to familiarize themselves with the linkage between negotiation theory and multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO context.
The training activity also included an overview of the WTO, including its institutional structure, functions and principles and a comprehensive review of the main principles that govern trade in goods, trade in services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.
Veronique Brutus, Senior Trade Officer in the Department of Trade, said: “The Department of Trade has been mandated to negotiate trade agreements and it is important for our staff to gain the necessary knowledge for them to understand and participate in negotiations. As a member of the WTO, Seychelles approached the WTO Secretariat to conduct this training.”
Mr Chatsika said: “The WTO’s overriding objective is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly and predictably as possible and to help its members use trade to raise people’s living standards. We also help our members with their understanding of the rules of international trade.
“At the heart of the WTO are the agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified by their respective parliaments.”
Seychelles acceded to the WTO on 26 April 2015.
Source: wto.org (Collected by Pham Bang Tam)