2022 part4

76/ First virtual course on essentials for SPS Committee participation gets under way

16 NOVEMBER 2022

Government officials from 16 African countries are taking part from 15 to 24 November in a virtual course on the key elements necessary for an effective participation in the work of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures. Organized by the SPS section of the WTO’s Agriculture and Commodities Division with the collaboration of the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, the course is a new technical assistance activity held in French.

Participants in the first edition of this course are government officials with expertise in SPS issues. In a preparatory session held on 1 November, they indicated their aim to learn more about the SPS Agreement and to get a better understanding of the ongoing discussions in the SPS Committee in order to improve their countries’ participation.

Throughout the course, participants will attend interactive sessions led by SPS experts. They will also take part in group work and informal discussions on various SPS topics, such as the SPS Agreement, the functioning of the SPS Committee and current issues being addressed by the Committee. Participants will also look at issues related to transparency, national coordination and IT tools, such as the ePing SPS&TBT Platform.

Speakers include WTO Secretariat officials, current and former SPS Committee chairs, Geneva-based and capital-based SPS delegates, and representatives from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF).

Some participants were also able to attend the SPS Committee meetings on 8-11 November 2022.

The WTO’s trade-related technical assistance activities help members from developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) enhance their trade capacity, enabling them to effectively participate in international trade negotiations and the implementation of the WTO agreements.

List of participants

Source: wto.org