..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 2 March 2005
Note to Editor No: N/06/2006

WTO/ESCAP HOST REGIONAL TRADE POLICY COURSE

Bangkok (UN Information Services) -- Multilateral trade negotiations and their implications for developing countries will be the focus of a five day course held at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Conference Centre, 7-11 March 2005.

"The current negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda hold a huge potential for achieving the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger,” Mr. Ravi Ratnayake, Director, Trade and Investment Division, UNESCAP said.

“It is imperative for developing countries, both WTO members and prospective members, to strengthen their negotiations skills and knowledge of the issues involved," Mr. Ratnayake said.

Participants from the Asia Pacific region will hear trade experts discuss the policy implications of the Doha Development Agenda, from the basics of multilateral trade agreements to how the ongoing trade negotiations will impact the Asian Pacific region.

The Doha Development Agenda (DDA) was agreed to at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. It provides the mandate for broad and ambitious trade negotiations on a wide range of sectors and issues, including agriculture, services, market access for merchandise goods, trade facilitation and special and differential treatment for developing countries.

The meeting is a collaborative effort between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and UNESCAP's Trade and Investment Division.

It is the 8th general trade policy course since 1999 and the second activity this year in a series of joint workshops and seminars to support policymakers and government officials in the region in building capacity for the implementation of the Doha Development Agenda.

For more information or to arrange attendance at the WTO/UNESCAP Trade Policy Course, please contact: <brucknerm@un.org>.

http://www.unescap.org/
http://www.wto.org/

For further information please contact:

UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-69, Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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