Commerce Secretary Shri S R Rao today inaugurated WTO’s Regional Trade Policy Course (RTPC) being organized by the WTO and the Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi. IIFT is organizing this training programme for the third year for the Asia – Pacific region. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rao said that due to multilateral arrangements like WTO, the world’s trade has grown manifold. “With volume, the complexities of trade negotiations have also increased. The challenge before the countries of the region is to carve out a bigger share in the world trade,” said Shri Rao.

Regional Trade Policy Courses (RTPCs) are two-month courses for government officials from developing countries/separate customs territories, LDCs, economies in transition, and countries in the process of accession to the WTO. The RTPC in 2013 for Asia – Pacific Region is being organized jointly by the WTO and the Centre for WTO Studies, IIFT. Twenty one participants from 17 countries of Asia – Pacific region will participate in RTPC 2013. Twenty academics/trade specialists from the region, together with WTO officials will deliver the course.

During the two-month programme, the participants will be given an in-depth exposure to WTO and international trade issues. The RTPC will seek to enhance the participants understanding of their regional environment and how it relates to trade-policy making; develop a good understanding of the WTO, including the agreements; improve their analytical and negotiating skills; learn how to use effectively the relevant information and documentation on trade-related issues; and establish and/or strengthen a network of contacts between participants and with the trainers/experts.

The countries represented in the forthcoming RTPC for Asia – Pacific Region include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The first RTPC for the Asia-Pacific region was held by the WTO in 2004 in partnership with the University of Hong Kong, a partnership which lasted until 2006. This was succeeded by a partnership with the National University of Singapore from 2007 to 2010. Centre for WTO Studies has been partnering the WTO Secretariat in organizing the RTPC for the Asia-Pacific region since 2011.

WTO regional trade policy capacity building strengthens officials' negotiation and analytical skills for trade policymaking. The Regional Trade Policy Course is a two-month WTO-supported training jointly organized with the Centre for WTO Studies, IIFT, for government officials from developing, least-developed, transition and accession economies in the Asia-Pacific. Delivered by regional academics, trade specialists and WTO officials, the programme deepens understanding of the WTO and regional trade environments, builds analytical and negotiating skills, instructs effective use of trade documentation, and promotes networking among participants and experts.