Permanent Mission of India to the WTO in Geneva signs tripartite MoU withCentre for Trade and Investment Law(CTIL), New Delhi and Centre for Trade and Economic Integration of The Graduate Institute(CTEI), Geneva, for capacity building and research in International Trade Law and Policy

MOU seeks to provide valuable academic and research opportunities to the professional staff of CTIL and the officials of the Government of India

MoU to enhance India’s capacity in formulating its foreign trade policy

On 26 November 2021, the Permanent Mission of India to the WTO in Geneva (PMI), the Centre for Trade and Investment Law, New Delhi (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, and the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration of The Graduate Institute, Geneva (CTEI) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Geneva to begin collaboration towards research and capacity-building in the field of international trade law and policy. The MOU was signed by India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative H.E. BrajendraNavnit, Prof. James J. Nedumpara, Head, Centre for Trade and Investment Law, and Prof.JoostPauwelyn, Professor of International Law at The Graduate Institute.

The MOU seeks to provide valuable academic and research opportunities to the professional staff of CTIL and the officials of the Government of India in the field of international trade and investment law. The tripartite MoU establishes collaboration channels between CTIL and CTEI while the PMI will play a key facilitative role for activities under the MoU.

For the next three years, various capacity-building programmes and activities will be carried out under the MoU to enhance the understanding of the government officials and CTIL’s research staff and academics on contemporary issues of international trade and build support for India’s positions on international trade and investment law. CTIL and CTEI will undertake joint research projects, conferences and workshops in the field of international trade and investment law. The MOU aims to enhance India’s capacity in formulating its foreign trade policy and contribute towards ensuring stability in the global trade regime through, first, exchange of faculties and staff for study, research or teaching purposes, second, through an internship programme for CTEI students at CTIL, and third, submission of India focused projects to CTIL/CTEI TradeLab, a clinical legal education project on trade and investment law.

Overall, this MOU is an important initiative in providing valuable global academic and research opportunities in the field of trade and investment law to Indian government officials, CTIL professional staff and Indian students focused in this discipline.

Capacity building in international trade law: MoU creates joint research, exchanges and internships to strengthen trade policy capacity. Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding establishes collaborative capacity building and research arrangements in international trade and investment law between the Permanent Mission of India to the WTO, CTIL and CTEI, with the PMI in a facilitative role; the MoU provides for exchange of faculty and staff for study, research and teaching, an internship programme for CTEI students at CTIL, joint research projects, conferences, workshops, and submissions to CTIL/CTEI TradeLab to support India's trade policy formulation.