Training at Summer Academies bolsters Uzbekistan’s trade expertise
‘We learned practical skills for handling conflicts and using international agreements. This will help Uzbekistan work better with investors and speed up the process of joining the WTO.’
This was the word from one of the senior officials who attended courses at the World Trade Institute’s (WTI’s) Summer Academy, which ran from 1-19 July 2024 in Bern, Switzerland.
ITC helped enrol four senior trade officials of Uzbekistan in relevant courses at the prestigious institute to hone their skills in support of their country’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession process.
Another two senior officials travelled to India where the Centre for WTO Studies (CWS) also offered a joint Summer Academy with the WTI in New Delhi from 3-28 June 2024. It was the first time that officials from Uzbekistan attended courses at the CWS, as the ITC established a new collaborative partnership with the centre.
Building the technical knowledge and skills of officials on the content of the WTO agreements and its legal framework will be a bulwark to help Uzbekistan draw benefits from its WTO membership.
Learning and networking
The WTI’s and CSW’s summer academies are designed to advance expertise in selected trade topics. The courses are offered by leading trade professionals in their respective fields. The summer academies are a favoured training ground for diplomats and trade officials. This gave the trainees chance to also network with counterparts from the rest of the world.
The WTI has long been acknowledged as one of the leading global training centres on international trade law and economics. The ITC has a longstanding relationship with the WTI and has also collaborated with the institute to establish a course on WTO law at the Tashkent-based University of World Economy and Diplomacy to academically evolve trade know how in the country.
The officials who travelled to Bern attended courses on ‘International Investment Law and Sustainable Development’, and on ‘International Contracts Regarding Cross-Border Trade and Investment’.
The officials who travelled to New Delhi attended courses on ‘Essentials of WTO Law – an Introduction to the Economics of Trade’ and ‘Economics and Practice of Global Services Trade, Preferential Trade Agreements and Тrаdе and Environment’.
One of the attendants praised the excellence of the lecturers and said the courses imparted the necessary experience and knowledge in the fields of services regulation, trade, and environment.
Sustainable development
‘This рrоgrаmmе will provide the necessary skills for the accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the WTO. I believe that the knowledge and skills gained frоm this рrоgrаmmе will bе of great value when l return… The knowledge and experience gained… will be used in future work,’ said Timur Shakhnazarov, Chief Specialist of the Department of Trade Negotiations and the WTO at MIIT, who attended the training in New Delhi.
Ulmeken Yusupbayeva – Head of division in the MIIT’s Department for Cooperation with the WTO – appreciated the link established in the training with sustainable development: ‘Participating in the WTI course helped us to understand how international investment rules work with sustainable development. This is important for joining the WTO.’
The participants are all senior officials in the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade – the lead ministry responsible for trade matters and the WTO negotiations. The departments of Trade Negotiations and the WTO, Cooperation with the WTO, Harmonization of National Legislation with WTO Agreements, and the division of Economic Analysis and Strategic Programs Development were represented.
The European Union (EU) funded the officials’ enrollment under the project Facilitating the process of Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO, of which the ITC is the implementing partner.
