BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:unctad.org
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:6a4d9d24ede07
DTSTART:20220803T070000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20220803T130000Z
LOCATION:Port Vila\, Vanuatu
SUMMARY:MSG Green Trade Project: 1st national workshop Vanuatu
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:The first National Workshop on the United Nations Conference on
  Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Green Trade Project for Melanesian Spearhe
 ad Group (MSG) countries found place on 3 August 2022 from 9:00am – 3:00
 pm at the Grand Hotel in Port Vila\, Vanuatu. \n\nThe workshop was held i
 n a hybrid format in which national participants attended physically while
  regional and international participants attended online. The workshop inv
 olved key government officials as well as the private sector\, including p
 roducers and exporters of coconut oil. The workshop focused on raising awa
 reness about how the MSG Green Trade Project supports green trade and sust
 ainable development by creating synergistic linkages between the two areas
 . \n\nWorkshop participants heard several presentations explaining: the o
 bjectives of the project\; the role of non-tariff measures (NTMs)\; the ma
 rket situation for coconuts and coconut products from the perspective of t
 he private sector and farmers\; the issue of standards and certification i
 n Vanuatu\; and current trade agreements in the region. \n\nDuring this w
 orkshop\, participants learned about the MSG Green Trade Project’s objec
 tives\, how it will be implemented\, and its timeline. Furthermore\, this 
 first national workshop allowed to reunite a large scope of stakeholders t
 o discuss about green trade in Vanuatu and the challenges facing the cocon
 ut value chain\, particularly as an export product. \n\nNext steps: as a 
 follow-up to this workshop\, the national consultant\, supported by the na
 tional authorities of Vanuatu\, the MSG Secretariat and UNCTAD\, will purs
 ue its work on compiling NTM regulations and re-assessing the development 
 of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) for coconut oil based on the p
 revious assessment of organic certification in the coconut oil value chain
 . This will result in the development of a coconut oil export guide. The f
 indings and conclusions of this work will be presented in another national
  workshop to be held in early 2023. \n\nTo know more about NTM and VSS: 
 \n\n\nNon-tariff measures (NTM) data collection  \nVoluntary sustainable 
 standards (VSS) assessment  \n\nhttps://vssapproach.unctad.org/\n\nView m
 eeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/msg-green-trade-project-1
 st-national-workshop-vanuatu
DTSTAMP:20260708T004316Z
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