Geneva, 19 JUne 2008 - Government officials and academics from 13 countries in the East European and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region will receive training from UNCTAD in multidisciplinary approaches to trade and development at a workshop in Minsk, Belarus, from 23 June - 11 July.
The course on "Key Issues on the International Economic Agenda", is a joint effort by UNCTAD, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, and Belarus State Economic University, which is hosting the event with Government support.
Topics to be discussed include the linkages between trade, investment, and development; their implications for integrated development strategies; and the experiences of countries in the region in carrying out trade and development policies. The course syllabus has been designed to draw on UNCTAD´s expertise in such areas as financial flows and macroeconomic management, productive capacity, structural adjustment, investment and technology, trade facilitation, and the information economy. The 24 participants in the course will learn about analytical work done by UNCTAD and by national experts from Minsk, including staff from Belarus State Economic University and UNITER, the Belarus Investment Company.
The course is part of a series mandated by the Bangkok Plan of Action adopted at UNCTAD X in February 2000, and reaffirmed at the 11th and 12th UNCTAD quadrennial conferences. At UNCTAD X, the organization was requested to strengthen the understanding of decision makers from developing countries on key development issues on the international economic agenda that fall within UNCTAD´s fields of competence. This month´s Minsk course is the third to be held in the East European/CIS region.
