Government officials and academics from the Latin American region are being trained in the use of multidisciplinary approaches to trade and development issues in Santiago from 31 March to 11 April. The regional training course on "Key Issues on the International Economic Agenda" is being organized jointly by UNCTAD and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which is hosting the event.
The linkages between trade, investment and development; their implications for integrated development strategies; and national experiences with trade and development policies for countries in the region will be explored. The course syllabus has been designed to draw on UNCTAD´s expertise on trade and development policies, financial flows and macroeconomic management, investment and technology, trade facilitation measures and electronic commerce and development. Participants will be familiarized with the analytical and research work of both UNCTAD and ECLAC.
The course is part of a series mandated by the Bangkok Plan of Action adopted at UNCTAD X in February 2000. At that meeting, UNCTAD was requested to strengthen the understanding of decision makers from developing countries of key development issues on the international economic agenda that fell within UNCTAD´s field of competence. The first regional course was organized jointly in Bangkok by UNCTAD and the Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in November 2002. Two other regional courses are planned for this year, one in conjunction with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the other with the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in Beirut, Lebanon.
