Geneva, 3 August 2011 - Spain´s Secretary-General for Foreign Trade, Alfredo Bonet Baiget, and UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi have signed an agreement whereby the Government of Spain will contribute €320,000 to support UNCTAD technical cooperation activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The support will boost the Organization´s work in competition policy, trade facilitation, e-commerce, and research in economic and investment issues.
Spain has supported UNCTAD technical cooperation programmes in Latin America since 2005. In addition, a framework agreement of cooperation between Spain and UNCTAD was concluded in September 2006.
Spain´s annual contribution is intended to help secure the long-term impact and regional scope of UNCTAD technical cooperation activities in this Spanish-speaking region of the world. The programmes financed under the agreement will be implemented by UNCTAD in close cooperation with the Latin America Integration Association (ALADI, its Spanish acronym) and the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System, or SELA. The activities will address regional priorities in the field of trade-related technical assistance. Such assistance is needed to boost and support foreign trade, thereby enhancing economic competition and the investment climate in the region.
Among the activities to be supported are the following:
- Capacity-building in trade-facilitation negotiations and in the implementation of regional and multilateral agreements;
- Training of negotiators of international investment agreements, covering topics such as investor-State dispute settlement and implementation capacity strengthening;
- Training in the legal aspects of electronic commerce and cyberlegislation;
- Strengthening of consumer protection and competition law;
- Providing support for building institutional capacities in the areas of consumer protection and fair competition;
- Contribution to the UNCTAD Virtual Institute for on-line courses on regional integration and international economic relations tools.
