Progress in Cambodia, Lao People´s Democratic Republic, Tanzania show the importance of trade knowledge
Geneva, 2 April 2008 — Winning entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2003 was a major step for Cambodia, a least developed country (LDC) – but the achievement also made some challenges clear. To succeed in international trade, the country would have to do many things, from updating laws and legislation to making its transport infrastructure function more efficiently.
Learning how to spur and manage trade – and learning how to keep up with stiff, rapidly changing competition – was as important as any practical, specific measure, the Government found, and it turned to UNCTAD´s TrainForTrade programme for assistance.
The current "knowledge revolution" driven by economic globalization and technological advances often puts developing countries at a disadvantage. They need up-to-date knowledge and expertise to offer products that will sell on world markets, and they need to be able to design business, finance and transport systems that operate efficiently. But their populations often have low education levels and low literacy rates. And their economies are frequently short of skilled employees and teachers, of adequate roads, ports and other infrastructure, and of money for solving these problems.
UNCTAD XII, with its theme of "addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development," and its sub-theme of "harnessing knowledge for development," will centre much of its discussions on overcoming such obstacles.
TrainForTrade and its sister programme, UNCTAD´s Virtual Institute, focus on teaching developing countries the intricacies of trade. They aim to give such nations the ability to pass on the necessary skills and judgement domestically, so that further progress is autonomous, and the programmes are adjusted to countries´ specific situations, to achieve the best results.
In response to Cambodia´s request, the TrainForTrade programme set up a regional project funded by France that was also intended to strengthen the trading capacity of neighbouring Lao People´s Democratic Republic, which is pursuing WTO entry. Training workshops and advisory services have been offered for the past four years. One result is that both countries are now close to finalizing legislation on e-commerce that will be compatible with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) harmonized e-commerce legal framework. That is a major step, as e-commerce plays a vital and increasingly influential role in international trade.
Another activity under the regional project was extensive training in port management for port authorities in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. Some 35 managers followed the 240-hour training programme, and 12 were subsequently certified by the UNCTAD Port Training Programme to carry out such education themselves. The new trainers helped to translate the training materials into the Khmer language, broadening the reach of the programme. The resulting improved productivity at both ports helped the Phnom Penh port in forming a partnership with the Dublin Port Company.
The Cambodia-Lao regional project followed the TrainForTrade model. This includes carrying out a thorough analysis of what a country needs to learn about trade; setting up a local steering committee to support putting the relevant training and other activities into effect; developing training material, which is adapted to the needs of the country and translated into local languages; delivering the courses and, over time, training domestic personnel to deliver the courses; and helping introduce legislative and regulatory changes to improve trade performance.
Extensive support of a different sort has been provided to Tanzania through UNCTAD´s Virtual Institute, which offers intellectual help on trade matters to universities in developing countries based on UNCTAD´s own research and on the research of participating academics – activities of importance, as the education of economists in developing nations is vital for their future growth. The Virtual Institute runs training workshops for academics, develops teaching materials, and provides advice and help to developing country universities wishing to set up courses and programmes on trade.
Francis Matambalya, a professor at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, when developing Tanzania´s first master´s programme in international trade, visited the Virtual Institute at UNCTAD´s headquarters in Geneva and was provided with help in developing teaching materials. Students in his programme came to Geneva for a week-long workshop and five stayed on as junior fellows for a month afterward to learn how to teach the knowledge they had acquired. UNCTAD initially provided faculty for the master´s degree course, but ultimately the junior fellows will take over the teaching.
TrainForTrade and the Virtual Institute are programmes of UNCTAD´s Division on Services Infrastructure for Development and Trade Efficiency (SITE). The division is also in charge of UNCTAD´s flagship course for policymakers: Key Issues on the International Economic Agenda.
