Workshop on taking advantages from WTO regulations

WORKSHOP: The Department of Commerce in collaboration with the International Trade Centre, Geneva, will hold a workshop on Sri Lanka's Opportunities in International Trade Relations:

Taking Advantage of the World Trade Organisation today (23) from 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. at the Taj Samudra, (on Golden Pond).

The objective of this workshop is to generate discussion and awareness amongst various stakeholders in international trade, media, governmental and non-governmental agencies and the public of the extent to which Sri Lanka can take advantage of the WTO and the direction of its international trade policy.

The workshop would take note of the studies completed by National Consultants on Implications of the World Trade Organisation agreements on Sri Lanka's agriculture, services, technical barriers to trade and phytosanitary regulations.

Other issues of importance to Sri Lanka as business advocacy, strengthening the private sector and public sector dialogue and consultation mechanism on WTO in Sri Lanka would be dealt with at this workshop.

The project is implemented by the ITC on behalf of the EC.

The project purpose is to strengthen the capacity of the government of Sri Lanka and other stakeholders for undertaking WTO negotiations and meeting Sri Lanka commitments and challenges from WTO and other international trade agreements.

In order to participate in the ongoing "Doha Development Agenda", the Government of Sri Lanka has expressed the need to have the understanding and capacity to analyse, assess and develop negotiating positions that fully reflect its specific concerns and conditions of its economy.

This requires the ministries involved to have sufficiently trained and knowledgeable officials, access to data and research, consultation mechanisms with other government institutions, industry, civil society, and the public at large.

Sri Lanka faces severe constraints in basic resources and technical expertise, which inhibit the process of effectively and expeditiously advancing Sri Lanka's interest in the multilateral negotiations.

In order to help alleviate these constraints.