The Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO), affiliated with the League of Arab States, and the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) are organizing a series of workshops on developing skills to deal with WTO (World Trade Organization) agreements and regulations.

The first workshop on liberalization of global trade and commodities, and access to markets will take place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from Oct. 24 to 29.

This workshop targets concerned parties from different Arab countries such as chambers of commerce and industry, ministries of commerce and industry, investors’ associations and unions, commercial representative offices, WTO units in Arab countries, academics and researchers in the area of global trade, journalists who specialize in commerce and economy and concerned businessmen involved in international trade (import and/or export).

The workshop will provide a historical background on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the global trading system after World War II.

It will introduce the WTO, its objectives, the problems countries face while trying to join it and the current status of Arab states joining the organization.

Furthermore, the workshop will explain the methodology behind the schedules of concessions on goods and how to implement agreements and rules combating illegal practices that trouble domestic production like the anti-dumping, subsidies and safeguards agreements.

In addition to that, agreements organizing the movement of imports, notably customs valuation, pre-shipment inspection and rule of origin will be explained.

The training will also tackle the trade facilitation agreement in light of the 9th ministerial conference in Bali and Arab countries’ vision to implement the agreement.

It will shed light on the falicilities offered to new members and discuss the future of global trade in commodities in light of the 10th ministerial conference that will be held in Nairobi in December 2015.