PRESS RELEASE 
 
PRESS/593 
26 January 2010 
 
(10-0369) 
WTO ACADEMIC COOPERATION 
WTO to Establish Chairs at 14 De veloping Country Universities 
The WTO Secretariat launched today a new programme of support for teaching, research and 
outreach activities at 14 universities in the developing world. The WTO Chairs Programme (WCP) 
will assist national academic institutions in providing students with a deeper understanding of trade policy issues. Through analytical input into the formulation and implementation of trade 
policy, the WCP will help strengthen the participation of the beneficiary countries in international 
trade.   
“Through this programme the WTO and its university partners are reaching out to the leaders of 
tomorrow, helping them to better understand the complex mechanism that is the global trading system. By enhancing the trade policy skills of th ese young people, the WCP will help foster the 
capacity of developing countries to participate fully in the trading environment of the 21
st century,” 
said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.   
The WCP streamlines academic cooperation activities  of the WTO by providing dedicated support to 
beneficiary institutions in their specific priority areas in the field of trade policy, international trade, international relations and international economic  law. The WCP will provide up to CHF 50,000 per 
annum per school for a period of up to four years. At the end of this period it is intended that 
programmes of activity be consolidated and cont inued as appropriate, possibly with financial 
support from other resources. The WCP will rema in engaged in such programmes to the extent 
feasible and desired by the institutions concer ned. The programme will be extended to other 
institutions over time and will promote an on going network among universities and individuals 
associated with the programme in both developed and developing countries.  
 
From a total of 70 proposals received, 14 projects were chosen through a competitive selection process involving the WCP Advisory Board. The bo ard is comprised of 21 scholars and experts from 
around the world who will contribute to all substantive decisions in respect of the programme. 
 In making their selections, the WCP Advisory Board took into account a number of criteria, 
including: networking; new versus establishe d programmes; development of young scholars; 
capacity-building and sustainability; joint implementation with other institutions; and utilization of resources. Particular consideration was given to quality proposals from institutions with which the 
WTO has already partnered in the past for the delivery of the Regional Trade Policy Courses 
(RTPCs).   
 
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 The 14 selected institutions are listed below 
 
Institution   Chairholder 
Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales 
(FLASCO) 
www.flacso.org.ar   Valentina Delich  
Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico 
(ITAM) 
http://www.itam.mx/en/index.php   Bradly Condon 
Mohammed V University- Souissi 
www.um5s.ac.ma   Ghoufrane Azzedine 
Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade (SIFT) 
www.shift.edu.cn/English   Lei Zhang 
St Petersburg State University 
http://www.worldec.ru/   Sutyrin Sergei 
University Cheikh Anta Diop 
www.ucad.sn   Aly Mbaye 
Universidad de Chile 
www.ieiuchile.cl   Dorotea Lopez Giral 
Universitas Gadjah Mada 
http://www.ugm.ac.id/en/   Riza Noer Arfani 
University of Jordan 
http://www.ju.edu.jo/Home.aspx   Taleb Awad Warred 
University of Mauritius 
http://www.uom.ac.mu   Vinaye Dey 
University of Nairobi 
http://www.uonbi.ac.ke   Jasper Okelo 
University of Namibia 
www.unam.na   Oliver C. Ruppel 
University of the West Indies 
www.mona.uwi.edu   Dana Marie Morris 
 
Vietnam National University 
http://www.economics.vnu.edu.vn   Vu Quoc Huy 
 
Details of the programme can be found on  
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/d evel_e/train_e/ch airs_prog_e.htm.  
END