01-0229 MOREPRESS RELEASE
PRESS/205
16 January 2001
WTO STARTS 16TH TRADE POLICY COURSE
During a brief ceremony held on 15 January, Mr. Paul-Henri Ravier, Deputy Director-General
of the World Trade Organization, officially launched the 16th Trade Policy Course held under the
aegis of the WTO.
Mr. Ravier welcomed on behalf of the WTO Secretariat the 30 trade officials from
developing, least-developed countries/customs territories and economies in transition.  "You are lucky
to be here, not only because these courses are one of the best products offered by the WTO, but also
because there were many candidates who, like you, were very eager to be counted in", Mr. Raviersaid. He mentioned that these courses were a good occasion to observe from inside the work of the
WTO and what goes on behind the scenes.  It should also be a very interesting year to be in the WTO
with the next Ministerial Meeting to take place at the end of 2001.
Mr. Ravier referred to the situation faced by the WTO Secretariat where the demand for
training exceeds by far the available financial and human resources. He also highlighted the high
interest that the WTO and the Director-General have placed on activities aimed at increasing the
capacity of developing and in particular least-developed countries to participate in the multilateral
trading system.
Officials from Belarus, Dominica, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are participating for the first time ever in these regular courses.
The 12-week course will run until 6 April 2001. Since their inception in 1955, 94 residential
trade policy courses have been organized under the GATT and the WTO and close to 2,000 officialshave participated in this training.  In addition, a number of short trade policy courses are also
organized by the WTO in the context of its technical cooperation programme.PRESS/205
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MOREList of participants:
Bahrain Mr. Waheed Jaffar Khalil SULTAN, Head of Foreign Trade & International
Trade Organizations, Foreign Trade Relations Directorate, Ministry of
Commerce, Manama.
Bangladesh Mr. Md. Mizanur Mi zan RAHMAN, Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of
Commerce, Dhaka.
Belarus Mr. Yury Pavlovich RABKO, Foreign Trade Analyst, Department Chief, Foreign
Trade Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minsk.
Belize Mr. David Maurice GOMEZ, International Trade Policy Advisor, Ministry of
Budget Management, Investment and Trade, Belmopan
Brazil Mrs. Vera Figueiredo MALTA, General Coordinator, International Affairs
Secretariat, Ministry of Finance, Brasilia DF.
Dominica Mr. Ricardo Marcus JAMES, Trade Of ficer I, Ministry of Trade, Industry and
Marketing, Roseau.
Ethiopia Miss Eftihia MARIO, Senior Ec onomist, Trade Registration and Licensing
Department, Ministry of Trad e and Industry, Addis Ababa.
Gambia Mr. Saikou SAIDILY, Acting Seni or Trade Economist, Trade Division,
Department of State for Trade, Industry and Employment, Banjul.
Georgia Mr. Levan CHITEISHVILI, Deputy Head, International Relations Division,
Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Tbilisi.
Hong Kong,
ChinaMr. Ka-shing AU, Trade Officer, Regi onal Cooperation Division (APEC), Trade
and Industry Department, Commer ce and Industry Bureau, Kowloon.
India Mr. Manoj JOSHI, Deputy Secretary,  Department of Commerce, Ministry of
Commerce, New Delhi.
Jamaica Mr. Dale Elliott JONES, Foreign Service Officer I, Foreign Trade Department,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kingston.
Latvia Mrs. Ivita BURMISTRE, Attaché, International Economic Organisations
Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riga.
Lesotho Miss Lineo LEBONA, Trade Promotion Officer, Department of Trade, Trade
Promotion Unit, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing, Maseru.
Lithuania Mr. Raimondas ALISAUSKAS, First Secretary, Foreign Trade Policy Division,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vilnius.
Malta Mr. Dennis GRECH, Economics Offi cer, Economic Planning Division, Ministry
for Economic Services, Floriana.PRESS/205
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ENDMoldova Mr. Octavian Zaharia CALMIC, Deputy Head, WTO Division, Ministry of
Economy and Reforms, Chisinau.
Saint Kitts and 
NevisMiss Nicola Careen ST CATHERINE, Admi nistrative Cadet, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, International Trade and CARICOM Affairs, Basseterre.
Saint Vincent and 
the GrenadinesMiss Silvonne Henrietta JACK, Economist, Trade Division, Ministry of Trade,
Industry and Consumer Affairs, St. Vincent, W.I.
Saudi Arabia Mr. Saleh SHOAIB, Assistant Commercial Attaché, Office of the Representative
to the WTO and Commercial Office in Geneva.
Singapore Mr. Kevin Boon Hwa LIM, Country  Officer (Asia-Europe Meeting), Policy,
Planning and Analysis Directorate II, Mi nistry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore.
Suriname Miss Thilde Jacqueline ELSTAK, Trade Officer at the Caricom Desk,
International Economic Relations, Ministry of Trade and Industry,
Paramaribo.
Swaziland Mr. Newman Sizwe NTSHANGASE, Assistant Secretary, Political Division,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mbabane.
Chinese Taipei Mr. Hsiu-chuan Alex CHEN, St aff Member, The Third (WTO) Department,
Board of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan.
The Former 
Yugoslav Rep. 
of MacedoniaMr. Aleksandar DAMJANOSKI, Advisor of the Minister, Multilateral Division,
Ministry of Economy, Skopje.
Tonga Mr. Paulo S. KAUTOKE, Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Commerce and
Industries, Nuku'alofa.
Uganda Mr. Silver OJAKOL, Senior Foreig n Trade Officer, Department of Trade,
Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Kampala.
United Arab 
EmiratesMr. Saeed Suwaid AL-NASIBI, Direct or, WTO Division, Economic Affairs
Department, Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Abu Dhabi.
Viet Nam Miss Nga NGUYEN THI QUYIN, Head, WTO Division, Ministry of Trade,
Hanoi.
 Zimbabwe Mr. Samson MUTANHAURWA, Principal Administrative Officer, External
Trade, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Harare.