TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

I. Training programme in international commercial diplomacy

Context and rationale

Since 1994, the PA has been establishing new relations with regional and international trade partners and has been actively seeking to ensure the WTO compatibility of its emerging trade policy. Already, the Palestinian trade exhibits compliance with multilateral trading rules and regulations by virtue of the Protocol on Economic Relations between the Government of Israel and the PLO, representing the Palestinian People, signed in April 1994. The protocol stipulates a trade regime that is something of a mixture between a free-trade area and a customs union, with the PA adopting the Israeli tariff structure that is in tune with the multilateral trading rules. The PA also applies Israeli standards and specifications and customs valuation, notwithstanding a limited range of goods within specific quantities originating from Egypt and Jordan to which the PA applies its own tariffs and trade regulations.

In the context of preparations for greater integration into the multilateral trading system, the PA is preparing a comprehensive negotiating agenda on services and goods to derive benefits from globalization, while ensuring the preservation of national interests. At the same time, it is becoming better acquainted with the different aspects of the multilateral trading system, the WTO and the ongoing negotiations from the development perspective. Also, it seeks to acquire greater experience in trade negotiations and works closely with local research and academic institutions in assessing global trade trends and formulating feasible policy proposals. The Palestinian private sector lacks the necessary experience in the area of trade policy and negotiations.

In these respects, it is possible to discern three major groups according to their training needs:

• Senior PA decision makers and middle-level managers in different ministries, who need to deepen their knowledge with regard to multilateral trade arrangements, the functioning of the WTO, the developed and developing countries' obligations therein and the influence of the WTO on national trade and development policy.
  
  

• The business community, which needs to be kept abreast of the specific obligations of different countries and the WTO rules and regulations so as to be in a better position to voice their interests and influence the decision-making process.
  
  

• The Palestinian public, which needs a clear assessment of the economic implications of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements already concluded or yet to be implemented, and how these affect their day-to-day affairs. The academic community involved in longer-term human resource development, the media and civil society need to be familiarized with the various elements of the multilateral trading system and its interdependence with national trade and development policy.

Pursuant to requests by the PA, the UNCTAD secretariat designed a technical assistance project in 1998 under its Commercial Diplomacy Programme with a view to addressing those needs in a sustained manner. The first phase of the project, totalling US$ 70,000, was implemented in close cooperation with the PA’s Ministry of Economy and Trade with funding from UNCTAD, the UNDP and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Objectives

• To increase the knowledge of PA officials, the private sector, academics and the media about the multilateral trading system, and to expose participants to various trade policy options offered under the multilateral trading system;
  

• To assist PA officials in developing a trade policy that is responsive to the economy's needs and is in tune with the circumstances of the region;
  

• To develop an institutionalized capacity within the PA that can keep abreast of WTO developments, and provide follow-up training services to both the public and private sectors according to emerging needs;
  

• To develop appropriate training materials on commercial diplomacy that can be updated for use by the PA and others concerned on a wider and ongoing basis.

Main activities

Activities under this project entailed advisory and training services, proceeding along two mutually reinforcing avenues. These comprised the preparation, revision and finalizing of appropriate training materials and the convening of three training workshops and a high-level symposium in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The workshops targeted middle-level trade- policy makers and executive staff involved in bilateral and multilateral negotiations from relevant PA ministries, with a view to establishing a firm foundation and a comprehensive working knowledge within those ministries. In contrast, the high-level symposium brought together ministries and other senior officials involved in trade policy and negotiations, with a view to providing them with an overview of the WTO system, the rules and regulations of multilateral trade and an introduction to national trade policy development.

The workshops and the high-level symposium were conducted using eight training modules that will be adapted to the Palestinian context during the course of the project, taking into account comments and suggestions generated during discussions.

Status

The first phase of the project was successfully implemented between 1998 and 2000, with both the training sessions and the symposium featuring a lively exchange of views, further development of the training materials for local use and concrete first steps towards creating a dynamic knowledge base concerning issues discussed. The activities revealed the growing need of PA policymakers and private sector organizations for systematic exposure in a more detailed manner to the diverse and complex issues related to the multilateral trading system and the World Trade Organization.

Subsequently, and at the request of the PA, a second round of training activities and advisory services were designed in 2000 with a view to consolidating the achievements of the first phase, and focusing advisory services on specific issues of concern to the PA, especially with respect to observer status and accession to the WTO.

Activities under Phase II, budgeted at US$ 110,000, include:

• Organizing a high-level symposium to update PA officials on the outcome and implications of WTO’s 1999 Ministerial Meeting;
  

• Organizing two information/training sessions for the PA and the private sector on emerging WTO issues;
  

• Providing advisory and expert services on priority issues identified by PA in the context of attaining observer status in the WTO;
  

• Organizing follow-up training sessions on negotiation techniques for PA officials involved in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations.

With partial funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, project activities began in mid-2000 but were suspended owing to deteriorating field conditions. Meanwhile, the UNCTAD secretariat is in the process of assisting the PA in designing a policy framework for developing trade in services and guiding future WTO-oriented negotiations. Furthermore, UNCTAD commercial diplomacy training materials were further adapted in a series of UNDP-funded workshops for the private sector that were to be conducted by the PA, UNCTAD and Arab experts in the near future.