Strengthening international trade capacity development in Guinea
Overview
The focus of the project was on capacity development in Guinea related to international trade through training, support to intermediary organisations and direct assistance to food processing companies/units. The project was officially launched in October 2008 for an initial period of two years. It was implemented by two UN agencies (UNCTAD and the International Trade Centre (ITC)), national authorities (including the Ministry of Commerce of Guinea) and the French Development Agency (AFD). UNCTAD was in charge of the capacity building activities with two main objectives
Objectives
Objective 1
To develop capacity in Guinea to formulate policies and strategies in the field of international trade.
Related activities:
- Needs analysis and setting up the priorities for trade facilitation. The mission was conducted in May 2009. An introductory workshop for 40 participants was organised, and support to the Guinean authorities related to trade facilitation was offered.
- Seminar on building capacity on international investment agreements was conducted using distance learning methodology.
Objective 2
To strengthen the capacity of trade support institutions.
Related activities:
- Organisation of regular meetings related to project coordination.
- Organisation of a training of trainers seminar related to distance learning methodology.
Impact and results
- To oversee the development of the project, a thematic subcommittee on trade facilitation was established at the Ministry of Trade and Competitiveness, and a focal point of the subcommittee was appointed.
- 14 officers in charge of foreign trade issues in Guinea (from the Ministry of Trade and other ministries) were able to strengthen their skills in understanding and analysing issues related to bilateral investment, the investment chapters of free trade agreements , and the analysis of the negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreement and its potential impact.
- 23 of the participants in the TrainForTrade courses were educated to be co-trainers and trainers, in order to develop local training capacity in Guinea. 23 operators of the Ministry of Trade and other ministries now have the capacity to disseminate and co-lead seminars and thematic teaching using face-to-face and distance learning methods.
The project was funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).
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