The Ministry of Trade and Economy (MOET), the State Planning Commission (SPC), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Syria signed a Three-year project entitled "Trade Policy Reform and WTO Pre-Accession". The signature ceremony took place today morning 10:00 Am at the SPC. The project aims at strengthening the capacities of the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Trade and other mandated government institutions (SPC) to interpret,
negotiate and implement trade agreements (bilateral, regional and multilateral) and at formulating appropriate policy responses to the challenges of integration into the global economy.
This project will build on the results of the Preparatory Assistance phase for Trade Policy Reform and World Trade Organization (WTO) Pre-Accession Project implemented by the Syrian Government and UNDP in 2005/2006 and recently completed. Most importantly, was the support provided to establish and activate the WTO Directorate within the MOET. However, the focus of this project will not only be on the WTO accession, but also on trade policy reforms and the negotiation of Trade Agreements in general. Further, while work will continue towards harmonizing Syria’s legal and regulatory framework in trade, investment and economic governance with international best practices and standards, more emphasis will be placed on enhancing the capacities of the MOET to analyze the potential implications of deeper integration with the global economy and to formulate a trade strategy consistent with Syria’s development goals.
Finally, the project aims at enhancing the cooperation among all stakeholders involved in trade policy formulation and implementation, in particular between the Inter-ministerial WTO task force and the WTO Directorate at the MOET.
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