News

WTO trainees receive expert-level economic diplomacy training
16 Dec 2022 - 13:18
Bron: Clingendael

Recently, the Clingendael Institute received a delegation of 12 World Trade Organization (WTO) trainees that participated in a one-week training programme at the Institute. The programme, which is organized yearly in close cooperation with the WTO, aimed at strengthening the participants’ policy-making skills, knowledge about international trade and development cooperation, insights into translating private parties' needs into trade policy, and personal professional skills.

This year’s programme consisted of various modules tackling specific WTO domains: current challenges in global trade and finance, strategic foresight, and international development through trade. These modules were filled with lectures on a range of trade-related topics including legal developments in the WTO, the current post-covid world economy, the rise of digital trade, the upcoming EU due diligence regulation on trade, sustainable trade and resources, and global energy trade. In addition to the interactive sessions, a working visit to the Port of Rotterdam was organized in which the trainees had the opportunity to learn more about the role of logistics in international trade.

Throughout the week, the trainees also had the opportunity to work on a specific match-making assignment for which they were divided into teams. Each team researched and visited one of the following Dutch organisations: a large employers association, the social economic council, and the innovation and investment organization one of the Dutch provinces. This experience was concluded by each team sharing their experiences and insights into the best practices in relation to the organisations.