The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS is to hold a three day workshop on the WTO Dispute Settlement System to identify and resolve trade concerns by Member States in line with the region’s economic integration vision.

The workshop, which will be held in collaboration with the UK’s Department for International Development’s Trade Advocacy Fund (TAF) and GIZ, the German international development cooperation, will take place in Dakar, Senegal from the July 13 to 15, 2016.

A statement issued by the Commission and made available to the Ghana News Agency said the programme will seek to emphasise the concept of international trade disputes as an important trade policy tool through presentations on the WTO dispute settlement system, with particular attention to the experiences of developing countries.

Furthermore, the initiative will serve to introduce the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL), which provides legal support to Developing and Least Developed countries in defending their legal interests in the WTO legal system.

The Commission also seeks, through the workshop, to grant support to Member states in dispute settlement and to equip delegates with the know-how in identifying trade barriers in external markets in order to provide support to domestic exporters.

All ECOWAS countries are members of the WTO and so far, four Member States (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Nigeria) have participated in a few WTO disputes as third parties; however, no ECOWAS Member State been a complainant or respondent in any WTO dispute.

Participants of this workshop will include delegations from ECOWAS, Member states and the Geneva missions of non-Least Developed Countries (LCD) which include Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cape Verde and Nigeria and International trade experts and Trade law experts.

Source: GNA | Ghana