Commonwealth convenes trade policy seminar for Caribbean MPs

In a bid to boost Commonwealth Caribbean parliamentarians’ in-depth understanding of trade policy issues, the Commonwealth is organising a two-day seminar on the dynamics and intricacies of the trade policy.

The seminar, jointly organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, will take place in St Kitts and Nevis from 25 to 26 November 2010. Parliaments have been invited to send two members each, one from the government side and the other from the opposition.

Speaking ahead of the seminar, Edwin Laurent, Head of International Trade and Regional Co-operation at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said: "Parliaments have constitutional responsibilities to oversee national trade policy that require familiarity with an extensive range of often quite technical concepts; without which the in-depth scrutiny and informed discussions on trade policies and their implementation would not be possible. This seminar seeks to contribute to meeting that need and to provide the legislators with guidance on how to handle complex trade policy and negotiation issues.”

Mr Laurent noted that since most international and regional trading agreements are debated by parliaments, which often need to ratify them, it is crucial that MPs appreciate the full implications of these trade accords and sufficiently master the technical concepts in order to participate fully in the debates.

The seminar will examine issues such as the dynamic role of the modern day parliament in the management and oversight of trade policy, the structure, principles and functioning of the international trading systems and how changes impact on economic growth and development. MPs will also review the functioning of the World Trade Organization system, the Doha negotiations and the recently concluded Economic Partnership Agreements.

The Caribbean seminar is one in a series of policy workshops that the Commonwealth has been organising in different regions. Previous seminars of Commonwealth MPs have been held in South Asia, East Africa and the Pacific.

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