Conference Board of Canada

Published purpose

The purpose of the program is to assist six countries in Southeast Asia to comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations (Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines) and/or WTO accession requirements (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) and to strengthen their capacity to take advantage of their WTO rights. The project focuses on trade in agricultural goods, trade facilitation and customs administration, General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and financial services. It enhances the knowledge and skills of government officials in these specific areas through focused training delivered regionally, and develops and supports thematic knowledge networks to enhance south-south dialogue. The Conference Board of Canada implements the project in collaboration with the Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade.