Vanuatu has joined its Pacific Less Developed Countries (LDC) member states in a Regional Workshop on LDC graduation underway in Port Vila.
The workshop is jointly organized by the World Trade Organisation secretariat in collaboration with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), and is supported through the Enhanced Integrated Framework secretariat (EIF) implementing project in Geneva.
The workshop brings together Pacific island countries who are members of the WTO and non-WTO members.
The workshop includes representatives from Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Samoa, Maldives and Vanuatu.
The workshop is aimed at improving the understanding and knowledge of participants on trade-related implications on LDC graduation, international support measures and to build capacity to address challenges that would arise from the loss of LDCs specific benefits.
The workshop will provide an opportunity for the participants to examine the likely impact on their participation in the WTO.
The participants should play an active role in identifying options and strategies for their countries to smoothly integrate into the global economy for successful LDC graduation and sustainable development.
The workshop will receive a number of presentations from the WTO Secretariat, United Nations committee for development policy (UNCDP), Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, Enhance Integrated Framework (EIF), UNESCAP and the Common wealth secretariat.
Other presentations will include findings from country studies on specific analysis undertaken for Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Vanuatu as part of the EIF- WTO LDC graduation project.
It will be presented by the consultants at the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, and the Development division at the WTO.
The study will report on the challenges and possible options on areas of the regional trade, development cooperation as well as the context of the overall economic landscape.
Vanuatu has also been given the opportunity to present its draft LDC smooth transition strategy on the opportunities and challenges it faces in its preparation process. The LDC graduation smooth transition strategy is coordinated by the Prime Minister’s office, through its LDC National Coordinating Committee (NCC) secretariat, who is presenting at the workshop.
Vanuatu is destined to graduate in December 4, 2020.
Photo supplied Caption: Port Vila city, capital of Vanuatu