Trade and Regional Integration in the Arab States
11 - 12 December 2018, Marrakech, Morocco
Agenda
08:30 Registration
09:00 Opening Ceremony
- Welcome address by ITFC and ITC
9:30 Item 1: Tackling NTMs and promoting regional integration: Where do we stand?
- ITC’s work and key achievements
- Efforts made by national governments
Questions and Answers
Open discussion
11:15 Item 2: Initiative of development partners in the region
12:30 Lunch
14:00 Item 2: Where do we go from here? Thematic roundtables to establish next steps to achieve greater trade integration
- Round table 1: NTMs and regional integration
- Round table 2: Customs procedures
- Round table 3: Quality requirements and management
17:00 Closing of Day 1
09:00 Item 4: Presentation of action plans and proposed projects to further enhance regional trade integration of each roundtable
- NTMs and regional integration
- Customs procedures
- Quality requirements and management
10:45 Open discussion
12:00 Closing
Overview
The International Trade Centre (ITC), with support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), is taking the initiative to organize an interactive High-Level Regional Workshop where delegates from the Arab countries and relevant regional organizations will have the opportunity to take stock of progress made over the past years in tackling impediments to regional trade integration and to define the next steps.
The workshop will allow exchanging views, learning from experiences, and sharing of ideas new initiatives at the national and regional level aimed at reducing trade cost. ITC will use the results of the workshop to inform its technical assistance and define its priorities for the region for the years to come.
This workshop is intended for high-level representatives from the Ministry of Trade, the Customs Authority and Standards and Quality Management institutions. The deliverables of the workshop include an action plan for further reducing NTM-related trade obstacles within the Arab region through concrete projects and implementation of such action at the regional level.
Objectives
1. Present the work undertaken by ITC and by national governments over the past years aimed at reducing trade cost and increasing regional integration;
2. Agree on the implementation of action plans for the way forward to address NTMs of mutual interest to the Arab countries, particularly with regard to quality requirements, customs procedures and the implementation of GAFTA.
Contact
For further information on the Roundtable event,
contact us at ntm@intracen.org.
Official Event Documents
Terms of reference: Trade and Regional Integration in the Arab States — EN ¦ FR ¦ AR
Agenda: EN
Studies on Arab regional integration:
Additional Resources and links
(Please check regularly for updates)
Non-tariff measures (General)
- Company Perspectives on Non-Tariff Measures in:
Jordan ¦ Egypt ¦ Tunisia ¦ Morocco ¦ State of Palestine
- The Invisible Barriers to Trade – How Businesses Experience Non-Tariff Measures
Export Quality Management reports
Data Information Sources and Tools
Online learning
- Understanding NTMs – courses in Arabic
- Understanding NTMs – courses in English
- Using EuroMed Trade Helpdesk:
Presentations from the workshop
- ITC Presentation - Trade and Regional Integration in the Arab States
- Summary of Roundtable 1: NTMs and regional integration: rules of origin, trade information and implementation of existing trade agreements
- Summary of Roundtable 2: Customs procedures: efficient risk management and trade facilitation at the border
- Summary of Roundtable 3: Quality requirements and management: standards, harmonization, mutual recognition and conformity assessment
- UNIDO Presentation
Press and Media
Venue:
Radisson Blu Hotel, Marrakech Carre Eden. 166, 176 Avenue Mohammed V, Marrakech 40000, Morocco