Seychelles' trade officials brush up on negotiating skills with WTO experts

The training is expected to give the participants the required skills to negotiate for Seychelles. (Focal Foto, Flickr) Photo license: CC BY-NC 2.0

Officers and partners of the Seychelles Department of Trade will improve their negotiating skills through a one-week training programme starting Monday, facilitated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The training is expected to give the participants the required skills to negotiate for Seychelles, other nations and organisations on trade issues.  

"This training will help all the participants to better understand how trade negotiations work and will do both theory and practical sessions during the workshop," Veronique Brutus, a senior trade officer, told reporters.

The Trade Department is mandated to negotiate trade agreements for Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

It also works with local authorities to establish these negotiations, and aside from its officers, officers of the Customs Division, Seychelles Bureau of Standards, Agriculture, Fisheries, and other departments are taking part in the training.  

During the workshop, the participants will learn about the WTO, the basic concepts of negotiations, and negotiation techniques, as well as do simulated negotiation exercises.

The participants will learn about the WTO and the basic concepts of negotiations among others. (Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade) Photo License: CC-BY

The training is being led by Willie Chatsika, head of Africa WTO, and training officer, Franziska Kirschke.

"The WTO is set up primarily for the benefit of its members and our primary is to help the members implement the agreements that they themselves have negotiated," said Chatsika.

He added that these training programmes will help member countries, such as Seychelles, to understand the rules and disciplines of the WTO, so that they can then use them for their betterment.

"We hope that by the end of the week, the participants will be better equipped to negotiate various areas of international trade on behalf of Seychelles," added Chatsika.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations.

At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world's trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.

The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.

Seychelles has been a member of the WTO since April 26, 2015.