TRADE POLICY AND WTO SUMMER SCHOOL 2021
“International trade at the crossroads: Where to go from here?”
Between 21-25 June 2021, the first Summer School on Trade Policy and WTO, entitled “International Trade at the Crossroads: Where to Go from Here?” was held at the ADA University. Twenty students and young professionals from all over the country has attended the event on campus and online access to the sessions has been provided to all those interested.
The objective of the Summer School was to raise awareness and stimulate critical analysis and thinking of the role of trade policy in the wider context of public policymaking and implementation as well as on how trade policy impacts the daily lives of businesses and citizens. As a result of the Summer School, participants:
· have a comprehensive overview of how trade policy interrelates with key aspects of our lives – including economic development, health and the environment, and of positive impacts of trade integration processes
· have learned and discussed
· about the current events and challenges surrounding international trade and possible ways forward
· familiarised themselves with, and apply, critical-thinking skills in trade policy analysis
· built their capacity to find and use information and documentation on trade-related issues
On June 21, 2021 ADA University Executive Vice Rector Mr Fariz Ismailzade, Director of the Center of Excellence in EU Studies (CEEUS) Ms Nargiz Ismayilova, Head of EU Delegation to Azerbaijan H.E. Mr Jankauskas Kestutis, representatives of Ministry of Economic Development and EU-funded "Strengthening capacity of the Government of Azerbaijan in the WTO Accession negotiations and other trade related activities" project represented by Mr. Marius Bordalba have come together to launch Trade policy and WTO Summer School.
The School is a week-long program conducted in a blended format when online lectures and interactive discussion sessions are combined with traditional in-class simulation games, team work exercises and lectures. The rich and thought-provoking programme of the School contained sessions on international trade and economic development, environment, health and countries’ trade policies, topical issues, current challenges, and ways forward in international trade.
Day 1 and 2 of the Summer School were dedicated to examining the impact of international trade on the economic development of nations and featured Head of Acadmeic Outrech and WTO Chairs
A field trip to Port of Baku on Day 3 of the Summer School has covered meeting with organization's officials, discussion of Port's development plans, trends in regional logistics, technical specifications of opportunities and challenges, overview of importance of Alyat Port in Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Visit to Port of Baku has demonstrated in practice how trade facilitation measures adopted by the Government of Azerbaijan are implemented.
During the last two days of the School were explored topics such as Covid-19 pandemic effects on trade policy and supply chains and resulting from them changes in trade policy, and topical issues in the trade area.
This event is funded by the European Union and supported by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
For more information on the Summer School, including online access thereto, please contact:
· Ms. Nargiz Ismayilova, Director, Centre of Excellence in EU Studies under the ADA University: nismayilova@ada.edu.az
· Mr. Marius Bordalba, team leader of the EU-funded “Strengthening capacity of the Government of Azerbaijan in the WTO Accession negotiations and other trade related activities” project: marius.bordalba@gmail.com
More information about current EU-funded support to the Government of Azerbaijan on trade policy and WTO accession negotiations: The EU-funded “Strengthening capacity of the Government of Azerbaijan in the WTO Accession negotiations and other trade related activities” project started on September 24, 2020. The project is set to last for 15 months, until November 2021. The support provided to the Government of Azerbaijan to pursue trade policy reform efforts and WTO accession negotiations is likely to contribute to the economic diversification and improvement of non-oil sector through trade-led growth and integration in the multilateral trading system.
The project is implemented by DMI Associates (France) and Expertise Advisors (France), members of the COWI Consortium (Belgium).
Testimonials
USA
Central European University.
A great opportunity, to gain and to expand knowledge on EU matters with profound speakers and diverse participants. Interactive platform offered throughout the summer school was a unique component to exchange ideas and to expand the horizons. EU Summer School also paved a way to the long-lasting friendships despite all the years passed. All in all, I can truly tell that all my expectations were met during the summer school and the knowledge acquired throughout the summer school played an important role during my bachelor’s studies and even during my current master’s studies.
International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF)
I attended the 2nd ADA-EU Summer School and it was excellent. This is a unique opportunity for students, young researchers and those who wish to gain more about knowledge in EU studies and not only. The training was very inspirational, bringing lots of ideas, together with case studies, learning from experience. Well-balanced composition of participants contributed to interesting and focused discussions and exchanges. Experienced participants and speakers from various backgrounds allowed for fruitful interactions.