The European Union-funded EU-Nepal Trade and Investment Programme kicked off a workshop for officials in the Nepal government aimed at enhancing the understanding of key trade issues on Monday.

As Nepal plans to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2026, the country will face a possible loss of international trade privileges.

“Hence, there is a necessity for strengthening trade capacities, skills, and knowledge to secure benefits from the global trade system among the government officials,” said the statement of the EU-Nepal Trade and Investment Programme.

“Nepali officials must have an adequate understanding of emerging trade issues, and multilateral trading systems, and honed skills in trade negotiations to maximise benefits from international trade for the scheduled graduation from the LDC status, and sustainable economic growth.”

The five-day workshop has been organised with the support of the Centre for WTO Studies, the Centre for Research in International Trade, and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.

The Introductory Training Programme on International Trade and Trade Policy started on Monday and it is the first in a series of planned trade-related skill-enhancement workshops for Nepali officials under the EU-Nepal Trade and Investment Programme.

A total of 26 government officials, including seven female officers, took part in the workshop.

The key objectives of the workshop include upskilling Nepali trade negotiators and policymakers to ensure their effective participation in the WTO meetings, WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism and multilateral/ bilateral trade negotiations. Similarly, the workshop aims to enhance the understanding of key trade issues among concerned officials.

According to the statement, during the workshop, Nepali officials will be introduced to international trade and WTO from Nepal’s perspective, WTO Agreement on Agriculture, WTO Agreement on Agriculture Domestic support, WTO and food Security, WTO Agreement on Agriculture-market access and export competition, and the trade-related data and market analysis.

Similarly, World Integrated Trade Solution and Trade Data of Nepal, analysis of trade trends, Nepal’s WTO commitments, WTO dispute settlement mechanism, Least Developed Country (LDC) graduation-related issues, trade facilitation in services and global value-chains, stakeholder consultation and Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights are also among the topics of the workshop.

Gobinda Bahadur Karkee, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, said that an international-level workshop like this would help in enhancing the trade negotiation capacities of Nepali trade officials at a time when challenges and opportunities exist in international trade.