With the renewed interest for international trade agreements, developing countries are faced with an increasing number of initiatives in this connection. Among the recent development have been a series of regional trade agreements among the developing countries themselves, as well as initiatives coupling developing with developed nations. The Free Trade Area of the Americas has brought together Mexico, Canada and the US. The countries of the Pacific region are negotiating an agreement with Australia and New Zealand. And the 77 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group have entered into the Cotonou Partnership Agreement with the European Union. In parallel with these developments, a new round of multilateral negotiations was launched in Doha, the capital of Qatar, in November 2001. In order to take advantage of the opportunities and challenges presented by these international trade initiatives, each developing country has to be able to clearly identify its key development objectives and to translate them into appropriate trade strategies, which it then needs to pursue in the appropriate forum. Capacity development for trade plays a crucial role in ensuring the relevance and effectiveness of this process. (More ...)

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