Cuba 2005

Government officials and academics from eight Latin American and Caribbean nations will be trained by UNCTAD in the use of multidisciplinary approaches to trade and development issues in Havana, Cuba. The regional training course on "Key Issues on the International Economic Agenda", to be held from 28 February to 16 March, is being organized jointly by UNCTAD and the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade, which is hosting the event.

The linkages between trade, investment and development; their implications for integrated development strategies; and national experiences with trade and development policies for countries in the region will be explored. The course syllabus has been designed to draw on UNCTAD´s expertise in trade and development policies, financial flows and macroeconomic management, investment and technology, trade facilitation measures and e-commerce and development. The 18 participants will learn about the analytical and research work of UNCTAD, of Cuba´s Ministries of Foreign Trade, Informatics and Communication and Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, of the University of Havana and of the Cuban Center for World Economy Studies.

The course is part of a series mandated by the Bangkok Plan of Action adopted at UNCTAD X in February 2000 and reaffirmed in the São Paulo Consensus adopted at UNCTAD XI in June 2004. At UNCTAD X, UNCTAD was requested to strengthen the understanding of decision makers from developing countries of key development issues on the international economic agenda within UNCTAD´s fields of competence. Two general courses were offered in 2001-2002, along with five regional courses in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Asia, Africa and transition economies.