The trade organizations or even the citizens are not oblivious to the fact that since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the cross-country trade has been hugely impacted. To discuss this in length, WTO called for an online meeting to discuss how trade has impacted due to Covid-19 in the Arab as well as the Middle Eastern region.

In the roundtable discussion held online, the major personalities of the field--negotiators, decision-makers as well as private sector representatives--were present. They discussed the contemporary trade policy issues in the region and how it was affected by the pandemic.

This was a part of the WTO’s online Regional Trade Policy Course meant for the WTO members and observers in the region. The discussion was called "Digital Trade and Economic Development of Arab and Middle Eastern countries'', and it witnessed great minds from the Arab-Middle Eastern region. Geneva-based trade community representatives were also present in the meeting.

The members reportedly discussed the themes of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region's economy as well as the growth of trade through digital means in traditional activities. They also discussed how important digital trade is especially when in line with economic diversification.

The first online Regional Trade Policy Course for WTO was already in place and this discussion was a part of the whole course. The course started on December 7, 2020, and ended on March 25, 2021. !6 government officials participated in the course and discussed how the trade is being impacted in their respective countries and what they can do to rectify the situation.

The course was among the several online training activities that were organized by the WTO secretariat with an aim to ensure that any technical assistance is being provided to the officials in the trade-related matter. The assistance is still being provided to the traders despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

The course was started with the aim to replicate the entire components that were offered face to face in the regional trade policy course. The course elaborated on the agreements of the WTO trade rules and procedures. The course was designed in an interactive way by the inclusion of case studies, exercises, and self-learning modules. 

WAM