UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade participates in 42nd Joint Advisory Group on International Trade Center

Halla Lootah, the Director of the Government Communication Relations Department of the MoFT, participated in this event representing the UAE.

The Joint Advisory Group examined the activities of the ITC and made recommendations to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Board and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Council. The 2007 ITC report of activities, which included a number of successful initiatives such as the establishment of complementary programs with Arab countries, was regarded by the participants as successful and promising.

Halla Lootah, Director of the Government Communication Relations Department, MoFT, said:

"The Ministry of Foreign Trade continues to pursue its mission of reinforcing ties with the rest of the global community and our participation at the Joint Advisory Group annual meeting reaffirms our commitment to actively partake in efforts that promote mutual growth and understanding. The Ministry is pleased to have contributed its own vision and ideas to the assembly and we likewise appreciate the efforts of the ITC towards opening new channels for cooperation with the Arab World."

Halla Lootah joined several prominent global leaders at the Joint Advisory Group meeting including Pascal Lamy, the Director General of the WTO; Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, UNCTAD Secretary-General; Patricia Francis, Executive Director of ITC; and H.E. Ambassador Amina Keco-Isakovic, Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Chairperson of the 42nd session.

Other key topics that were discussed during the meeting were the annual report on the activities of ITC in 2007 and preliminary report on 2008; presentations of the World Trade Promotion Organisation (WTPO) award winners; presentation of the financial information of the ITC; general interventions by member states of the nature of the ITC work in 2007 and 2008; and the ITC strategic plan for 2009-2012 and the strategic framework.

Since 1964, ITC has supported small business export success in developing countries by providing trade development programs to the private sector, trade support institutions and policymakers. ITC works in partnership with the WTO and the UNCTAD, supporting their regulatory, research and policy strategies and helping to turn them into practical projects. ITC remains the only international organisation focused solely on trade development for developing and transition economies.