News and insights on WTO Technical Assistance programmes |
- Technical Assistance Annual Report now available
- Explore upcoming in-person activities
- E-Learning: introducing the online catalogue
- Round-Up: top news and highlights
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📢 Technical Assistance Annual Report 2025
The report reviews the performance of WTO Technical Assistance in 2025, a year marked by significant resource constraints and operational adjustments. Despite these challenges, WTO TA continued to deliver strong results in support of developing and least-developed Members and Observers.
In 2025, over 13,000 government officials were trained through WTO TA activities. While this represents a decline compared with 2024, overall performance remained broadly stable, with 80% of targets fully or partially met — well above the ten-year average. The report also highlights women’s increased participation, the continued inclusion of LDC participants, who accounted for 29% of beneficiaries, and the Secretariat’s flexible approach to TA delivery through blended, virtual and online learning.
Testimonials and in-depth analysis illustrate how WTO TA continued to enhance human and institutional trade capacities across TA beneficiaries.
The full report is available for download here.
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Several TA activities have been approved, with further initiatives being planned. Details on upcoming activities are available via the link to the TAMS below. |
Note: The above list is not exhaustive and reflects only some of the forthcoming activities scheduled to date. For the complete and most up-to-date schedule, please consult TAMS regularly. |
📍 Riyadh | 📅 07–10 June 2026
Regional Workshop on Trade in Services for GCC Members |
This regional workshop will bring together officials from Gulf Cooperation Council member states to strengthen their understanding of trade in services, with a focus on the WTO framework, services trade policy and practical tools for analysis and negotiation.
The programme will cover the evolving role of services trade in development, key GATS disciplines and commitments, regional agreements on services trade, and different approaches to scheduling commitments. Participants will also engage in practical exercises using WTO analytical tools, including I-TIP Services, the Services Database and the Trade in Services Competitiveness Dashboard.
Additional sessions will address services domestic regulation and good regulatory practices. The workshop will conclude with a services trade negotiation simulation, allowing participants to apply the knowledge and tools covered during the rogramme in a practical setting. |
📍 Geneva | 📅 22–23 June 2026
SPS Committee Thematic Workshop on Transparency |
This thematic workshop will bring together officials responsible for implementing the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement, in particular SPS national notification authorities and national enquiry points.
The programme will combine practical training, group work and peer exchange on SPS transparency obligations, the roles and responsibilities of notification authorities and enquiry points, and the use of online transparency tools, including the ePing SPS&TBT Platform. Participants will also take part in an ePing clinic designed to strengthen their operational capacity and address practical questions related to the platform.
The workshop will also cover the work of the SPS Committee’s Transparency Working Group, established in November 2025 as an outcome of the Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement. Participants will attend the Working Group meeting, exchange experiences on notification procedures and coordination challenges, and discuss best practices for improving SPS transparency at national and regional levels. |
Explore the WTO e-Learning Programme |
With over 180 online courses available in English, French and Spanish, the WTO e-Learning programme offers a comprehensive catalogue ranging from introductory courses on the WTO and its Multilateral Trade Agreements to advanced, topic-specific training.
Learners can study at their own pace, anytime, from anywhere.
The programme provides an engaging digital learning experience, combining multimedia content such as animations, interactive exercises, infographics, audio and visual materials, as well as quizzes, exams and live webinars with WTO experts. |
📍 Geneva | 📅 28–29 May 2026
Francophone parliamentarians strengthen engagement on multilateral trade |
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The WTO Secretariat and the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie concluded a two-day workshop in Geneva bringing together more than 30 parliamentarians from French-speaking countries to deepen their understanding of the WTO and the multilateral trading system.
The workshop responded to priorities identified by the APF’s Commission on Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs. Participants engaged with WTO experts and partner organizations on key trade issues, including food security, agriculture, fisheries subsidies, e-commerce, investment facilitation, trade and gender, sustainability, and standards and regulations.
The activity provided a platform for legislators to exchange national perspectives, explore current challenges facing the multilateral trading system, and strengthen their capacity to contribute to informed trade policy discussions in their respective parliaments. |
📍 Geneva | 📅 20–24 April 2026
Advanced Global Workshop on the Agreement on Government Procurement concludes in Geneva |
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The trilingual Advanced Global Workshop on the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement equipped 30 government officials with enhanced knowledge of the Agreement and its role in promoting transparent, competitive and rules-based procurement systems.
The workshop combined expert presentations with practical exercises on the policy, legal and economic dimensions of the GPA. Participants explored market access opportunities, good governance aspects, domestic implementation and enforcement, accession procedures, and the relevance of the Agreement in the context of free trade agreement negotiations.
The programme placed strong emphasis on applied learning, including a simulation of a GPA accession negotiation, the use of the e-GPA Gateway and exercises on the application of GPA rules. Participants highlighted the value of the workshop in deepening their understanding of the Agreement and strengthening their capacity to assess its relevance for their economies. |
📍 Yaoundé | 📅 25 March 2026
China Round Table highlights benefits of WTO accession and African countries’ experience |
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The China Round Table on WTO Accessions, held on the margins of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference, highlighted the role of WTO accession in supporting domestic reform, economic integration and development, with particular attention to the experience of African countries.
The event brought together ministers, chief negotiators, acceding governments, recently acceded Members and international organizations to exchange experiences on the accession process and the value of WTO membership. Discussions covered ongoing accessions, including the advanced negotiations of Ethiopia and Uzbekistan, as well as the experiences of African economies and recently acceded Members.
The Round Table also underlined the importance of technical assistance and capacity-building during and after accession. Through the China Programme, support continues to help least-developed countries and acceding governments advance negotiations, strengthen domestic coordination and build the institutional capacity needed to participate effectively in the multilateral trading system. |
WTO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Coordinated and managed by ITTC |
A core function of the WTO, technical assistance and capacity-building activities seek to enhance professional and institutional trade capacities in developing and least-developed WTO member and observer governments. They provide beneficiaries with enhanced know-how to take full advantage of the opportunities from the rules-based multilateral trading system and address potential challenges. Within the WTO Secretariat, the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) oversees these activities. |
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