Jeddah, Sept.26, 2005

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is organizing an Expert-Level Meeting on 23-24 Sha'ban 1426H (27-28 September 2005), at the IDB Headquarters in Jeddah, with the objective of providing the participants with a platform to discuss all the technical aspects of Trade Facilitation. The importance of the Meeting stems from the fact that WTO negotiations on this topic have been launched since last year with the aim of improving some articles in the GATT 1994 Agreements, especially those related to customs' procedures and transit of goods. The Meeting also offers the participating Member Countries the opportunity to determine their needs and priorities in this area, especially those related to technical assistance needs and the future challenges they will be facing in case a multilateral agreement is reached. Seven Experts from different regional and international organizations dealing with the issue of Trade Facilitation will be participating in the Meeting.
The IDB – WTO - related Technical Assistance Programme for the OIC Member countries aims at a more effective and meaningful participation of these countries in the Multilateral Trading System, through enhancing their human and institutional capacities in this field. The Programme includes short trade policy courses of three-week duration, subject-specific seminars, workshops, symposia, consultative meetings, technical studies on selected WTO-agreements and expert missions on accession issues and other related matters