On October 4 and 5 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with Geneva based International Trade Center and the World Trade Organization Secretariat, is to be held a seminar on the WTO and related issues. Among the lecturers are representatives from the WTO Secretariat in Geneva (Mr M.Smeet – counselor of Technical assistance unit, WTO Secretariat, and Dr Klaus Kautzor-Scroder – former director of the GATT).

The agenda of the seminar includes aspects of the WTO institutional structure, tariffs, international trade in services, agriculture. Similarly, the discussions will concentrate of issues related to Latvia's membership, for example emergency safeguard measures, subsidies and compensatory measures, anti-dumping measures and matters related to agriculture as well as the problem solving. Likewise, seminar will reflect on certain cases that Latvia has encountered already being a full Member of the WTO.

Seminar will enhance discussions on the participation of the delegation of Latvia to the third WTO Ministerial Conference, which is to be held in Seattle, from November 30 to December 3 this year. Discussants from line ministries, non-governmental organizations, as well as from the EU delegation in Riga, World Bank and International Monetary Fund are expected to participate.

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