Technical trainings on trade-related topics – Workshops on rules of origin
- The UfM Secretariat, with the support of the German Development Cooperation, fulfills the call of the UfM Trade Ministers on their 11th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Trade Ministers Conference of 10 November 2020 on the organization of trainings and technical assistance for ministries, customs authorities and businesses on the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention of Rules of Origin, in order to enhance the capacities of those actors and thereby increase the benefits of the respective trade agreements.”
29 July 2021. The UfM Secretariat, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Egypt and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) organized sector-specific workshops for Government and private sector stakeholders in Egypt, each of them consisting of an introductory course on Rules of Origin, as well as information on product-specific Rules of Origin for the respective industries under the most pertinent agreements, including through training exercises. A handbook has also been issued on the New Transitional Rules of Origin applicable to Egypt, and specific coaching sessions were provided on the practical use of this handbook.
In addition to this technical assistance in Egypt, similar workshops and handbooks are being provided to the public and private sectors in Jordan, and work is undergoing to conduct the same exercise with Lebanon and Palestine.
The development and implementation of these activities is fully in line with the Joint statement of the 11th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Trade Ministers Conference of 10 November 2020, which stated in its paragraph 15: “…Ministers welcomed the initiative of the UfM Secretariat and the German development agency GIZ, supported by the German Federal Government, to organize trainings and technical assistance for ministries, customs authorities and businesses on the PEM rules of origin, in order to enhance the capacities of those actors and thereby increase the benefits of the respective trade agreements.”
