On January 27-28, 2024, a special short-term training program took place at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, featuring the participation of Mr. Hamid Mamdouh, an international trade expert. The event was organized for representatives of Uzbekistan's working group on WTO accession and focused on the theme “Journey to WTO Accession: Unveiling Trade in Services and GATS Agreement Fundamental Rules”.

The program was conducted as part of the project: “Facilitating the Process of Uzbekistan’s Accession to the World Trade Organization”, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva (Switzerland).

Mr. Hamid Mamdouh serves as a consultant to the ITC and is a senior legal consultant at the Geneva office of the law firm King and Spalding. He is also an invited professor at Queen Mary University of London. Previously, he held the position of Director of the Trade in Services and Investment Division at the WTO Secretariat, serving as a senior advisor to the Trade in Services Division and secretary of the WTO Council for Trade in Services.

Representatives of government bodies and organizations, such as the Department of Trade Negotiations and WTO of the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade, the Department of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction of the Republic Uzbekistan, State Committee for Veterinary Medicine and Livestock Development, the Service of Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Agency for Management of State Assets, Agency for Plant Quarantine and Protection, State Customs Committee, Committee for the Development of Competition and Protection of Consumer Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation, as well as faculty and students of UWED took part in this event.

During the seminar, the importance of continuing reforms and international cooperation for the successful accession of Uzbekistan to the WTO was emphasized. Specific recommendations for further development and adaptation of Uzbekistan's trade policy in line with WTO requirements and standards were formulated in conclusion.