THE World Trade Organisation (WTO) has launched an online portal on Wednesday to allow individuals to apply online for trade-related technical assistance and training activities.

"The courses are designed to help government officials and others, such as parliamentarians, strengthen their understanding of trade-related issues," said an official statement.

The new online tool is available via the WTO's Technical Assistance Management System (TAMS), which contains a catalogue of planner trainer-led activities and information on the targeted audience and the eligible candidates. It also has resources for online self-training courses.

"The WTO Secretariat is continuing its efforts to modernise the design and enhance the flexibility of the TAMS. This new portal will allow trade officials to apply directly for the WTO's technical assistance and training activities, which will help them acquire the essential skills and knowledge to effectively participate in international trade," said Deputy Director-General Mr Yonov Frederick Agah, who oversees development matters in the WTO.

The new interface will be useful to ease future participants' access to the WTO's planned activities, thus contributing to enhancing the effectiveness of the system.

The general courses include trade policy (8 weeks), introduction about WTO (3 weeks), Geneva-based thematic courses on WTO-related topics (1-2 weeks), and regional capacity-building programmes (1-3 weeks).