National University of Lesotho Awarded World Trade Organisation Chair – African Business

Dr Thabiso Molapo, Minister of Trade and Industry, stated that the current trade policy priorities include Regional Integration and Export Competibility, Trade in Services, Trade Facilitation, and Trade and Sustainable Development.

This was his statement when he launched the National University of Lesotho World Trade Organisation chair at the Maseru event on Wednesday.

Dr Molapo congratulated Lesotho’s National University on being awarded the WTO Chair. He said he was pleased with the outcome, as he had endorsed the initiative last January.

He stated that his ministry has pledged its support for the NUL Chairmanship. He said this would benefit other ministries and have a lot of benefits from the placement of the prestigious chair.

He highlighted that the University’s ability to conduct research will ultimately benefit Lesotho’s government, especially the Ministry of Trade and private sector. They will be able to tap into the expertise necessary for policy formulation and innovation.

NUL WTO Chairholder, Assoc. Prof. Motlamelle Kapa stated, “As the National University of Lesotho [NUL], they are honored to have been selected for Phase III of WTO chairs Programme.”

He pointed out that this is an outstanding program and NUL was honored to be trusted to join it.

“We worked hard to be selected, carefully selecting the pertinent issues to include in our work programme, consulting stakeholders to secure their inputs and support, and building a dedicated team that is equipped to advance Research, Curriculum Development, and outreach in international trade in Lesotho,” he stressed.

Associate Professor Kapa stated that the NUL WTO chair programme is made up of a highly competent and dedicated team with diverse knowledge and skills in trade facilitation. This is done under the auspices WTO TFA, the WTO TFA Nexus between trade and environment, sustainable development, and law on e-commerce.

H.E. Xiangchen Zhang said the WTO Chairs programme is a key component of the WTO’s technical assistance activities.

‘The Chairs Programme Network affords opportunities for mutual learning given that the WTO and the Chairs look at the same issues from different perspectives,’ he said.

He noted that the WTO Chairs’ engagement in joint projects and activities has had an impact not only on the national level but also at regional and cross-regional levels.

He pointed out that academic research is essential for WTO negotiations. He also highlighted the need for more applied research as well as policy advice for governments and other stakeholders.

He therefore congratulated NUL on their achievements and encouraged them all to continue to build a strong collaborative network with research institutions in and outside of their country.

Also speaking, Mr. Fako Haikane, Secretary-General of Lesotho Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed his joy at the award of the WTO Chair to NUL, stating that the Chair has a development mandate from which the private sector will benefit.

He stated that these skills would help LCCI be more productive, more competitive, and more competent to trade internationally.

He stated that LCCI was looking forward to working with the WTO chair on capacity building for Lesotho’s small, medium, and micro enterprises, especially youth-owned, as well as women-owned enterprises.

He noted that the Chair is an outreach mandate. Access to WTO expertise has been restricted to government technical assistance programmes.

The Chairs Programme was launched in 2010 with the goal of increasing the capacity of research institutions and academic institutions in the developing world to conduct international trade research.
It supports activities that fall under three main pillars: research, curriculum development, and outreach.

The Faculty of Law at the National University of Lesotho was selected from 136 universities worldwide and will be WTO chair for the next four years.

Distributed by APO Group for the Government of Lesotho