The UWED establishes ties with the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern

The leadership of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy and the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern, Switzerland (WTI) held a virtual meeting to exchange views on various avenues of mutual cooperation, including training activities aimed at raising awareness of Uzbek policymakers, private stakeholders and the general public on the law and policy of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as joint research activities intended to put forward some practical proposals concerning Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO.

Furthermore, the parties also discussed the progress regarding the development of a new training module on “WTO Law and Practice” that has been built-in into the existing academic programs of the UWED. This ongoing collaboration is a part of the project on “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 (Geneva, Switzerland) in cooperation with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Within this work, the WTI is also organizing several guest lectures as well as short-term capacity-building training, both in Bern and in Tashkent, with the participation of leading foreign experts, such as professors Peter Van den Bossche, Jennifer Hillman, and Thomas Cottier, for the academic personnel and students of the UWED, the government officials of Uzbekistan.

At the end of the meeting, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the WTI and UWED. The purpose of the Memorandum is the establishment and promotion of collaboration between the parties in the following areas: the sharing of knowledge and expertise in areas of mutual interest; the development of academic (exchange) programmes for students and staff; the development and implementation of joint educational and research programmes; the development of joint research projects and joint publications; and the organisation and execution of joint academic, educational and scientific events (conferences, seminars, etc.). In particular, UWED students, staff and alumni could apply to the WTI PhD programme, either as resident or external PhD candidates, inasmuch as they fulfil the requirements of both the University of Bern and the WTI to pursue PhD studies. Besides that, UWED applicants, pre-selected by the UWED and admitted by the WTI, could benefit from a partial tuition fee waiver of 15 per cent for WTI’s MILE or TRAIL+ programmes. Moreover, the WTI and UWED will work on developing and launching a joint winter academy in International Trade and Investment Law to be based at the UWED.

For the reference

WTI based in Bern, Switzerland and has a broad international network, more than 20 years of international experience in delivering training and capacity building programmes for students, government officials and private sector professionals. It is a world-class academic institution that combines graduate-level education and interdisciplinary research in international law, economics and political science.

The WTI aims to: shape public policy to ensure that international economic governance yields tangible benefits for society; contribute to a better understanding of the legal, economic, and political framework governing globalisation and sustainable development; and provide cutting-edge research, scholarly outputs and policy advice frontier topics.