USTDA AWARDS GRANT EXTENSION FOR WTO ACCESSION PROJECT IN AZERBAIJAN

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (July 14, 2004) – Earlier today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a $943,247 grant extension to the Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan related to a World Trade Organization (WTO) accession technical assistance project.  The grant extension was conferred during a signing ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Baku.  The U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Reno Harnish, and the Minister of Economic Development, Farhad Aliyev, signed the agreement on behalf of the U.S. and Azerbaijani Governments, respectively.  The U.S. Contractor on the project is Booz Allen Hamilton, of McLean, Virginia.

The original USTDA grant funded a resident advisor that provided training for Azerbaijani officials on WTO-related issues and established an interactive website to facilitate communications between the WTO working party groups in Baku and Geneva.  Today’s grant extension will fund a resident advisor and specialists to provide on-site advice related to technical WTO topics.  These topics include trade in services, market access and tariffs, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, trade-related aspects of international property rights (TRIPS), customs, antidumping, and export/import licensing.  The resident advisor will also assist with preparations for the third Azerbaijan WTO Working Party meeting and provide expert assistance related to document preparation. 

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries.  The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.  USTDA’s strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development.  In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.

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