Dr Kituyi, Secretary General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

CPA UK's Westminster Workshop on Parliamentary Oversight of Trade Agreements provided a unique and timely opportunity for UK and Commonwealth members to explore practical mechanisms for parliamentary oversight of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK branch (CPA UK), with support from the House of Commons International Trade Committee and the UK Government, delivered a three-day workshop that focused on four key learning areas:

• Developed & strengthened knowledge and expertise in trade policy at a national and international level, through discussion with trade negotiators and WTO officials. 
• Exchanges of knowledge between Commonwealth parliaments and other parliamentary systems to identify and explore potential models for effective parliamentary engagement and intervention in trade agreements.
• Development of familiarity with informal and formal trade policy documents and negotiation texts through practical skills-based exercises.
• Interactive application of learning and simulation exercises that allowed workshop participants to consolidate, apply, and test new learning of trade planning and negotiations.

More information on CPA UK's work on trade, prosperity and economic development can be found here.