UoN hosts the 51st UNCTAD P166 Regional Training
The University of Nairobi hosted a 10-day 51st UNCTAD P166 regional training. This is the third and the last one in a series of 5 years that the University has hosted this high-level meeting since 2019-2024. The training that saw 26 African countries represented took place on April 8- 18, 2024
According to UNCTAD eLearning website, The Paragraph 166 programme addresses the challenges that developing and least developed countries face in an increasingly globalized economy through regional and short courses on key issues on the international economic agenda.
This flagship programme focuses on the links between trade, finance, investment, technology and development, and assesses the approaches required to potentially generate gains from trade and investment that would benefit development.
The P166 training has been instrumental in shaping the transformations experienced in Governments in Africa, ‘This flagship program is not only famous in UN and UNCTAD, but also all over the globe. Due to the success of this program, P166 received special recognition and the mandate of this programe was renewed,’ noted Ms Randa Jamal, UNCTAD representative and course coordinator.
While congratulating the course participants for successfully going through the rigorous application process, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama spoke about the significant contributions that the University has made and continues to make in Africa. He expressed the significance of the training program, ‘Africa also needs professionals that have the capacity to handle both domestic and international economic issues that bedevil this great continent: professionals who can contribute to its development and development policies, understand the role of international trade and finance in a globalised world: professionals who would come up with policies aimed at dealing with key economic issues in the international economic agenda.’
“This course serves as a vital platform for fostering a deeper understanding of the interplay between trade, investment, finance, and development, particularly in the context of the ongoing recovery efforts and responses to multifaceted shocks. Further, this regional course provides an invaluable opportunity for the participants, who are mainly Government officials and policy-makers in their respective capacities, to discuss and share views on topical economic issues at the regional and global levels, as they explore their implications for development strategies at the national level.” Noted Amb. Joseph Masila, Director, Economic Affairs and Commercial Diplomacy as he officially opened the p166 training.
The curriculum is based on UNCTAD competence in development and includes the expertise of the United Nations economic regional commissions and national experts from the programme’s host countries. The programme originates from the Bangkok Plan of Action, adopted during the tenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD X) in 2000. The mandate of the programme has been reaffirmed in the outcomes of every UNCTAD conference since then.
This training has been coordinated and planned by the Department of Economics and the lead point person has been Prof. Tabitha Kiriti Ng’ang’a
Present during the opening ceremony was the Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Prof. Jack Odhiambo and Chair, Department of Economics and Development Studies, Dr. Martine Oleche.
