For the third year the Swedish National Board of Trade is back in South Africa for the regional phase of its one-year capacity building programmes in the areas of Rules of Origin and Trade Facilitation. The programmes are directed mainly toward the SACU countries and the participants are from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia. In October 2012, a two-week training programme was conducted in Stockholm, Sweden in the respective subject area. In total, 25 policy-makers, trade and customs advisors and private sector representatives visited Sweden for capacity building, networking and sharing of experiences.

The next step of the Training Programmes is the regional phase which took place in Cape Town from 11-15 March. The regional phase is organized in cooperation with tralac, whose regional perspective on the respective subject area is essential added value in the programmes. The participants have since October 2012 been working on Change Projects in the area of Rules of Origin and Trade Facilitation, which are to be developed and implemented in the delegate’s home organisation during the year and in the near future. The Change Projects are essentially taking focus on revising current legislation, developing national training programmes or analyzing relevant trade issues of the organisation's needs.

The long-term aim of the Training Programmes is to contribute to strengthen capacity in participating countries to actively take part in regional and international trade through enhanced competence on the mentioned trade issues as well as managerial and technical skills in the fields. Another important objective is to contribute to the set up of a regional network of experts in Southern Africa, where tralac plays a crucial role.

For more information on the Training Programmes, see the Swedish National Board of Trade website:

• Training Programme on Rules of Origin 2012-2013

• Training Programme on Trade Facilitation 2012-2013