Monrovia, Liberia – On Thursday, 19 May 2016, in line with the joint program for cooperation between the Ministry and Sweden, as well as, between the Ministry and the National Board of Trade, the Annual Project Planning, Annual Review Meeting, and Steering Group meetings were held to discuss the Sweden’s support for Liberia’s WTO post-accession program.

Predicated on the discussions from the Project Planning Meeting, MoCI and NBT revised the 2016 Annual Work Plan includes support for human and institutional capacity building and stakeholders engagement. Speaking at the Annual Review Meeting, Ewa Nunes Sorenson, Head of Development Cooperation, congratulated Liberia on its accession to the WTO and praised the work the Ministry has done in ensuring that both private and public stakeholders are involved with the post-accession process. At the Steering Group meeting, Honorable Steve Marvie, Deputy Minister for Commerce, and Mr. Michael Koch, Director, Head of International Cooperation Office (ICO), NBT, agreed that the 2016 Work Plan was doable and presented a fair picture of the volume of work being undertaken. They both agreed that the WTO was now a project, but a process that has to be continuously embedded within the key structures of the MACs.

Ewa Nunes Sorenson, Head of Development Cooperation, headed the delegation from the Embassy of Sweden, while Mr. Michael Koch led the delegation of the Swedish National Board of Trade. Minister Marvie led the Ministry’s team at these meetings.