São Paulo – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) announced this Monday (10) that it opened in Beirut, Lebanon its first consumer protection-oriented training center for the Middle East and North Africa. The effort is a partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Trade in Lebanon, where the center will be located.
Unctad said in a press release that the center will focus on planning, coordination, and implementation of training activities in Arabic and French. Subjects to be covered include product safety, risk assessment, e-trade, financial services, tourism, and false advertisement.
“The center will help address existing training needs and respond to the demand for Unctad training in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen, while bringing the region’s training volume up to par with those of other regions, Unctad said in a press release.
The center will offer courses and seminars to government bodies, private companies, regulating bodies, teaching institutions, and consumer protection organizations in the seven countries at hand.
The initiative is part of the Unctad MENA Programme, which is designed to foster regional economic integration through the adoption of competition and consumer protection legislation and policies, gender equality, anti-corruption and good governance.
The project is backed by the government of Sweden. Implementation began in 2015 and will continue until 2020. The acronym MENA stands for Middle East and North Africa.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
