
CLDP, in coordination with the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) and the Sri Lankan Moot Court Bench has selected a team of 5 students from AUAF and two teams of 4 students from the University of Colombo and the Sri Lanka Law College to participate in the 2021 John H. Jackson (WTO) Moot Court Competition. The students were selected after a three-step evaluation process: 1) written submissions, 2) oral rounds, and 3) virtual interviews. Starting in September, each team will meet (virtually) each week with their coaches to start preparing for their written submissions (due in January) and their oral arguments in preparation for the regional round of the competition in April of 2021. The effort to provide WTO and trade law training for the future Afghan and Sri Lankan lawyers is in line with our objective to increase WTO compliance in both countries which will in turn promote free trade and lead to economic growth in the region.

On February 24-25, CLDP conducted a workshop on the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) standard contracts for a delegation of Sri Lankan officials from the Attorney General’s Department. FIDIC contracts follow international standards used in the fields of construction and installation, which are often part of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). This training was requested by the Attorney General's Department to better understand the risks inherent to infrastructure contracts.

On February 8-13, CLDP, in coordination with Association Arbitri and the University of Zenica, held a four-day training on oral advocacy to prepare law students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Belarus for the 28th Willem C. Vis Moot competition (Vis Moot) taking place virtually next month. Following the training, University of Zenica organized its first virtual Pre-Moot competition with participation from 30 law schools from the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, East Asia and the United States. The training focused on how to deliver an argument, the importance of structure, time management, alternative arguments, and how to respond to arbitrators. This is the tenth year that CLDP has provided training to Vis Moot teams in the Balkans region, which is part of larger efforts to promote international arbitration standards and practice in the region.
On February 21-27, CLDP, in cooperation with the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) and the University of Pittsburgh Center for International Legal Education, virtually hosted the 11th annual Middle East Vis Pre-Moot. The Pre-Moot is an extensive competition preparing students, lawyers, and law faculty for their participation in the 28th annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot)—the world's premier legal educational program for improving contract resolution through arbitration. The Pre-Moot aims to expand the Vis Moot to underrepresented regions and enhance contract enforcement mechanisms globally. This year, the virtual Pre-Moot brought together over 180 students from 40 teams from the Middle East, Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, North and South America, and Europe and over 200 arbitrators. To view event schedule, materials, speakers, and participating teams, please visit the event website.
On March 10, CLDP hosted a virtual discussion of Bangladesh’s National Strategy for AI with 13 Bangladeshi government and non-government officials. Speakers from the U.S. Department of State and the Brookings Institution provided an overview of the governmental approaches to AI and the Bangladesh National Strategy, and industry experts from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft spoke on how Bangladesh might create a better business environment for growth in AI industries. A developing country’s approach to AI will affect growth and availability of digital services and the ability of U.S. tech companies to offer services and products using advanced technologies and without cumbersome restrictions, and is affected by related policies, including those that do not restrict the free flow of data. CLDP conducted this discussion as part of its work under the Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership, a global U.S. initiative to advance connectivity and digital trade, to improve policy and regulatory environments for ICT sector growth, and to enhance cyber security.
On March 17, CLDP and Power Africa held a brainstorming session with experts from the African and U.S. governments, the World Bank, private sector companies, law firms, and academia, in an effort to expand the Understanding series to include a dedicated primer or handbook on energy storage. The session was joined and lead by Namibian government engineers who have worked with Power Africa’s Southern Africa Energy Program (SEAP). They shared their work integrating solar PV and battery storage into their national distribution utility as a case study for the discussion as well as facilitating a discussion around target critical questions in the energy storage infrastructure space.

On February 16-18, CLDP, in coordination with Arbitration Initiative Georgia, hosted the 10th Annual Tbilisi Vis Pre-Moot, a virtual simulated oral advocacy competition that helped law students from the Caucasus prepare for the 28th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. As the competition was held virtually, CLDP had the unique opportunity to invite law schools from around the globe to compete with teams from the Caucasus. This year’s competition was comprised of fourteen teams from the Caucasus, Eastern and Western Europe, South Asia and the United States. CLDP opened the competition with a substantive training that helped the teams to hone their arguments for the pre-moot and subsequent competitions. More than fifty arbitrators and legal professionals helped to judge the subsequent competition rounds.Through the Vis Pre-Moot competition, CLDP helped develop skills in legal analysis, advocacy, and international arbitration for future lawyers in Georgia and the Caucasus, which will help improve the contracts enforcement mechanism in the Caucasus and encourage regional cooperation and implementation of international best practices in regional arbitration..
On November 3, 2020, CLDP conducted a virtual preconference at this year’s virtual Internet Governance Forum (IGF). CLDP invited government and non-government participants from several countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Maldives, and Nepal to learn about plans for this year’s forum and to share information on issues of regional issues, including data and privacy, digital transformation, and access/inclusion.

On November 17-18, 2020, CLDP, in collaboration with ITA and CBP, conducted a virtual workshop setting forth best practices for border agency coordination and publication of trade-related information to facilitate trade for more than 100 regional representatives from across Central America.
Inefficient agency coordination and disjointed publication of information collectively reduce the efficacy and transparency of the regulatory process in El Salvador, further engendering distrust between the private and public sectors. To address these areas of need, CLDP conducted a workshop that set forth best practices on optimizing operations through intergovernmental cooperation and centrally published information.
Participants included Salvadoran private sector representatives and officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Customs, Defense, Economy, Finance, Health, Infrastructure, Medicines, and Ports. They were joined by their counterparts from the Guatemalan, Honduran, and Costa Rican Ministries of Economy, Customs, and Agriculture. From the Salvadoran private sector, the American Chamber of Commerce in El Salvador and the Commission of Associations to Facilitate Trade in El Salvador (CIFACIL) participated.
The workshop saw high-level participation from both governments with opening remarks from the Salvadoran Secretary of Commerce, Jorge Miguel Kattán; Salvadoran Minister of Economy, Maria Luisa Hayem; CLDP Deputy Chief Counsel, Joe Yang; and the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Ronald Johnson. Following the workshop’s inauguration, experts showcased best practices for effective coordination among agencies, consolidation of information related to import and export procedures, and uniform publication of information across agency websites. Representatives from the governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras presented to regional and USG counterparts as well as the private sector on their efforts to identify publication gaps across ministerial websites and create internal strategies to ensure compliance with the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement’s (WTO TFA) publication of information commitments. In addition to government-to-government presentations, the Salvadoran private sector representatives shared their experience navigating websites of Salvadoran trade ministries and suggested areas for improvement. The workshop concluded with an interactive panel discussion where each country representative discussed their respective efforts to encourage trade through enhanced transparency initiatives and increased collaboration both internally with regional counterparts and externally with the private sector.
In preparation for the workshop, the Salvadoran participants performed internal assessments of their respective ministry’s implementation of Article 1 of the WTO TFA. Specifically, participants compiled an inventory of current procedures and documents related to TFA Art. 1.1 that can only be found or completed in paper form, current procedures and documents related to Art. 1.1 that can only be found or completed online/through the internet, and current plans or strategies to publish the procedures, documents, and information related to TFA Art. 1.1 online. In addition, participants examined TFA Art. 8.1, border agency cooperation, and identified the gaps in communication and cooperation between their ministries to support publication of trade information. The Article 1 assessment exercise served as the foundation for El Salvador to improve its interagency coordination and enrich its TFA Art. 1.4 transparency notification, which outlines the official sites where trade-related information is published. The Salvadoran government is working with the private sector to finalize the notification and plans to submit the updated notification to the WTO in the coming weeks.
As a result of this workshop, the Salvadoran government has improved its interagency coordination, and increased its understanding of the importance of publishing trade-related information in a non-discriminatory, easy-to-access manner. This workshop is part of a multiphase effort to promote transparency, cooperation, and coordination for the Salvadoran government, and to improve interregional trade in Central America.

On January 19, CLDP, in collaboration with the Nepal Renewable Energy Program (NREP), conducted a webinar on lender risk mitigation for local Nepali financial institutions. Nepal is working to increase domestic and foreign investment at the sub-national level for infrastructure, with a focus on the energy sector. Access to financing is an issue for project developers, with bank requirements limiting the capacity of project developers to finance and install projects.
CLDP in Action

On February 24-25, CLDP conducted a workshop on FIDIC contracts for a delegation of Sri Lankan officials from the Attorney General’s office.
Upcoming Programs
Throughout the quarter, CLDP engaged with numerous experts to prepare and record eight separate sessions on trade topics, specifically designed for Afghanistan’s approximately...
CLDP in close collaboration with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will train Bahrain Innovation and Technology Center (BITC) staff regarding filing...
CLDP's mission is to improve the legal environment for doing business in developing and transitional countries around the globe and thereby foster greater political stability and economic opportunity for local entrepreneurs and U.S. companies alike.