CLDP designed a three-phase program to help future Algerian leaders sharpen their skills in commercial trade. During Phase I, (Algiers, January 20-23, 2008) the junior diplomats were engaged in a series of practical commercial and trade exercises focusing on two main issues: a) WTO processes and practices, and b) core competencies needed by economic officers/commercial attachés. In Phase II (Algiers, January 26-30, 2008), the junior diplomats visited in the mornings local Algerian SMEs to discuss advanced technology and the value of the enforcement of intellectual property rights. In the afternoons, they used those Algerian firms that they visited as models to simulate real business situations. Phase III (Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York, March 28 to April 11, 2008), is the program's capstone. The fifteen junior Algerian diplomats accompanied by the head of Human Resources of Algeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs and two professors from the Algerian Institute of Diplomacy & International Relations are visiting USG agencies, local universities, private firms, and some international NGOs based in the US to further expand their knowledge in international trade policy.