CLDP continued its multi-year assistance program in cooperation with Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development (MOESD) to develop commercial and trade curricula for the MFA’s Diplomatic Training Center (DTC) through a workshop held in Tbilisi, Georgia from July 9-11, 2013.
 
In an effort to develop the “economic diplomacy” curricula at DTC, CLDP is providing training for DTC trainers as well as for current and future Georgian diplomats on promoting Georgian exports, engaging potential foreign investors, and effectively taking part in trade negotiations. The first phase of the program took place through U.S. Consultations in May 2013 in Washington, DC for 10 officials from MFA and MOESD.
 
The workshop, co-sponsored by MFA, represents the second phase of the program and included the participants from the May U.S. Consultations, current Georgian diplomats from the key market countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan as well as key officials from MFA and MOESD. Speakers included Mr. Manoj Desai, Principal Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey and officials from MFA and MOESD who participated in the U.S. Consultations comprising a core group of Georgian trainers.
 
The workshop provided participants with in-depth and comprehensive training on the Georgian economy, WTO trade law, negotiating free trade agreements, dispute resolution in international contracts, investment and export promotion, structuring international business partnerships, commercial attaché tradecraft, presentation and networking skills, developing a market entry checklist, and included Georgia-specific business cases which served as the basis for mock commercial attaché presentations. The core group of trainers also focused on the institutionalization of the economic diplomacy curricula for DTC and the development of a commercial diplomacy training manual for the Diplomatic Corps, to be drafted for early 2014.
 
The knowledge and skills gained from these programs will help Georgia’s diplomatic corps to: (1) promote trade and investment opportunities in Georgia; (2) act as an interface between Georgian firms interested in joint ventures and potential foreign joint-venture partners; (3) identify potential foreign direct investors; and (4) effectively take part in international trade negotiations.