JUBA, July 6 -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) has provided 1.5 million U.S. dollars to help war-torn South Sudan develop a new trade policy, officials said on Thursday.
Biel Jock Thiik, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told journalists that the first phase of 900,000 dollars will be used to build capacity of officials and institutions involved in the policy making process during a four-year period and the remainder will be used to roll out the policy.
He said once completed, the trade policy will help increase local investment and facilitate international trade within the East African Community (EAC), which South Sudan joined in 2016.
Thiik said the East African nation currently uses the trade policy of neighboring Sudan, which it adapted before the two countries separated in 2011.
"Our trade is one sided but as a government we put it as a priority that we have to lay the legal framework that is in line with the East African Community (EAC) trade policy because we are now members of this bloc and our policies must be in line with the EAC trade policy. So this is a small project that can lay the foundation to facilitate trade," Thiik said.
The project is funded by WTO's Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), a multi-donor program, which helps least-developed countries (LDCs) play a more active role in the global trading system and it has a wider goal of promoting economic growth and sustainable development and helping to lift more people out of poverty.
According to WTO, the program is currently helping 49 poorest countries worldwide, supported by a multi-donor trust fund with a funding target of 250 million dollars.