SEATRANET is a network of education and training institutions in South East Asia that have agreed to work cooperatively in the delivery of high quality, cost-effective, short term training in trade policy - training to meet the needs of government, civil society organizations, importers, exporters and other stakeholders. Welcome to our website.

As you explore the pages you will find out what SEATRANET is and how it was born out of a Canadian-assisted trade policy capacity building project in six countries of the region(see www.apec-eip.ca). You will find information about the courses offered by SEATRANET through its member institutions and about these institutions themselves. There is a calendar of planned courses and other events, and news items on activities that have already occurred. We also provide links to important web portals that provide extensive libraries of information about trade policy, the WTO, and related issues.

South East Asia is a region whose development is driven by a trade agenda. Multilateral, regional and bilateral trade arrangements are critically important and in recent years have been the focus of much public attention - and often criticism. National capacity to generate effective trade policy, both to defend national interests with appropriate defensive measures, and aggressively promote exports to key markets, is important as never before. This has many components: understanding, consulting, listening, analyzing, planning, negotiating and implementing. In all these areas, globalization raise new challenges as international trade becomes more integrated and more competitive. SEATRANET members work with government, the private sector, and civil society to meet these challenges and thus contribute to the goals of sustainable development, poverty reduction and societal progress through well managed trade.