The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) maintains a series of assistance instruments for international trade aimed at improving the institutional capacity of countries in the formulation and application of commercial policy, business facilitation, trade negotiations and the implementation of those negotiations. The IDB’s Special Initiative for Trade and Integration (SITI), which was approved by the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors and administered by the Integration and Regional Programs Department, was launched in 2002 with the goal of strengthening the Bank’s capacity to:
- Contribute to the discussion of trade and integration policy;
- Provide technical assistance to governments; and
- Assist in public dissemination regarding the trade and integration initiatives.
The SITI is an initiative that will try to add value to the institutional strengthening activities that the Bank is actively pursuing. It will also respond to the urgent necessities that have emerged over the last several years following an active negotiations agenda adopted by the countries. The needs are normally sudden, unforeseen and short term, which require a rapid and specific response and do not conform to the characteristics of the Bank’s standard product line offered to its clients. |