Membership of the WTO Expertise Centre’s Advisory Board announced
On 14 October the Higher School of Economics hosted the first meeting of the Advisory Board of the WTO Expertise Centre which comprises Yaroslav Kuzminov, NRU HSE rector, and Leonid Gokhberg, first vice-rector and director of NRU HSE ISSEK. The meeting was followed by the press conference of heads of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Sberbank, and the HSE — co-founders of the centre.
The WTO Expertise Centre was established on the basis of the RF government regulation. Alexei Ulukayev, the RF minister for economic development, was elected chairman of the WTO Expertise Centre’s Advisory Board. Maxim Medvedkov, director of the Ministry of Economic Development’s Trade Negotiations Department and head of the HSE’s Trade policy department, became deputy chairman. Elena Shapiro was appointed director of the centre. The Advisory Board also comprised German Gref, president and chairman of the board of Sberbank, Yaroslav Kuzminov, rector of the NRU HSE, Alexander Likhachev, deputy minister for economic development, Vladislav Koloskov, deputy director of Sberbank’s legal department, and Leonid Gokhberg, first vice-rector and director of the NRU HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge.
The centre’s main objective is to provide expert support to Russia’s membership in the WTO, and consult Russian companies on making deals and settling trade disputes in the WTO framework. German Gref, president of Sberbank, said at the press conference following the Advisory Board meeting that the centre will provide to companies high-quality expert and consulting services currently unavailable on the Russian market. “Without such competencies we won’t be able to use the advantages offered by the WTO membership”, noted Mr Gref.
Establishment of the centre should contribute to development, in the medium term, of national expert base on trade policy and WTO rules, and help reduce the Russian Federation’s dependence on expert and legal support required for settling WTO disputes — which is currently provided predominantly by foreign companies. Yaroslav Kuzminov, rector of the HSE, stressed that the centre would promote development of Russian community of experts and consultants specialising in settling WTO disputes.
Another area of the centre’s activities is providing information and analytical support. “First of all it’s about making available information resources, regularly publishing a newsletter on trade policy issues and the WTO, the centre’s expert work on the WTO-related issues important to the business community, Russian regions, and academia”, noted Maxim Medvedkov. The Higher School of Economics has been active in this area for quite a while. In particular, the HSE Institute of Trade Policy some time ago conducted a complex study of the consequences of Russia’s joining the WTO, and provided expert support to the ascension process. Also, the HSE has established WTO Documentation Centre.
Based on materials published at the Ministry of Economic Development website and HSE website