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Presentation of the new International chair in “World Trade Organisation and regional integration”

By 16 de February de 2006November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 16.02.2006

Presentation of the new International chair in “World Trade Organisation and regional integration”

The of the Universitat de Barcelona (UB, University of Barcelona), located at Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB, Barcelona Science Park) has announced the start of a new international chair in "World Trade Organization and Regional Integration" (WTO/ Regional integration). The priority lines of this new chair will be the study of international business relations and their future trends, regional economic integration and the exploitation of present regulatory framework. The chair project will be presented on Wednesday 22 February at 12.30 h. in the Antoni Caparrós Auditorium of the PCB (c/ Baldiri Reixac, 4-6) in an act that will be presided by the rector of the UB, Màrius Rubiralta; the minister of commerce, Consumer Affairs and Tourism of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Josep Huguet; and the Secretary of State for Tourism and Commerce, Pedro Mejía.


The new International chair “WTO/Regional integration” will also contribute to strengthening the international projection of Catalonia as a reference centre of research of excellence and training in international economic relations.

The chair will also involve the organization of seminars and short training courses. One of the first tasks of the position will be to set up a “Master of Laws: International Economic Law and Practice” course, which will be the first of its kind in Europe. This course will be directed at students from universities around the world. Another project, in collaboration with the WTO, will be the development of a “Barometer” to study the state and perspectives of international trade relations. To undertake these activities, the chair will be supported by leading world experts in international relations.

The chair initiative is supported by the PCB and the Secretaria General de Comercio Exterior and the Consorci de Promoció Comercial de Catalunya (COPCA), through the Observatory of Foreign Markets. In addition, progress on establishing two agreements with the Depts. Of Agriculture, and Economy of the Generalitat has been made. The general coordination of the chair will be the responsibility of the UB through Ramon Torrent, professor of Economic Policy and director of the Globalisation Observatory, although it will also have an office in Madrid, under the auspices of the Autonomous University of Madrid.

According to Ramon Torrent, this initiative corresponds to a project that “does not comply with the common designs of existing teaching and research programmes, and which fits the logic that drives the PCB, namely that of facilitating the transfer of knowledge between the University and the business sector in general”.