Talks take more educated view of free trade

As the WTO ministerial meeting draws to a close tomorrow, more than 100 educators will start discussing its implications for international trade in higher education.

Experts from 45 countries are converging on Hong Kong for a two-day conference on the opportunities and challenges of trans-national higher education in the light of the latest stage of the Doha Development Round.

The conference organised by the Hong Kong America Centre and the Centre for Quality Assurance in International Education in the US will consider how free trade agreements affect education services and ways of promoting student mobility and ensuring quality in international education.

Dr Glenn Shive, director of the Hong Kong America Centre, said: 'We are creating a conversational space at the cusp of the WTO to assess what has happened in negotiations on trade of services and what are the outcomes of it for higher education.

'This is a professional development exercise for leaders in international education and no specific deals will be brokered at the event. We will be looking at ways of putting higher education more firmly on the agenda of future rounds.'

US Trade Representative Christopher Mele will brief delegates on what the Doha round means for education services and Edward Yau, Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower, will speak on Hong Kong as a regional hub for higher education.