Joshua Setipa’s core competencies are in the areas of economic development, regional and global trade and economic issues and resource mobilization for capacity building.
With over 15 years of experience gained at the national, regional and international levels working on developmental issues, Joshua has substantive field experience working on regional economic development issues in Southern Africa, with particular focus on economic sector reform and export diversification issues. His experience includes working on multilateral trade issues and impact on African economic integration and economic development. Joshua successfully placed World Trade Organisation at the center of global economic development agenda by advocating proactive involvement in global initiatives such as UN Millennium Development Goals and the Brussels Plan of Action. He strengthened and managed WTO relationships with global institutions including the World Bank, IMF, UN Specialized Agencies and regional institutions including African Union, African Development Bank and Regional Economic Communities.
Joshua has formulated successful strategies that mobilized commitments to double global aid for trade commitments by 2010 to $6 billion. He currently oversees all WTO capacity building programmes totaling over $30 million per year and is working on WTO contribution to the work of G20 on global financial crisis. Previously, Joshua served as regional trade policy adviser to SADC secretariat based in Gaborone. He was a member of the team that undertook the SADC trade protocol mid-term review in 2004. He formulated and implemented the BLNS trade capacity building program as part of SACU/US FTA negotiations. Prior to that, Joshua served as head of the Lesotho delegation to WTO from 1998 to 2003.
In terms of educational background, Joshua has an MBA from the University of Bradford in the UK, as well as a Graduate Diploma in International Trade and International affairs from ANU in Canberra. He completed his BA in Political Science at NUL in Roma, Lesotho.
