The objectives and activities of the Regional Network of Experts in Agricultural Trade (RNE-AT) in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region are to: 1) strengthen the capacities of the expert community to provide high-quality technical advice and policy recommendations to governments and the private sector and 2) improve communication, information sharing and collaboration on trade policy issues across countries in the region. 

Trade is key to food security policy in the NENA region. Agrifood trade is of particular importance because the region depends on imports for its food security and on exports to provide an important opportunity to improve incomes. 

The core business of the RNE-AT is to facilitate generation and exchange of knowledge and to identify and apply capacity development solutions on issues related to agricultural trade in the NENA region. 

A new network, RNE-AT plans to carry out activities, including workshops, conferences, online training courses, joint publications, and capacity development, and to support public-private dialogues on agricultural trade policy. 

Members of RNE-AT are professionals from trade ministries, academia, and industry associations who carry out analysis and training, as well as advise governments and the private sector on agrifood trade and trade policy issues.