The importance of international trade and investment to the achievement of economic diversification objectives has increased need for professionals skilled in trade policy development and negotiation, a field known as commercial diplomacy. A severe shortage of these professionals limits developing countries' abilities to take full advantage of opportunities offered by international trade and investment and globalization of the world economy. Development of networks of regional and national training centers for commercial diplomacy staffed by local experts would alleviate the problem. Local experts would be trained to provide hands-on training, have access to generic training materials reflecting global best practices, and be able to develop materials reflecting local trade policy, laws, institutions, cultural values, and practices. A comprehensive training program calls for courses in many disciplines and would be structured as a sequence of these four stages of instruction: theory, institutions, techniques and skills, and integration. Required training materials are instructional modules, teacher's manuals, textbooks, case studies, negotiating simulations, and guides to preparation of effective operational documents. Distance learning resources should be an important component. Coordination of efforts of various international trade agencies, multilateral organizations, national economic development agencies, and private institutions working in the area is also desirable. (YLB)