Program Overview
The programme aims to support on-going efforts to achieve inter-REC free trade areas and common markets and monetary unions among regional economic communities and their member States towards accelerating the process of Africa’s economic cooperation, effective integration in the global economy and physical integration in accordance with the vision and mission of the African Union and its NEPAD program.
To this end, the Division's main objectives and expected accomplishments are to:
Main Objectives
Strengthen the process of regional integration in Africa through promoting intra-African and international trade through intra- and inter-regional integration as well as physical integration;
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Promote coherence between bilateral, regional and international trade agreements negotiated by African countries, individually or as groupings;
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Promote harmonization of policies, laws, regulations and standards and practices, as well as sub-regional, regional and inter-regional cooperation in the field of transport, energy, water and mining;
Expected accomplishments
Strengthened national capacities for policy-making in the areas of Regional integration, Trade and International Negotiations as well as in infrastructure and natural resources development.
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Increased harmonization of policies, laws, regulations, standards, and practices in the field of transport, energy, water, and mining;
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Increased national capacities to adopt policies and programmes for rationalizing and streamlining the regional economic communities and other institutions of regional integration in Africa;
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Increased harmonization and implementation of policies and programmes in the areas of trade and market integration, physical integration, and free movement of people and goods between and across Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
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Increased capacity for harmonization and convergence of policies and programmes in the areas of monetary and financial integration across Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
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Enhanced capacity of member States to mainstream and integrate trade policies in national and regional development strategies; and to participate effectively in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and trade negotiations for effective integration into the global economy.
RITD Sections
To help fulfil the above objectives and outcomes, the Division is structured into three sections:
• Regional Integration Section
• Infrastructure and Natural Resources Development Section
• Trade and International Negotiations Section.
Major Areas of Work
Promotion of Regional Integration
The Division continues to be a major source of intellectual support to the process of Africa's integration, and indeed a “think tank” for analysing, clarifying and providing solutions to a variety of issues and challenges confronting this process. Within the framework of its programs, the Division undertakes and disseminates research studies, as well as provide advisory services and technical assistance in critical areas of Africa's integration agenda.
In this regard, the Division undertakes a number of important activities in key areas including institutional development and capacity building for integration, trade liberalization, macro-and economic policy convergence, and infrastructural development (transport and energy), as well as in mineral and water resources development.
Of far-reaching potential impact is RITD's innovative work in evaluating the status of Africa's integration process embodied in the Report on the Assessment of Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA): The first edition of ARIA (2004) took an imaginative approach to looking at progress made in the field of integration in Africa in its entirety. The publication raises the scope and depth of information and analysis as to where the continent stands on this important and strategic goal, and provides a strong catalysis for reinvigorated action to speed up progress on regional integration in Africa. Subsequent ARIA editions have looked at the burning issue of rationalization of the RECs (2005) and macro-economic policy convergence (2008). The next edition of ARIA will focus on the important issue of intra-African trade.
Support to infrastructure and natural resources development
Globalization and regional integration require developing effective regional infrastructure and services to widen and integrate markets, achieve economies of scale in production, encourage the participation of the private sector, and attract foreign direct investment and technology. Infrastructure development is included in the treaties of all the African Regional Economic Communities, and provides a framework for designing regional master plans, harmonising regulatory regimes and investment codes, attracting seed capital, and mobilising investment resources. Gaps still exist in infrastructure and services across Africa – raising the cost of doing business and impeding factor mobility, investment and competitiveness. Governments need to provide sustainable infrastructure and services that are safe, reliable, efficient, affordable, environmentally sound, and that have the potential to help the least developed and landlocked countries compete in sub regional and international markets.
Africa's infrastructure development has been given added impetus by NEPAD within the framework of the NEPAD's Medium to long-Term Strategic Framework and the NEPAD Spatial Development Programme (SDP). As a strategic Partner in the implementation of NEPAD, together with the AU, the AfDB and other partner institutions, the ECA, through the Division, continues to support infrastructure development in Africa by providing advisory services and technical assistance to the RECs and the NEPAD Secretariat, using its convening power to provide a fora for policy analysis and assessment of implementation bottlenecks, and recommending measures to overcome implementation challenges. The Division contributes to activities in transport, energy, water, and the extractive industries. Attention is also given to activities that support or promote investments in infrastructure projects as envisaged in the NEPAD SDP, and improve the linkages between natural resources exploitation and infrastructure development, as well as address safety issues.
Given the rising importance of natural resources for Africa's development as was illustrated in the July 2007 AU Summit, the Division has established a Peer-learning Group (LG) on natural resources management to develop the capacity of member States to efficiently manage their natural resources and provide a forum for policymakers to share experiences and identify best practices in this area. Furthermore, in compliance with the decisions of the 2007 Big Table on Natural Resources Management, RITD has established an International Study Group to review Africa's mining codes and to design models for the next generation of Africa's policies, laws, and regulations on natural resources exploitation. This is expected to improve the terms, conditions, and benefits of natural resources exploitation for Africa.
On transport in particular, the Division provides support to the implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries, the Yamoussoukro Decision on Air Transport Liberalization, and the Sub-Saharan African Transport Policy and Programme (SSATP).
On water, the Division's work is aimed at implementing the African Water Vision 2025 and the AU Sirte Declaration on Water and Agriculture Development, and enhancing effective development and integrated management of water resources, including promotion of trans-boundary cooperation in the use of shared water resources. To monitor progress in this area, the Division continues to produce the Africa Water Development Report (AWDR).
ECA's work in the energy sector, is based on priorities and commitments made within the framework of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), NEPAD energy initiatives and other energy priorities related to the achievement of globally agreed objectives such as the MDGs. Accordingly, the work of the Division involves assisting member states in formulating policies and strategies aimed at promoting good practices in the development of the African energy sector and in fostering regional energy cooperation and integration, as well as in devising the ways and means of addressing energy access issues. Areas of intervention include: (i) coordination of UN Agencies working in Africa on energy issues in support of NEPAD through UN-Energy/Africa; (ii) improving Africa's energy sector management through policy analysis, studies and capacity building; (iii) fostering regional energy cooperation and integration; and (iv) devising policies for improving energy accessibility in Africa.
Trade and International Negotiations Section
The ECA’s current work in the area of trade and international negotiations falls under four main components:
Mainstreaming of trade in national and regional trade strategies is important if trade is to play its role as an engine of growth. But for mainstreaming to be successful, the appropriate trade policies and how they link to the various sectors in the national and global economy must be identified. As a result, ECA’s work in the area of trade mainstreaming starts with a focus on the formulations of trade policies, which involves enhancing the analytical and institutional capacity of African countries and RECs for trade policy formulation.
The formulated trade policies at national and regional level need to be coherent with bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements for them to be implementable and effective. Consequently, the ECA focuses on improving the capacity of African countries through their Capitals, Representatives in Geneva and Brussels, and RECs to participate effectively in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations. The Economic Partnership Agreements, the Doha Round of the WTO negotiations, and the rationalisation and harmonisation of the RECs trade protocols is the current focus with respect to trade negotiations activities. The Section is also initiating analytical work on the post-AGOA options for African countries, as the current AGOA preferences may lapse in 2015.
Integrating the commitments of African countries to make into their national and regional policy frameworks is an important step in realising the intended objectives of trade agreements. The ECA, therefore, helps the African countries meet their commitments by strengthening their institutional capacity for implementation of trade policies and international trade agreements. This requires the unpacking of the trade agreements and helping African countries formulate their schedules that must be deposited with the relevant authorities for monitoring implementation of trade agreements commitments.
In terms of Aid for Trade, ECA acknowledges that the ability of the trade policies and implementation of trade commitments to realise improved performance of the African countries from trade depends to a large extent on how the internal and external trade challenges are dealt with. The Aid for Trade implementation focuses on dealing with these challenges. The ECA supports countries and RECs in identifying the priority areas for Aid for Trade implementation. The ECA also builds the capacity of African countries and RECs to monitor the implementation of the Aid for Trade.
The knowledge generated through the Section’s normative work can be found under the publications list of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), which benefits from the analytical capacities of the Section.
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