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| ECA Press Release No.
30/2004 TASK FORCE PLANNED TO HELP COMPILE BETTER DATA ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT Addis Ababa, 24th November 2004 (ECA) – African experts agreed Wednesday to establish a task force to support African officials who compile data on foreign direct investment. The agreement was reached at the end of a three-day workshop on FDI data management, organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and Germany’s InWEnt, Capacity Building International. The taskforce will encourage dialogue and interaction between policymakers in African countries to improve Africa’s response to the global investment scenario and attract more FDI. Some 30 African experts participated in the workshop conducted at the Addis Ababa headquarters of the ECA. They received training in data compilation and assessed FDI trends in Africa, particularly the role of timely and accurate data in supporting policy analysis. Countries participating included Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Senegal. The workshop raised questions on regional integration, dependence on investors, foreign contributions to local economies, natural resources, and the potential vulnerability of economies to unexpected inflows and outflows, particularly when liabilities are short-term. It was agreed that in countries where resources for statistics compilation and management are limited it is important to narrow the scope of investigation, shortening questionnaires to encourage timely and accurate response. It was said to be equally important to reduce the chances of over- or under- estimation of FDI flows to and from a given country. UNCTAD, ECA, and the other institutions which organized the workshop, agreed to facilitate the immediate formation of the taskforce on FDI data compilation. Initial terms of reference were discussed. Ms Cristina Muller Issued by the ECA Communication Team |