Janneh, Mandelson call for development-led economic agreements

Addis Ababa, 5 October – ECA and the EU have called for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and African countries that can be used as an effective tool for Africa’s development.

The call came on Monday during a courtesy visit by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson to ECA’s Executive Secretary Abdoulie Janneh in Addis Ababa. Mandelson was part of an EU delegation that travelled to Ethiopia to meet African Union officials and the Ethiopian government.

The two men agreed on the importance of trade for African countries especially its potential to promote growth and development. In this regard, they stressed the need to use EPAs - which are currently being negotiated between the EU and Africa - as a development tool, in tandem with the Aid-for-Trade initiative.

They also recognized the important role of regional integration and increased intra-Africa trade to enable African countries to benefit from larger markets and more inclusion in the international trading system.

They discussed the Doha Round negotiations and emphasized the need for the early resumption of the stalled negotiations, stating that political will was needed to bring the process back on track. They also highlighted the importance of supporting African countries in diligently implementing reforms, with increased aid and investment flows.

Mandelson was briefed on ECA’s ongoing activities regarding trade capacity building in Africa. It was agreed that ECA and the EU would continue to build on their existing cooperation in order to support African countries in their bid to benefit from the opportunities of the global trading system.