Central
African countries reaffirm commitment to international trade
By Andrew Allimadi
The Central Africa Sub Regional Office (CA-SRO) and The Trade and Regional Integration Division (TRID) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) organized an Ad-hoc Expert Group meeting on the impact of international trade negotiations on the Central Africa sub-region, which took place on the 2 - 3 December in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo.
The objective of the meeting was to examine the main challenges facing the region with regards to the on-going multilateral trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO); and negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.
The Minister of Trade of the Republic of Congo, Madam Adelaide Moundele-Ngollo, opened the meeting by thanking ECA and the Executive Secretary K.Y. Amoako, for taking the initiative to organize this meeting in Pointe Noire. She said the meeting was a clear indication that Central African countries were keen to continue global trade talks in order to increase global prosperity. She stressed the Republic of Congo's commitment to more trade and regional integration in Africa.
The meeting was attended by policy-makers from the sub-region, experts from ECA, Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), private sector actors and civil society organizations.
Participants underscored Central African countries' commitment to continue to engage fully and actively in the negotiations aimed at achieving a pro-development outcome from the Doha Round.
The meeting also identified specific areas where further collaborative research was needed from regional and international organizations that would allow Africa to positively contribute to the modalities stage of the negotiations leading up to the 6th Session of WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong next year. Areas identified include Economic Partnership Agreements and Market Access issues.