On behalf of the Executive Secretary, Mr. K.Y. Amoako, the director of Trade and Regional Integration Division (TRID), Mr. Hakim Ben Hammouda today opened the Third Session of the Committee on Regional Integration in Africa at the UNCC in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Speaking on behalf of the ES, Mr. Ben Hammouda said: “Africa is basically a continent of economically small states, but one that has an enormous potential for economies of scale production, as a haven for investments, and for the capacity to become globally competitive. Strengthened regional integration should make it possible to rationally and cost effectively exploit the continent’s huge resource endowments, human capacities, climate and cultures for its people’s collective well being. ”

This is the third statutory meeting of the Committee on Regional Integration in Africa. The Committee brings together officials from member States and experts to review progress and constraints of the process of Africa’s integration and explore options for further advancing this agenda.

Mr. Ben Hammouda went on to specifically mention macro-economic discipline and policy convergence, trade and market integration, infrastructure development and political commitment at the national level as necessary conditions for regional integration to be successful. He also pointed out that the overlapping membership of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) by several member States tends to complicate the overall continental integration agenda. He then announced that the next issue of Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA II) will be devoted to the issue of rationalizing REC memberships. Ben Hammouda concluded by saying ECA was happy to benefit from the wide-ranging wealth of experiences and wisdom of the many delegates, which will help the Commission in charting a Way Forward.

To see the full speech and other documents related to the meeting, please log on to www.uneca.org/crci.