The
Economic Commission for Africa's (ECA's) Trade Training Workshop for African countries in
Agriculture opened this morning in Tunis, Tunisia. The four-day workshop is due to run
from 26 - 29 April, and is being attended by African representatives and officials
responsible for trade negotiations in ministries of Trade, Agriculture and at African
embassies accredited to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. Speaking on behalf
of the Executive Secretary of ECA, Mr. K.Y. Amoako, the director of ECA's Trade and
Regional Integration Division, Hakim Ben Hammouda, welcomed all participants to the
training workshop and said that since the Doha round of WTO talks was launched,
agriculture has become a key part of the negotiations.
He noted that African countries have multiple interests regarding agriculture and while
the training session will concentrate on the three pillars of agricultural negotiations,
namely market access, export subsidies and domestic support, the training session will
also examine regional differences, e.g. that prevailing between North Africa and
sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Ben Hammouda concluded by saying that this training workshop forms
part of ECA's continuing efforts to support African countries in trade-related activities.
The seminar will deepen member States' understanding of some of the concepts and
challenges the continent faces and establish priorities and coherent strategies for the
talks.
Mr Francis Dubois, the UN systems resident coordinator in Tunisia, welcomed all
participants to the country and expressed gratitude to UN system for helping arrange the
seminar. He said the four-day seminar will give opportunity for indepth analyses and allow
African countries to share with and benefit from each other.
He stated that there is widespread agreement that the current round of WTO talks on
agriculture were very important for developing countries since the sector accounts, on
average, for 30 percent of GDP and 70 percent employment.
Expressed concern that the talks in agriculture have not advanced much due to the failure
of rich countries to remove protection for their farmers. It is therefore important for
African countries to organize effectively in order to advance their cause. Speaking on
behalf of the Tunisian Minister of Trade, the Director General of the Ministry of Trade,
Mr. Bou Said, said he was pleased that ECA had decided to hold the workshop in Tunisia in
collaboration with the Tunisian government, and hailed this as an example of the fruitful
collaboration that exists between the Tunisian government and ECA. He welcomed all the
experts and officials attending the workshop and said the theme of agriculture was central
to the development of African countries. He said Africa was committed to the multilateral
trade talks, which, if successfully concluded, would create wealth and reinforce global
peace and security. He praised ECA and other partner organizations for providing technical
assistance to African countries, to enable them to participate more effectively in
multilateral trade talks. He concluded by expressing belief that agriculture in African
countries has a promising future, and that better cooperation between African countries
could help ensure this. He then declared the workshop open. Other participants in the
workshop include representatives from UNCTAD, FAO, WTO, UNDP; the International Lawyers
and Economists Against Poverty and Third World Network.