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DRAFT REPORT OF THE INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL MEETING ON TRADE, INVESTMENT AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
IN AFRICA

Geneva, 30 November 1998

The interagency Technical Meeting was chaired by the UNCTAD Coordinator for Africa, with the participation of ECA, FAO, ILO, IMF, IMO, ITC, UNIDO, UNDP and WTO (see list of participants attached). It discussed the trade, investment and industrial development nexus in Africa and identified areas in which cooperation and coordination could be enhanced among participating agencies. A check-list and a summary of the activities of participating agencies were prepared and presented to the meeting covering contributions made by the various agencies in response to a questionnaire which was sent in July 1998. The meeting, having reviewed the activities of the participating agencies in the broad areas of trade policy, trade supply constraints and obstacles to trade expansion, trade promotion and trade supporting services, investment and industrial development, identified the following major areas where further interagency cooperation and coordination could be explored:

This Framework, which was endorsed at a High Level meeting (HLM) on Integrated Initiatives for Least Developed Countries in Geneva in October 1997, was developed with the active involvement of UNCTAD, ITC, IMF, the World Bank, WTO and UNDP. Other organizations, i.e. FAO, WIPO and UNIDO, had indicated in their contributions their involvement in issues relevant to this Framework. UNIDO had undertaken a review of the 31 countries’ assessments and indicated that it will respond to the needs of the least developed countries through active participation in the implementation of the Integrated Framework. FAO was also seeking active involvement in the process. WIPO had indicated assistance in meeting the immediate TRIPs-related requirements and strengthening of human capacities with regard to the intellectual property system. The meeting agreed that its Chairman would write to the Administrative Unit for the Integrated Framework in the ITC in order to request the inclusion in the agenda of the Integrated Framework at the meeting to be held in February 1999 of the core agencies the question of the involvement of the three additional agencies. Subsequently, on the basis of the outcome of the discussions of this issue at the February meeting, the Chairman of the Interagency Technical Meeting would report to the Steering Committee of the UNSIA.

The meeting noted that most agencies were involved in work related to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, albeit from different perspectives. There was considerable scope for enhancing cooperation and coordination among all the agencies involved in the development of SMEs in African countries. It was agreed that the Chairman would request participating agencies to send more detailed information on the range of their activities on SME development so as to draw a complete picture in order to facilitate further discussion on specific activities and projects with the aim of pooling of knowledge and resources. This would enhance a coordinated response to requests arising from African countries, thereby generating additionality in this important area. In this connection, several agencies raised the importance of micro-finance, an area in which the Special Initiative could be more active in its development.

It was generally recognized that the high cost of transport in Africa compared to other continents had not only had negative effects on the trade competitiveness of the African countries, but also had a major incidence on the cost of imports and hence on the balance of payments of the economies concerned. The situation was even more acute for the land-locked countries in the continent. UNCTAD was planning to undertake some work in this area and it was agreed that it would contact the ECA to assess the situation in the light of the outcome of the Transport and Communications Decades. Other agencies were also involved in transport and related infrastructure questions, including ILO, the World Bank and the IMO. Based on exchanges with the various agencies concerned, further consultations would take place on the feasibility of cooperation and coordination in this area.