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AU trains negotiators under Africa's largest trade bloc

Xinhua, August 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

A UN-backed meeting kicked off in Nairobi on Thursday to train services trade negotiators from Anglophone African countries on related negotiations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).

The week-long meeting, which is convened by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the African Union Commission (AUC), is aimed at sharpening negotiation skills for African negotiators ahead of the establishment of CFTA which is expected to be concluded in 2017.

In her opening remarks, AUC Director at Department of Trade and Industry Treasure Maphanga said African continent is serious about moving forward on the CFTA, as made evident by the launching of the negotiations on the CFTA by the AU Summit in June .

"The negotiations will build upon existing efforts in African regional economic communities, taking into account relations with the World Trace Organization (WTO) and external partners," she told participants.

Maphang added that the negotiation guidelines adopted by members provide for the negotiations of trade in goods and trade in services concurrently to establish a CFTA in goods and services.

She stressed the importance of the workshop in preparing African services trade negotiators, and announced that a second workshop for AU Francophone countries would be held in Benin in October.

The training is part of follow-up measures being undertaken by the AUC, in collaboration with UNCTAD, to enhance the understanding and negotiation skills of African services trade negotiators.

The meeting will enhance awareness and understanding of services economy issues by African services negotiators and also bolster their negotiations skills through practical exercises and simulations.

UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director Maria-Thereae Keating said that the UN believes that economic development is a key driver of poverty reduction and that international trade is a major vector of such transformation.

"The UN is thus committed to supporting African countries in realizing the CFTA, including in terms of services economy and development, which can have stronger developmental results," Keating said. Endit