Backgrounder: Africa and WTO

Kenya is to host the four-day World Trade Orgnization (WTO) ministerial conference from Tuesday in the capital, Nairobi. It is also the first time such meeting is being held on the African soil in two decades. The following are some facts and statistics on WTO and Africa.

The WTO, formed in 1995, is a rule-based trade liberalization body whose mandate is to make sure the worldwide trading system is fully liberalized. It deals with the formulation and implementation of international trade rules. It also deals with the arbitration of trade disputes between its Members.

The WTO has the objectives of raising the standards of living for members, ensuring full employment, large and steadily growing volume of real income and effective demand, expanding the production of and trade in goods and services.

The business of the WTO is conducted through the ministerial conference, which is the highest decision making body of the organization.

The conference is held every two years. In between the Ministerial Conference, the affairs of the organization are managed by the WTO General Council. Kenya is the first African country to host the ministerial conference.

The member states observe a set of agreed norms, usually passed at its ministerial conferences. These decisions are usually based on consensus rather than via a vote. The WTO's governance system is therefore unique.

Currently, WTO has 162 members, among whom 43 are from Africa. The number is expected to rise with the admission of Liberia and Afghanistan after an approval vote by the trade ministers at this week's Nairobi meeting.

Some seven African countries are also among 22 countries with the observer status at the WTO. This means these countries are expected to begin negotiations for their WTO membership. They include Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Libya, Sao Tome and Principe, Comoros and Sudan.

Membership of the WTO is usually a guarantee to foreign investors seeking new sources of growth and investment.

Analysts point out that a few African countries, such as Mauritius, managed to achieve faster economic development and transformation as a result of their WTO membership. This is because of their ability to attract foreign investments and trade internationally.

For the case of Liberia, which is joining the WTO after a serious battle with the Ebola outbreak, analysts hope the WTO membership will provide an assurance to foreign investors that Liberia is safe for international investors and that Liberian goods could also trade internationally.

The key aspects of the WTO membership is the benefit that countries obtain through some of the organization's specialized bodies such as the International Trade Centre, created under GATT in 1964, to help promote exports from the developing countries.

It helps member states to make policies to promote exports and market local produce internationally through the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Some developing countries such as Egypt and South Africa have benefited from the single voice negotiating aspects driven under the G20. There are also four African countries which are members of the Cotton Four,or C4.

The C4, an alliance of the four African countries, have been fighting for the elimination of subsidies on cotton, which have affected the production of the commodity in West Africa. Endit