The WTO launched a new publication entitled “African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO” on Day 2 of the Public Forum on 28 September 2016. The book – co-published by the WTO and Cambridge University Press – examines how enhanced participation in world trade could help Africa achieve further growth and emphasizes the need for the continent to undertake structural reforms to underpin its economic transformation.

“African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO: Domestic Reforms, Structural Transformation and Global Economic Integration” brings together contributions from African policy-makers and representatives of partner institutions to assess how the multilateral trading system could assist Africa in overcoming some of its greatest challenges in areas such as governance, economic diversification and integration into global value chains.

The launch was attended by the three co-editors – Patrick Low, Chiedu Osakwe and Maika Oshikawa – and by H.E. Joshua Setipa, Lesotho’s Minister of Trade and Industry, and H.E. Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, who contributed to the publication. H.E. Axel Addy, Liberia’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, also participated in the panel discussion, focusing in particular on Liberia’s accession process, which concluded on 14 July 2016.

In his opening remarks, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said: “The WTO’s African members have been increasingly central in the debates here over recent years. All members are working now to plot the way forward after Nairobi, and it is clear to me that Africa’s voice will be more important than ever in that conversation. The WTO can help to deliver a more inclusive trading system – and that’s why I think this book is so welcome. It is a reminder of the importance of the multilateral system for growth and development in Africa. And it is a reminder that African members must continue to play a leading role in forging the way forward.”

Minister Setipa said: “We need to ensure that the multilateral trading system is supportive and aligned with our regional priorities as Africans. The cost of moving a container to an African neighbouring country is higher than moving it to New York. Unless we make efforts to bring trade costs down, our trade competitiveness will be undermined. Now that we have ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement – we need to exploit its potential gains. For Africa, the WTO is the best platform to contribute and get issues on the agenda and the only place where we can deal with structural challenges like agricultural subsidies.”

Minister Addy said: “This book provides some useful insights into where Africa is going, and I hope we can leverage some of the inputs such as foreign direct investment and trade facilitation. In the last decade, as we were reintegrating Liberia into the global economy, we considered WTO membership as an opportunity to announce to the international community that Liberia is ready for business. The role of the private sector will be crucial in leveraging the necessary investment.”

Minister Enelamah said: “This book captures the importance for stakeholders to exchange their experiences. Trade is central, and must be underpinned by proper investment and industry policies. This is why Nigeria has launched a new industrialization plan to create an enabling environment to help businesses to thrive. As part of this, President Buhari is committed to his priorities of good governance, economic welfare, security and the fight against corruption. WTO members need to be good trade neighbours to invite each other to build a strong multilateral trading system. I believe that Africa will emerge. With our critical mass, I am convinced that as Africans, we can actively participate in the global trading system. We reaffirm our strong support for DG Azevêdo.”

The book opens with a message from Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta, and a joint foreword by DG Azevêdo, the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed and China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng.

The publication includes contributions by:

• the African Union Commissioner of Trade and Industry Fatima Haram Acyl

• South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies

• Morocco’s Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment Moulay Hafid Elalamy

• the Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC) Arancha González

• the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Deputy Secretary-General Joakim Reiter

• the Senior Director of the Global Practice on Trade and Competitiveness of the World Bank Group Anabel González.

The contributors to the book provide insights into how African governments could foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth and eradicate poverty by undertaking reforms to address market turbulence, increase intra-African trade, widen participation in global value chains and diversify exports.

The book is based on contributions to the Fourth China Round Table held just before the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2015. The China Round Table is part of the China Programme, which aims to help least-developed countries (LDCs) integrate more effectively into the global economy by strengthening their participation in WTO activities and by helping those not yet members to join the WTO.

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Book launch: “African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO: Domestic Reforms, Structural Transformation and Global Economic Integration”

Opening remarks by DG Azevêdo

It is a pleasure to welcome you all to the launch of this new WTO publication: “African Perspectives on Trade and the WTO”.

This volume looks at the challenges and opportunities for Africa as it continues to integrate into the multilateral trading system. And it is closely associated with our 10th Ministerial Conference, held in Nairobi last year.

It evolved from an event held the day before the Conference began – the Nairobi China Round Table. I joined President Kenyatta, Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, Chinese Vice-Minister Wang, and a number of other Ministers to exchange views on the role of Africa in the future of the multilateral trading system.

That debate raised many important issues and ideas, which are developed in this new publication. And it helped to focus minds ahead of the Nairobi Ministerial Conference, which of course went on to deliver some very important outcomes for Africa.

Those outcomes included the biggest reform of global agriculture trade in 20 years – which also delivered on a key target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

So I’m pleased to be joined by these Ministers today, as they played a key role in that success.

The WTO’s African members have been increasingly central in the debates here over recent years. And I think the fact that the WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Africa for the first time helped to strengthen that sense of ownership.

All members are working now to plot the way forward after Nairobi, and it is clear to me that Africa’s voice will be more important than ever in that conversation. 

This is an exciting time for the WTO – and it is an exciting time for Africa.

The continent is often described as the next “growth frontier”.

The collapse of commodity prices has led some to question whether this is still the case. However, I think the fundamentals are strong. Africa is projected to be the world’s second fastest growing continent between 2016 and 2020, with an annual growth rate of 4.3%. It has the youngest population and a growing consumer base. By 2034, the continent is expected to have a larger workforce than China or India. And African entrepreneurs are increasingly innovating and capturing people’s attention.

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg said recently that Africa’s technology companies would help change the whole world.

But for all this to happen, we have to be making progress across the board. That means tackling poverty and inequality. It means shifting away from a reliance on primary commodities. It means finding ways to boost infrastructure – both traditional and digital.

Only one in four people in Africa use the internet. But numbers are growing. And as we’ve seen with the spread of mobile phone usage in Africa and innovations like M-Pesa – technology allows you to make big jumps forward.

And I think the WTO can continue to play an important role in a whole range of ways – but I want to mention just three this afternoon.

First, by offering a platform to influence the debate.

When we talk about “Africa” of course we are actually talking about 54 very diverse countries.

44 of these are WTO members – meaning that Africa already makes up more than a quarter of the total membership. And seven more are in the process of joining.

The discussion at the WTO is currently more open and dynamic than we’ve seen in a long time. This is an opportunity to put Africa’s issues and economic priorities on the table and work to push them forward. And the time to do it is right now.

Second, the WTO can be a means to help achieve goals on regional integration.

Intra-regional trade accounts for only about 17% of the total trade in Africa. So clearly there is scope for more to be done on this front.

The WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement can have a big impact here, helping reduce barriers to intra-regional trade.

We’ve all seen the difference that these kinds of reforms have made in East Africa, for example. This Agreement will allow us to achieve even more.

On this point, we need to keep up the momentum to ratify the Agreement as soon as possible.

On a related point, I’d like also to mention the TRIPS Amendment on access to essential medicines, which members are also in the process of ratifying. This Amendment was agreed at the request of African members – but it has waited far too long to enter into force.

I’m pleased to say that we are now just a handful of ratifications away from the finishing line. So I ask for your help to ensure we deliver on that important commitment.

This brings me to my final point, which is that the WTO can help to deliver a more inclusive trading system.

We can do this by continuing to deliver reforms to the trading system which work for developing and least developed countries. And we can do it by delivering even more aid and technical assistance to help these countries to improve their capacity to trade and compete.

So I think the WTO has a vital role to play – and that’s why I think this book is so welcome.

It is a reminder of the importance of the multilateral system for growth and development in Africa. And it is a reminder that African members must continue to play a leading role in forging the way forward.

So I want to thank all of the contributors who have shared their experience and knowledge in this publication.

I would also like to thank the co-editors: Patrick, Chiedu and Maika for their excellent work.

And I would like to say a word of gratitude to the Government of China for supporting the Nairobi China Round Table, which led to the production of this book today.   

I urge everyone to read it – and I wish you all a productive and engaging discussion this afternoon.