African Countries Must be Mindful of the Trade and Environment Linkages in Policy Making, says ECA’s Official at the Third Forum for Development in North Africa
ECA Press Release No. 59/2009
Rabat, 30 October 2009 (ECA) -“Environmental policies and the related regulations on quality control could potentially affect exports competitiveness and export promotion strategies in African countries”, warned Ms. Amal Nagah Elbeshbishi, Regional Adviser on Trade at the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). She was addressing the third Forum for Development in North Africa, which is taking place from 29 to 31 October 2009 in Rabat, Morocco.
This Forum is a joint initiative of the ECA’s sub regional office in North Africa (SRO-NA), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other partners including Mohammed V Souissi University (Rabat),and Lyon 2 University( France).
Senior officials, policy makers, researchers, and other stakeholders attending the Forum are exchanging views on how to boost economic growth in the sub region, through sound investment policies, focused on adequate training and intensive research activities. The outcomes of the Forum are expected to help in enhancing competitiveness, by aligning training programmes on the labour markets needs in North Africa.
The impact of environmental constraints on trade potential is featuring high on the agenda this year. These constraints require an immediate attention as they may serve to increase the costs of production in key sectors including textiles, clothing, fisheries, etc , and thus affect growth and development prospects .
In her statement, Ms. Elbeshbishi stressed the need for Africa to actively participate in negotiations regarding international standards in order to reflect their needs and concerns. She also urged African countries to conduct costs benefits analysis of meeting these standards in developed countries and to explore alternative markets.
Discussions are taking place in the context of the current financial and economic crisis. In his opening remarks, Mr. Abdelilah Ouaqouaq, OIC of the ECA’s Subregional Office in North Africa has indicated, with great concern that, the demand in tourism sector has decreased by 10% in Tunisia, while exports in Morocco have declined from an average of 13% in previous years to -33% in August 2009. He urged participants to harness the potential of academic research and to leverage knowledge as a growth and development engine.
Papers under review during this Forum are assessing the situation of the banking system and its potential contribution to the way out of the crisis. They are also mapping the post-crisis requirements to ensure a sustainable recovery, taking into account country specific environments and their level of vulnerability to exogenous shocks.
Representatives of WTO and the academic partner institutions expressed their deep appreciation of the fruitful collaboration with ECA under the framework of the Forum, which is being grounded year after year in the institutional landscape as a unique avenue for addressing emerging issues in the North Africa Region. More than 60 thematic papers will be discussed in 16 different workshops. The main objective is to take stock of the advancement of research activities and assess their potential usefulness in addressing growth and development challenges in the sub region.
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