DG Azevêdo pledges support for Africa’s continued economic integration
Addressing the African Group of WTO members in Geneva on 3 June, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo stressed his commitment to supporting Africa’s continued economic integration, through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and through the WTO, in order to further fuel the continent’s growth and development. He congratulated the group on the recent entry into force of the AfCFTA, which he described as “hugely welcome”. The meeting was hosted by the Coordinator of the Group, Ambassador Eloi Laourou of Benin, and African Union Ambassador Ajay Kumar Bramdeo.
The Director-General thanked the coordinator for facilitating the meeting and stressed the importance attached to meeting with the group. He provided an overview of the state of play, highlighting the implications of rising trade tensions especially for developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs), outlined major challenges facing the trading system and commented on the impetus for WTO reform.
The Director-General said:
“Clearly there is a lot of work ahead of us. I hope that the Africa Group will remain at the forefront of these debates. I am ready to assist in whatever way I can. We are in contact with the African Union and Commissioner Muchanga and are exploring ways in which we may be able to work more closely together, and specific areas where we can provide greater technical support.
“This is in connection with our work here at the WTO, and in connection with the African Continental Free Trade Area. I want to congratulate you on the entry into force of the AfCFTA. The rapid progress that you have made here is hugely welcome. It shows how much you value trade and greater integration.”
Source: wto.org
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239