2022 part2

84/ High-level event kicks off Cameroon University’s activities under WTO Chairs Programme

25 MAY 2022

At a high-level event on 25 May 2022, the Université de Yaoundé II (UDY) in Cameroon launched its activities under the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP). Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang, senior officials from the government of Cameroon, trade officials in Geneva and representatives from partner organizations attended the meeting. UDY is one of 17 academic institutions selected by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in late 2021 to join the Chairs network.

The WCP is a technical assistance programme which brings together universities in developing and least developed countries in order to foster research and capacity building with the involvement of governmental policymakers and other stakeholders. It aims to benefit host countries and broader regions through an interconnected group of trade policy experts.

In his opening speech, Daniel Urbain Ndongo, President of UDY’s Cameroon Institute of International Relations (IRIC), highlighted the importance of UDY joining the WCP in the wider context of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the conflict in Ukraine. He said: “Faced with these challenges and in order to bridge the deficit in expertise on the African continent, IRIC, the oldest diplomatic academy south of the Sahara, will not stay on the side-lines.”

DDG Zhang noted that one of UDY’s research priorities is on trade and sustainable development in Africa. He said this topic is of great interest for the WTO membership and it is also the “raison d’être of the WTO, as illustrated in the preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement”. The preamble states that the objectives of the WTO are raising living standards, ensuring full employment, increasing incomes, expanding the production of and trade in goods and services, and seeking the optimal use of the world’s resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development. “The work programme of UDY is in perfect harmony with the objectives enshrined in the preamble,” he said.

Ambassador Eitenne Oudot de Dainville of France’s Permanent Mission to the WTO congratulated UDY for joining the WCP and stressed the usefulness of the WCP for Cameroon: “In all countries, we need experts in trade policy to drive the debate, advise on policies and provisions, make suggestions on important subjects — in short, the WCP will facilitate discussions and innovative ideas.”

Cynthia Zimmerman, Director-General of Austria’s Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs, said: “I am proud to note that independent external evaluations have concluded that throughout the previous phases, the WCP programme has greatly benefited developing and least-developed country members in several different ways.” Looking forward, DG Zimmerman added, “Austria is committed to realize and contribute to a common vision that guarantees human dignity for everyone, a healthy planet, fair and resilient societies as well as worldwide economic prosperity. And it is our expectation that the WCP contributes to reaching this noble objective.”

Khaled El Bernoussi of the Economic and Digital Francophonie, International Organization of the Francophonie, noted that Cameroon was one of ten francophone institutions in the WCP network. He said: “The international francophone organisation will be very attentive to the research produced by the Cameroon Chair to find ideas, options and policy strategies to help our members improve their economic and trade conditions, at both national and international levels.”

The launch event was followed by a round-table discussion on “Cameroon’s trade policy in the face of COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”

Source: wto.org