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Regional integration
important for development of landlocked African nations Addis Ababa,
5 April 2016 (ECA) - Regional integration and cooperation is important for the
development of landlocked developing countries through improved connectivity,
enhanced competitiveness and trading capacity, market expansion and upgrading
of value chains, says United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya. Mr. Acharya,
who’s also the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (LLDCs),
told participants to a side event during the Economic Commission for Africa’s
inaugural African Development Week that it’s highly important for the continent
to develop a legal framework for improved transit transport and trade
facilitation, adding this would greatly reduce high trade costs. The side
event was held under the title: “Enhancing Africa’s trade potential: The key
role of trade and transport facilitation legal instruments.” “While the
African continent has made very commendable strides in implementing regional
and sub-regional agreements, it is equally important to implement the
international agreements,” said Mr. Acharya. Some of the
key legal instruments that offer legal and regulatory framework to facilitate
transit transport and trade facilitation at international level include the WTO
Trade Facilitation Agreement, the Revised Kyoto Customs Convention and the
International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods. “Full
implementation of the legal instruments can generate substantial revenue for
governments and simultaneously create the conditions to advance national and
regional efforts toward achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and
aspirations of the Agenda 2063,” said Mr. Acharya. Africa is
home to half of the 32 landlocked developing countries found globally. The
LLDCs are hugely constrained by their geography, including remoteness from
markets and lack of direct territorial access to the sea ports resulting in
their inability to fully harness their full potentials. “They
therefore require very strong partnerships with neighbouring
countries and other countries globally to assist with special measures and
support that could assist them to end their marginalization in the
international trading system and promote inclusive and sustainable
development,” the Under Secretary General said. He said
addressing the trade-related challenges of the LLDCs requires a
multi-dimensional approach from building physical infrastructure to reducing
the trade costs; addressing other supply-side constraints in order to increase
the LLDCs’ trade competitiveness; improving the market access for their
products; and enhancing structural transformation in order to help diversify
their product and markets. He said his
office will work with all Member States to support the achievement of a legal
framework conducive to deepened regional integration, facilitation of trade and
improved trade competitiveness of African countries, in particular the LLDCs in
international trade. This, Mr.
Acharya said, can help the land locked countries achieve a sustainable and
inclusive economic growth that delivers decent jobs, accelerates poverty
reduction and ensures no-one is left behind in the global development process. Ms. Fatima
Haram Acyl, Commissioner for Trade and Industry at the African Union
Commission, urged member states to ratify the Trade and Transport Facilitation
Agreement. She said
sub-Saharan Africa lags significantly behind other regions in facilitating
trade hence ambitious customs reforms and trade facilitation programmes currently in the works on the continent. “Trade
facilitation is an African trade priority at the continental, regional and
national level,” she told high level participants in the meeting. Issued by: Communications
Section Economic
Commission for Africa PO Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251 11 551 5826 E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org |