4th global review of aid for trade - connecting to global value chains: side Event 26: Cape Verde roundtable

Abstract

As Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, it is a pleasure for me to be involved in this Cape Verde Roundtable, and to have the possibility to debate an authentic African success story. This gives an idea of the formidable achievements of this small nation, which have been eloquently discussed by the previous speakers. The economic literature has taught us that growth accelerations are a relatively frequent phenomenon, including in Africa; but the key difference between a boom-and-bust cycle and a sustainable development trajectory is preventing a subsequent growth collapse from offsetting the growth acceleration, and ensuring that the latter is long-lived. The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) has been instrumental in providing a platform for development partners, recipient countries, and agencies to work together towards a more cohesive in-country trade integration strategy. Much like the ECA, the EIF has supported the mainstreaming of trade and regional integration strategies, in the conviction that Cape Verdean ownership of trade policy had to be a key principle.