Report of the high-level brainstorming meeting of African trade negotiators preparatory to the fifth WTOM Ministerial Conference

Abstract

In several rounds of multilateral trade negotiations, African countries expressed concerns about their inability to participate effectively in the process due to lack of adequate domestic capacity in trade policy and negotiations. They have also stressed that capacity constraints are among the factors inhibiting their ability to integrate fully into the world trading system and reap the benefits of global economic integration. As part of efforts to address this problem, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), organized a “High-Level Brainstorming Meeting of African Trade Negotiators” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 26 - 29 June, 2001.