Oliver Cann, Director, Public Engagement, Tel.: +41 79 799 3405; Email: Oliver.Cann@weforum.org
Cape Town, South Africa, 4 June 2015 – Removing impediments to the movement of goods and people around Africa is critical for economies to develop, according to a panel on the Future of Trade at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town. The participants highlighted the fact that just 12% of African countries’ total trade is with each other and the continent only accounts for 3% of value addition in global trade.
Because Africa’s economies are mostly small, regional collaboration is needed to justify the high costs of infrastructure spending, to create regional value chains and to allow skills to move across borders, said Fatima Haram Acyl, Commissioner for Trade and Industry, African Union, Addis Ababa. “We need to take a more holistic approach,” she said.
Michael Rake, Chairman, BT Group, United Kingdom, and a Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Africa, said that the free movement of labour has benefited the European Union, but it has also created political tensions between countries.
Yonov Frederick Agah, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva, said that Africa needs to do more to integrate itself into the global trading system in an era where trade preferences are being eroded and competition is increasing. This requires looking at the competitiveness of domestic environments, building infrastructure and managing external factors that have an impact on trade. He said that it is critical that the Doha Round is finalized as it would make the trade environment more stable for Africa.
Jean-Louis Ekra, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, African Export-Import Bank, Egypt, emphasized the need for African countries to add value to their exports. For example, Africa’s cocoa producers cannot trade the commodity with each other, but they can process the cocoa and trade chocolate within the continent.
Bob Diamond, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Merchant Capital, USA, said the financial crisis in developed countries has significantly affected the availability of trade finance in Africa. He highlighted the need for banks to be incentivized to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises.
More than 1,250 participants are taking part in the 25th World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, from 3 to 5 June 2015. The theme of the meeting is “Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future”.
The Co-Chairs of the World Economic on Africa are: Antony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, Barclays, United Kingdom; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Undersecretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), New York; Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, United Kingdom; and Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, BT Group, United Kingdom.
Notes to Editors
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