Abstract

Although it accounts for nearly a third of the members (41 countries) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Africa is the weakest link in multilateral trade. Considerable effort will have to be invested to improve the level of awareness of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and WTO rules and agreements, such that African countries can take part in the process of globalization. To this end, the ministers' meeting in Libreville (Gabon) will address the following three objectives: make African countries aware of the need to participate more actively in the system of multilateral trade and WTO activities; further their knowledge and mastery of GATT/WTO rules and agreements so that these can be implemented more easily; and support the technical preparation of African states for future WTO negotiations, through an exhaustive and substantive exchange on relevant topics. Given the importance of electronic commerce in the globalization of the economy, the ministers' meeting will also cover the topic of trade in services (particularly tourism) and e-commerce. The WTO has asked IDRC to help run the meeting and a panel with other organizations such as the WTO, the World Tourism Organization and the World Bank. The grant will also make it possible for three ACACIA partners from Burkina Faso, Kenya and Sénégal to demonstrate e-commerce sites and software at the CyberCafé that will be open to participants for the duration of the ministers' meeting.

Recipient Institution(s)