Communique On The Impact of the Global Economic and Financial Crisis on Trade and Development in Africa
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 27, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Communiqué on the Impact of the Global Economic and Financial Crisis on Trade and Development in Africa
We Ministers of Trade of the African Union meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 19-20 March 2009, recall the Declaration and Decision of Heads of State and Government of the AU in Addis Ababa of 3 February 2009 on the International Financial Crisis and its far reaching economic, social and development impacts on African countries, and the need to keep markets open to African trade; we further recall the Communiqué of the AU Ministers of Finance and Governors of the Central Banks of 12 November 2008 in Tunis;
We underline our deep concerns regarding the far-reaching negative impact of the global economic and financial crisis on African economic growth and national development plans, balance of payments and national budgets, competitiveness, access to international public and private finance, and foreign direct investment. It has become clear that the crisis has already begun to negatively impact the important economic sectors in African countries, and its consequences have spread to production, exports, employment, investments, tourism, and remittances, among others, and have resulted in a deep decline in commodity prices. All African economies have registered deep decline in economic growth as a result of the crisis which was initiated in developed countries, and quickly spread across the globe to negatively impact developing countries particularly in Africa;
We highlight that, as a result of the crisis, and more than at any other time, there is a need to place African economic development at the centre of international efforts to stabilize the ailing financial sector, to build strategies towards the recovery of the global economy, to attain the Millennium Development Goals, to fulfill the Monterrey Consensus on financing for development with due consideration to the effective delivery of aid in accordance with the Accra Declaration and the Accra Accord issued at UNCTAD XII, to integrate African economies, particularly LDCs, into the global economy while giving added impetus to African Regional integration efforts;
We are alarmed at the growing resort to protectionist measures and policies around the world; therefore it is imperative that developed countries provide leadership in resisting pressures towards economic nationalism. African countries should be allowed to retain the necessary policy space they require to develop appropriate WTO compatible economic recovery and development strategies;
We stress that within the current global economic context there is a need to effectively reduce trade distorting subsidies and anti-competitive practices, and to provide enhanced market access to products of export interest to developing and least developed African countries;
We underscore the need to monitor the impact of developed countries’ stimulus plans and financial bailouts, on the competitiveness and terms of trade of African economies. In this regard, the work of international economic, financial and trade institutions to assist developing countries without conditionality, specifically those in Africa, including to monitor and analyze the impact of the crises on their economies is of vital importance;
We reaffirm that Africa should be fully represented in all deliberations regarding the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on the world economy, particularly on the economies and trade flows of developing countries. We also stress the urgent need to enlarge current international efforts to deal with the crisis, including those of the G-20, to include a more balanced and fair African representation;
We emphasize the need to preserve progress and convergences achieved during 2008 in all the Doha negotiating tracks under the single undertaking and caution against the adverse ramifications of re-opening well established agreed mandates, and backtracking on the progress and convergences reached so far;
We stress that for Africa, development outcomes in each of the negotiating tracks remain the raison d’être of the Doha Round. This means that tangible development content must be evident within each negotiating track, and in the overall outcome. We further underline the need to ensure that a clear development component is an integral part of the EPA’s negotiated outcome;
We call on all the bilateral and institutional development partners, in light of the global economic and financial crisis, to fully commit to their pledges on Aid for Trade without conditionality. We also call on the G-20 Summit, to be held in London on April 2nd 2009, to ensure that financial commitments directed to Aid for Trade are maintained, enhanced and delivered effectively to meet Africa’s Poverty Reduction and development strategies with due attention to the Paris Declaration in this regard;
We welcome the invitation extended to the AUC Chairperson to attend the upcoming London Summit of the G-20. On this important occasion, Africa will deliver a strong message on the importance of the early conclusion of the Doha Development Round to ensure that markets remain open to African trade, to reject protectionism and any measures that impede fair trade, to preserve the necessary policy space needed for decision making, to ensure the availability and affordability of trade finance, which is particularly vital to African countries, and to underline the crucial role that Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Aid for Trade can play in helping African countries face the negative impact of the crisis on their economies and development plans.
SOURCE : African Union Commission (AUC)
