SEE
ALSO:
press
releases
WTO
news
Mike
Moore's speeches
Renato
Ruggiero's speeches, 1995-99
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In an unprecedented effort, Trade Ministers and officials
from over 50 African countries, along with
representatives from 29 regional organizations and
international agencies, the private sector and observer
countries met at the invitation of the Gabon Government
to examine Africa's needs and concerns in the
multilateral trading system. A series of 24 workshops
presenting the main WTO agreements were conducted with
the participation of African government Ministers and
officials.Speaking
at the end of the Conference WTO Director-General Mr.
Mike Moore said: “This meeting has been everything I
expected and much more. It has been a meeting run by
Africans for Africans. It is an historic first. It has
enlivened the debate on trade issues for Africa. It has
also been an occasion where African Ministers have
rejected marginalization and reaffirmed their confidence
in the WTO system.”
“We
have met our shared objective to learn more about the
multilateral trading system and explore ways to ensure
Africa participates fully in the system and receives
maximum benefits”, said Mr. Moore.
Mr.
Moore was especially pleased with the workshops organized
as part of the Conference. He said these were the heart
of the meeting. The workshops attracted a wide audience
of both Ministers and officials and were presented
jointly by the WTO Secretariat and other organizations
such as the United Nations Conference for Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO). The workshops covered WTO agreements
and issues of greatest concern to Africa, including
regionalism and agriculture.
At
the end of the Conference, African Trade Ministers
presented a joint communiqué, reaffirming “Africa's
commitment to working in the framework of the
multilateral trading system within the WTO.” The
communiqué emphasized “the need to make trade a
priority in the national development policies” of
African countries.
The
Libreville meeting was convened and organized by the
government of Gabon. In his closing speech at the
Conference, Mr. Moore paid tribute to President El Hadj
Omar BONGO, the Prime Minister Jean-Francois
NTOUTOUME-EMANE and the people of Gabon for their
hospitality and outstanding organization.
The
meeting was made possible by donations from the following
countries and agencies: Belgium, Chinese Taipei, Egypt,
France, Gabon, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg,
Morocco, South Africa, the African Development Bank
Group, the Agence Intergovernmentale de la Francophonie
(AIF), the International Development Research Centre, the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
European Union.
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