Concluding remarks by the Chairperson

This fourth Trade Policy Review of Madagascar has given us a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of the developments of Madagascar's trade and trade-related policies since its last Review in 2015. This Review was conducted with the active participation of Madagascar's delegation, headed by H.E. Ms Priscilla ANDRIANARIVO, Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, whom I would like to thank. My thanks go also to our discussant H.E. Clara DELGADO JESUS, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Cabo Verde to the WTO, for her insightful remarks, and to the 26 delegations that took the floor for their valuable contributions.

Members commended Madagascar for its efforts of industrialization (such as the One District One Factory programme), diversification and trade integration in spite of the series of external shocks faced by its economy including the COVID pandemic and repeated natural disasters. They praised Madagascar for its effort to improve, with the help of donors its infrastructure notably in the areas of electricity, roads and ports.

Members lauded the support of Madagascar to a rules-based trade system both at regional and multilateral level. They congratulated Madagascar for its ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and of the 2009 TRIPs amendment, as well as for its constructive participation at the WTO including its participation in the informal working group on Trade and Gender and the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics and in the Structured Discussions on Trade and Environmental Sustainability. In this respect, many Members requested Madagascar to ratify the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and to participate in the Joint Statement Initiatives on E-commerce and Investment Facilitation. Members also noted the efforts of Madagascar regarding the submission of notifications and encouraged it to further pursue the submission of outstanding notifications with the technical assistance of the Secretariat.

Members acknowledged Madagascar's active participation in trade agreements, including the African Continental Free Trade Area, and its efforts to promote trade integration within Africa. Several Members expressed interest in deepening their trade relationship with Madagascar notably in the sectors of agriculture, energy, mining, and tourism. Some Members noted that Madagascar was making good use of the preferential schemes they granted in particular for the textile sector.

Members praised the numerous reforms undertaken by Madagascar during the period under review and in particular those relative to the investment regime and the ease to do business, the reinforcement of anti-corruption measures, the digitalization of customs procedures, the establishment of a single window, the competition regime, intellectual property protection and mining legislation. They encouraged Madagascar to pursue these reforms further.

Some Members noted trade issues in several areas such as technical regulations, VAT refund, transparency of the legal system, market access for some food products, import and export restrictions, competition, and intellectual property. Members noted the will expressed by Madagascar to work further bilaterally of those issues.

In conclusion, Members congratulated Madagascar for its structural reforms in particular of the trade facilitation and the investment regimes and encouraged the country to pursue them further. They praised the restored institutional stability, fostered by a long-term vision of the authorities. They noted Madagascar's commitment expressed by the Minister to consider the results of this Review to further develop its trade and economic policies.

Finally, I would like to thank H.E. David RALAMBOFIRINGA, Minister of Industry and Trade, and the rest of the delegation of Madagascar, the discussant, the Members and the Secretariat for their contribution to the fourth Trade Policy Review of Madagascar. I would like also to thank the interpreters for their accurate work.