African representatives at the recently ended World Trade Organization Aid for Trade conference in Geneva expressed their satisfaction with the outcome.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the executive secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWA attended the conference and said that trade can be a powerful tool for economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa.

The Aid for Trade initiative was launched by WTO in 2005 to promote the participation of developing nations in global trade on a win-win basis. Unfortunately, Chambas notes that Africa’s participation in global trade still remains incredibly low.

The Aid for Trade conference did, however, propose specific initiatives designed to address infrastructural constraints, energy, roads, etc. that could be improved to give African nations a more competitive edge in participating in world trade.

Source: VOA News