Somalia to Attend Conference On the World Trade Organization

Kenya is set to host the regional dialogue conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO) from August 28 to August 30 at the Intercontinental hotel.

Speaking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices in Nairobi, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed says that the meeting has been convened by four African countries that are in the process of acceding to the WTO including Comoros, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.

Acceding is the process where a state accepts an offer or opportunity to become a party or treaty already negotiated and signed by other states.

“The dialogue offers a platform for states to exchange experiences and lessons learned from the accession process in the region, reflect on ways in which the WTO membership can foster regional integration and co-operation and mobilize support for facilitating member states,” the CS said.

The CS said that the accession event will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The University of Nairobi (UON).

She says that other countries that have been invited include China, Liberia, Oman, Yemen and Seychelles which recently joined the WTO.

Ms Mohammed says that senior government officials from other countries and international organizations have also been invited.

“So far Ministers from Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Liberia and representatives from the African Development Bank, IGAD, Enhanced Integrated Framework African Union, The Trade Policy Training Centre, World Bank Group and the Department For International Development have confirmed attendance,” the CS said.

She noted that African countries are underrepresented in the WTO despite Africa being a large player in the multilateral trading system.

“Today one quarter of the WTO’s 164 membership is African and currently 8 of the 21 countries on queue for the African membership are from Africa and several lie within the Greater Horn of Africa,” she said.

UON Vice Chancellor, Peter Mbithi, said that the university has been partnering with other organizations to reach their mandate adding that the institution helps in capacity building and research.

Source: allafrica