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A high-level meeting dedicated to reinforcing cooperation and trade relations between Africa and Latin America was held on the margins of the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) on 27 March. In a keynote address, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the importance of this initiative to diversify trade and continue improving South-South trade.
The event highlighted that Africa and the region of Latin America and the Caribbean represent nearly 90 countries and over one-quarter of the global population, accounting for close to 2.1 billion people. Their combined GDP of over USD 10 trillion provides significant potential for shared growth, diversification, strengthened economic ties, and cooperation on development objectives, ministers and other high-level government officials noted.
Participants proposed establishing regular summits between Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean Community to further enhance areas of cooperation and to create more opportunities for dialogue and partnership.
“This is a historic moment of trying to strengthen the links between Africa and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC),” DG Okonjo-Iweala said, noting that the initiative could provide impetus to this objective. She also said it could support the continued increase in South-South trade, which was boosted from about 10 per cent of global trade in 1995 to 25 per cent presently.
“There is a lot of potential to increase CELAC exports to Africa, which currently stand at 0.3 per cent of global trade, as well as African exports to CELAC, which are currently almost non-existent”, DG Okonjo-Iweala stressed. She emphasized that areas for increased cooperation include digital trade and transport links, such as the future maritime shipping route between Ghana and Colombia. She also called for exploring how the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) and other platforms within the WTO, can support this goal. A total of 129 WTO members are part of the IFDA.
Highlighting the “importance of dialogue between countries from both regions” as part of the South-South cooperation, Colombia’s Vice-Minister for Trade, Tito Yepes, said: “We are here to work together towards a more cohesive vision for development.” He noted that the two regions have started trading commodities and establishing links between Colombian ports to ports in Ghana, Togo and Nigeria, as well as exploring passengers flights from Colombia to parts of Africa. The objective is to complement existing links between Central America to other parts of Africa, building on the common Afro-descendant cultural heritage, Vice-Minister Yepes said.
Mozambique’s WTO Ambassador, Geraldo Goncalves Miguel Saranga, said: “This platform comes at a critical time and offers a valuable opportunity to coordinate efforts in addressing challenges, in particular on agricultural trade, food security and sustainable development. The historical ties that bind our regions, coupled with our common development aspirations, provide common ground for deepening our collaboration.” Mozambique is currently coordinating the African Group at the WTO.
Highlighting that “agriculture remains the backbone of African economies and is central to food security, employment and poverty reduction,” Ambassador Saranga called for “elevating cooperation through strengthened partnerships, knowledge-sharing and more resilient value chains to build sustainable agricultural systems and enhance food security.”
The event also provided an opportunity to look back at the Africa-Latin America Economic Forum held on 20 and 21 March in Bogotá, Colombia. At the Forum, trade ministers and business leaders discussed ways to reinforce South-South cooperation and deepen trade and investment flows between the two regions. The meeting was organized alongside the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Summit, held on 21 March. The joint communiqué is available here. (https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news26_e/mc14_27mar26_349_e.htm)
