WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/W/43
27 May 1998
(98-2184)
Committee on Trade and Development Original:  English/French
REPORT OF THE FIRST MEETING OF AFRICAN MINISTERS OF TRADE,
HARARE, ZIMBABWE
Communication from Zimbabwe
The following communication  has been received from the Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe
as the host country of the Meeting with the request that it be circulated to the Committee on Trade and
Development.
_______________
Introduction
1. The first meeting of Ministers of Trade of the OAU/African Economic Community (AEC)
was convened at the Harare International Conference Centre, Harare Zimbabwe from 8 to 9 April
1998.  The purpose of the meeting was to finalize  Africa's preparation for the Second Ministerial
meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), conclude arrangements for activating theSpecialized Technical Committee of the AEC, on trade customs and immigration, review the
negotiations of a future ACP/European Union Cooperation Agreement and address other related
matters.
Attendance
2. The Ministerial Meeting was attended by the following countries: Algeria, Angola, Botswana,
Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria,
South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
3. The following regional economic communities, African regional organizations, international
organizations and NGO's were represented at the meeting: the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the UN Economic
Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Export/Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK), the UNConference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the WTO, the International Trade Centre (ITC),
the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Commonwealth Secretariat, Africa Trade Network
(ATN), the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade and Information Initiative (SEATINI).  The Assistant
US Trade Representative for Africa was present as an invited guest.
Opening of the Meeting
4. The meeting was opened in the presence of H.E. Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President of the
Republic of Zimbabwe who was the special guest of honour.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 2
5. The Assistant Secretary-General of the OAU/AEC Ambassador Vijay S. Makhan in a
statement to the meeting welcomed the Ministers a nd thanked H.E. the President of Zimbabwe for the
great honour he accorded the meeting by personally coming to address it.
6. The Assistant Secretary-General noted that the meeting was being convened in response to
the decision taken by Ministers in Singapore to hold a preparatory meeting for the 2nd WTO
Ministerial Conference.  He went on to review the activities of the OAU/AEC Secretariat as a follow-up to the Singapore Ministerial Conference.  He noted that the question of the granting of observer
status to the OAU/AEC Secretariat at the WTO remained unresolved and that this was a matter of
political will.  He called on Ministers to send a strong statement to the WTO and Africa's
development partners on this matter.
7. Continuing, the Assistant Secretary-General identified the main challenges facing African
countries with respect to the promotion of regional economic integration and cooperation, increasing
their share of international trade, and foreign direct investment.  On the issue of a multilateralframework on investment; he advised the meeting to take appropriate actions and to be fully prepared
as such a framework was now more or less inevitable.  On regional cooperation the Assistant
Secretary-General stressed the urgency to give regional integration efforts a new impetus as the
African regional market constituted the launching pad for Africa in the international market.
8. Turning to the work of the senior officials segment of the meeting, the Assistant
Secretary-General noted that the senior officials had inter alia  reviewed the implementation of the
Multilateral Trade Agreements and future work at  the WTO.  In regard to the latter, they had
identified a "road map" for engaging in the negotiations that are expected in 1999/2000 and some
elements of a "positive agenda" of issues that are of interest of Africa to take forward to future
negotiations.  This was the first time in the history of the multilateral trading system that Africa hadbeen so proactive.  Among the other recommendations of officials was the need to develop strong
focal points on WTO and trade policy issues in the capitals and the need to enhance the
competitiveness of African economies.
9. The keynote address that set the tone for the meeting was graciously delivered by
H.E. President Mugabe who is also current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity/ AfricanEconomic Community.  After welcoming the Ministers the President stated that although the purpose
of the Conference included preparations for the 2nd WTO Ministerial meeting scheduled in Geneva
on 18-20 May 1998, he urged the Ministers to review the issues relating to the challenge of
integrating Africa into the global economy.
10. The president went on to review the performa nce of African economies whose share of world
trade has been steadily declining from 5 per cent in 1985 to about 2 per cent in 1996 and exports
continued  to be composed of mainly raw materials.  He regretted the fact that Africa was not able to
take full advantage of the preferences it had secured under certain trading schemes like the
Lome Convention.  He alluded to some of the inappropriate macro-economic and import-substitution
industrialization policies adopted in the past as among the reasons for the poor performance of
African economies.  However, in response to these shortcomings the President recalled the adoption
by the OAU of the Lagos Plan of Action  and the  Final Act of Lagos;  and ultimately the  convening by
the OAU of the First Summit of the African Economic Community.  In this regard he welcomed the
activation of the specialized ministerial committee of the Abuja Treaty  on trade at the current session
of the Ministerial Meeting.
11. In order for African countries to benefit from the WTO Agreements, the Lome Convention,
the United States Trade Initiative and the UNDP Regional Programme for Capacity Building in Tradeand Development, the president called upon the Ministers to take full advantage of all the offers and
initiatives to enhance the human production capacitie s of their countries with a view to improvingWT/COMTD/W/43
Page 3
Africa's trade performance.  To this end he urged the creation and strengthening of national focal
points on trade policy issues and welcomed the steps being taken by the OAU to strengthen its
Geneva Office so as to better serve Africa in being proactive in international negotiations, especially
at  the WTO.
12. The Honourable Paul Vemba Bandoma, Minister of Trade of Democratic Republic of Congo
proposed the vote of thanks on behalf of his colleagues to President Mugabe for delivering thekeynote address.  He thanked the president, the government and people of Zimbabwe for the excellent
arrangements for the meeting and applauded the interest shown by the president in the issues before
the meeting.  He noted that the meeting faced a full agenda that he assured the president would be
treated with a serious sense of purpose.
13. The representative of the UN Economic Comm ission for Africa Mr. M'baye Diouf delivered a
statement on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Commission,Dr. K.Y.Amaoko.  The statement recalled the reasons for the poor trade performance of African
countries in recent years and some of the steps that should be taken to meet these shortcomings.  Thestatement went on to review the activities of th e ECA since 1993 in providing support to member
states to enhance their participation in the multilateral trading system.  Concluding, the representative
assured the meeting of the readiness of the ECA to continue this support.
14. The representative of UNCTAD speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Rubens Ricupero, recalled the specific provisions of the Midrand Declaration that was adoptedduring UNCTAD IX on the need to facilitate the full integration of African economies into the
international trading system.  This objective remained a major priority of UNCTAD that has since
undertaken several initiatives on it.  In regard to the upcoming negotiations at the WTO, the
representative assured Ministers of UNCTAD's continuing technical support.
15. The representative of the World Trade Organization (WTO) delivered a message on behalf of
the Director-General, Mr Renato Ruggiero conveying his best wishes for a successful meeting.
Item 2:  Election of the Bureau
16. The meeting unanimously agreed to maintain the composition of the bureau of the Senior
Officials Meeting as follows:
Chairman - Zimbabwe
1st Vice Chairman - Nigeria
2nd Vice Chairman - Algeria
3rd Vice Chairman - BurundiRapporteur - Uganda
Item 3:  Adoption of the Agenda and Organization of Work
17. The meeting adopted the following agenda and agreed to meet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from
3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Agenda
1. Opening of the meeting
2. Election of the Bureau
3. Adoption of the Agenda4. Consideration of the Report and Recommendations of the Meeting of Senior OfficialsWT/COMTD/W/43
Page 4
5. Any Other Business
6. Adoption of the Report and Closure of the Meeting
Agenda Item 4:  Consideration of the Report and Recommendations of the Meeting of Senior
Officials
18. The Chairman of the Meeting of Senior Of ficials presented the report and recommendations
to Ministers for consideration.  He pointed out the salient features of the report, the areas of focus, thecritical issues discussed by the senior officials and recommendations formulated under each of those
issues.  Those issues were as follows.
• The activation of the specialized technical committee of the African Economic Community
responsible for trade, customs and immigration matters.
• The state of implementation of the WTO Agreements
• The state of implementation of the Singapore Ministerial Declaration including the Plan of
Action for Least Developed Countries.
• Exchange of views on the recently concluded Agreements on Information Technology
products, Basic Telecommunications and Financial Services.
• Future work at the WTO in the context of preparations for the second WTO ministerial
meeting
• The UNDP initiative for Capacity-Building on Trade and Development• Conditions for accession to the WTO
• Consideration of the reports of the regional economic communities
• Review of preparations for negotiation of a successor agreement to the Fourth ACP/EU
Lome Convention
• The United States initiative on trade and investment for Africa19. The recommendations of the Meeting were thoroughly examined by Ministers.  The decisions
and observations of Ministers on each subject were as follows.
Operationalization of the Technical Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration
20. This issue was concerned with putting into effect the provision of the Abuja Treaty  for a
Technical Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration following the inauguration of the AfricanEconomic Community durin g the OAU Summit in June 1997.  The Committee will serve as the main
forum for the discussion and coordination of trade policy in Africa.
21. At the end of their deliberations on the issue, Ministers adopted the recommendations of the
Meeting of Senior Officials as follows.
(a) As proposed by th e OAU/AEC Secretariat, the Co mmittee on Trade, Customs and
Immigration should be activated  and its rules of procedures and work programme
established and elaborated.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 5
(b) The OAU/AEC Secretariat should take steps to facilitate coordination between the
African groups in Geneva, Brussels and New York/Washington.  This may require
the organisation of an initial meeting of key representatives of these groups under the
auspices of the OAU/AEC Secretariat to establish a strategy and the approach to
facilitating coordination.
(c) Governments of Member States are encouraged to strengthen their missions in
Geneva.  Countries that do not have missions in Geneva should consider establishing
such missions.  This is in recognition of the growing importance of the WTO.
(d) The OAU/AEC Secretariat is also urged to strengthen its mission in Geneva to enable
it to carry out the new responsibilities it mu st assume in regard to backstopping and
coordination of Member States.  A minimum of three economists and a legal expert
all of a very high calibre are needed at the mission.  It will also be necessary to
increase the number of translators and interpreters at the mission.  The currentrestructuring exercise of the Secretariat that is underway in Addis Ababa should take
note of these minimum requirements.
(e) In regard to the question of securing observer status for the OAU/AEC at the WTO,
Ministers agreed that a strong message should be sent to the General Council and
Director-General of the WTO on the need to bring this matter to a successfulresolution.
(f) Governments of Member States are urged to establish national focal points on WTO
issues (where these do not exist) to enable national interests on trade policy issues to
be developed and articulated.  Such focal points should be adequately staffed and
provided with the necessary resources to enable them to carry out their role of
backstopping and coordination with missions in Geneva and Brussels as well as with
the Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration at the continental level.
22. Quite apart from the foregoing recommendations, Ministers were reminded of the mandate
given by the OAU Assembly of Heads of States and Government to the OAU, ECA and ADB to pull
together their resources within the framework of th e Joint Secretariat of these institutions to support
the process of establishing the African Economic Community.
23. Accordingly, the Joint Secretariat would be involved in the operationalization and servicing
of the AEC Technical Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration to which all African
institutions would report on trade-related matters.
24. In regard to the question of securing observer status for the OAU/AEC at the WTO it was
noted that the WTO Secretariat has been notified of the economic agenda of the OAU.  However,
reports from the Executive Secretariat of the OAU based in Geneva, indicated that the application was
being resisted by the United States, the European Union and Morocco.  Their contention is that the
OAU was a political organization.  Since admission could only be secured on the basis of unanimity,
to date the question remained unresolved.  The OAU has been invited on an ad hoc basis to attend
major WTO meetings but each time it had to make a request for an invitation.
25. Ministers sought clarification on the matter from the Assistant United States Trade
Representative for Africa who indicated that the question was receiving the attention of her
Government and that a definitive answer  would be secured in two week's time.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 6
Review and Assessment of the State of Implementation by Member States of the Multilateral 
Trade Agreements and Special Provision of the WTO Agreements
26. This issue concerned the implementation of the WTO Agreements including special
provisions for developing countries.  A related subject was the ongoing consultations in Geneva in
preparation for the 2nd WTO Ministerial Conference and arrangements for the celebration of the 50th
Anniversary of Multilateral Trade Agreements.
27. At the end of their deliberations on these subjects, Ministers took note of the following
arrangements for the conference and celebrations and adopted the following recommendations.
(a) Africa should make a joint statement on its assessments of the state of
implementation of the Agreements.  Accordingly the OAU/AEC Secretariat was
requested to prepare such a statement in time for the 2nd WTO Ministerial
Conference.
(b) Each African Member State of the WTO was invited to conduct studies to identify its
own national interests in order to benefit fully from the Uruguay Agreements and
undertake an assessment of the implementation of the Agreements.
(c) Notification requirements and the obligation relating to enactment of new legislation
and creation of institutions arising from the WTO Agreements have put a heavy
burden on the developing countries.  This must be taken into account whenconsidering new obligations that may result from new issues.  Ministers note that the
WTO would be organizing a seminar on the preparation of notifications including the
use of information technology in such exercises.
(d) National institutional structures on WTO issues at the capitals should be
strengthened.  Likewise the regional economic communities should reinforce thecoordination and harmonization of regional interests.
(e) In regard to the time frame for the implementation of Agreements, in cases when
developing countries experience difficulty with compliance, the time frame should be
extended.
(f) WTO rules on subsidies must be reviewed in order to allow Developing Country
Members to utilize all available instruments for their industrial, agricultural and trade
development and promotion.
(g) Ministers called upon the WTO and all relevant agencies to continue to make
available to African countries appropriate technical assistance and advisory services
(including undertaking focused studies aimed at addressing specific problems) toenable them to build their national institutional and human capacities to better
respond to their rights and obligations under the WTO Agreements.
(h) In this regard, Ministers invited donors to contribute to the Common Trust Fund for
financing the Joint ITC/UNCTAD/WTO Integrated Technical Assistance Programme
for LDCs and other African countries, so that more African countries could benefit
from it.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 7
(i) In order to respond to market access opportunities, WTO and ITC are called upon to
collaborate with all relevant agencies to develop capacity building programmes to
address Africa's supply-side needs, to facilitate the diversification of the production
base (both horizontally and vertically) and to expand their export trade structures so
as to better respond to market access opportunities.
(j) As regards the implementation of the rules of origin, customs valuation and pre-
shipment inspection, Member States should resort to the provisions of the Nairobi
Administrative Mutual Assistance Convention, including the use of modern systems
of technology and information such as the Internet.  In this connection the World
Customs (WCO) and the WTO should provide technical assistance to developing
countries.
(k) Special training programmes were required to be developed by the WTO in the area
of dispute settlement, practices and procedures.
(l) Ministers were strongly of the view that Africa should be represented at the highest
levels in the WTO Secretariat to reflect the global character of the organization.
28. Ministers took note of the UNECA's technical assistance activities including studies assessing
the possible impact of the Uruguay Round Agreements on regional integration in Africa and surveys
of country needs for technical assistance as called for by the Framework Action Programme adoptedby the International Conference on Africa and the WTO that was held in Tunis in 1994.  Studies have
also been conducted by the UNECA on Trade Inve stment policy in Africa, Trade and Competition
Policy and Practices, Procedures of Government Procurement and the OECD Multilateral Investment
Agreement.
Review of the Implementation of the Singapore Ministerial Declaration Including the Plan of
Action for Least Developed Countries.
29. At the end of their deliberations on this issue that concerned the state of implementation of
the Singapore Ministerial Declaration including the Plan of Action for LDCs, Ministers adopted the
following recommendations.
(a) Member States were urged to participate in the Working Groups on Trade and
Investment, Trade and Competition policy and on Government Procurement so that
African perspectives on these subjects could be reflected in the deliberations.
(b) The capacity of the LDCs should be strengthened to respond to the obligations and
minimize the burden of the Agreements.  Consequently emphasis must be placed on
the full implementation of the Singapore Plan of Action for the LDCs.  A review ofthe implementation of the Plan is required to identify deficiencies.
(c) Market access offers that were made during the High-Level Meeting (HLM) should
be evaluated to see the net effect on countries individually and collectively
(d) National capitals concerned should follow-up on the pledges made for the African
countries during the HLM.
(e) LDCs capacity to produce, take advantage of market access opportunities and embark
on mobilization of foreign direct investment should be strengthened.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 8
(f) A follow-up mechanism on the HLM with LDC participation should be established
both at the global, inter-agency and national levels.  Country roundtables should be
convened as soon as possible to cost fully LDCs needs assessments.
(g) The African LDCs were urged to strengthen their presence in Geneva and at the
WTO.
(h) LDCs should organize themselves to speak with one voice.  In this regard, the
regional economic communities to which they belong were called upon to provide
added support for coordination.
(i) Technical assistance to LDCs should be strengthened in the area of training and
policy advisory services.
(j) Member states were urged to take full advantage of the supply-side capacity
development programmes of the ITC.
Exchange of Views on the Recently Concluded Agreements on Information Technology
Products, Basic Telecommunications and Financial Services
30. Following the deliberations on these subjects, Ministers agreed that it was essential for
Member States to join these Agreements so as to  benefit from them and thereby to strengthen the
participation of African countries at the WTO.
Future Work at the WTO
31. The deliberations on future work at the WTO focused on the built-in agenda, a positive
agenda for African states, the OAU/AEC study on trade and investment, and a report by the UNECA
on its ad hoc meeting on the new issues.  The decisions of ministers on each subject were as follows.
The Built-in Agenda
32. On the built-in agenda, Ministers reached the following conclusions.
(a) Ministers recognized the contractual obligations inherent in the built-in agenda but
took the view that it was still too early to decide whether a sectoral approach to the
forthcoming negotiations or the traditional round was the best way forward.
(b) Ministers recognized the enormous potential of the services sector in African
economies and stressed that the development-related provisions of the GATS shouldbe safeguarded during the forthcoming negotiations.
(c) In regard to agriculture, Ministers perceived the need for African countries to be
vigilant in ensuring that their interest s in respect to specific commodition are
safeguarded in future negotiations.
A Positive Agenda for African States
33. Ministers agreed that the positive agenda should contain the following elements.
(a) Issues that arise from the implementation of the current Multilateral Trade
Agreements.  These include fulfilment of co mmitments by trading partners relating to
special and differential provisions treatment and how best to link those provisionsWT/COMTD/W/43
Page 9
with a time derogation with qualitative development criteria.  This will require careful
stocktaking of the implementation process at the national level by individual
countries to provide the basis for a common approach to common problems.
(b) The need to seek a satisfactory resolution to market access problems such as tariff
peaks, tariff escalation on certain specific items of export interest to African countries
in certain markets.
(c) The increasing resort to the use of non-tariff barriers by invoking certain provisions
of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Agreement on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures.  The need to fully implement the Marrakesh Decision on
Measures in Favour of Developing and Least-Developed Countries.
(d) The question of how measures to deal with weak competitiveness and supply
constraints in the short and medium terms could be accommodated in future
multilateral rules as the role of tariff pref erences declines with increased tariff MFN
liberalization.
(e) The revisiting of such issues as customs valuation, pre-shipment inspection,
agriculture liberalization and the interests of the net food importing countries within
the framework of the built-in agenda to address the lingering concerns.
(f) Imaginative approaches to the negotiations on trade in services to give concrete
meaning to and derive concrete benefits in the implementation of Article IV of the
GATS which provides for development concerns to be taken into account in the
liberalization of service sectors.
(g) An annex is required to the GATS to ensure the strengthening of the
telecommunications structure in LDCs.
(h) The need for the rectification of imbalances specifically identified in certain
agreements with respect to the operation of the "stand still" provisions e.g. on
TRIMS, the Agreement on Agriculture and the Agreement on Subsidies.   The need
to reassess these provisions from a development perspective.
(i) In general, the need for special and differen tial provisions in future multilateral rules
to encompass qualitative development criteria.
(j) There is need for the multilateral rules to take account of such problems as weak
competitiveness and supply constraints.
(k) On TRIMs, there is need to ensure a linkage between investment and competition
policies.
(l) On the new issues of trade and investment, trade and competition policy, government
procurement, environment, etc., the need to ensure that the development dimension is
duly taken into account in any WTO negotiations.
(m) The distribution of benefits arising from the WTO agreements as Africa's share of
international trade has continued to decline standing at 2.2 per cent in 1997.  An
assessment of the effects of the Uruguay Round Agreements on Africa is required to
determine whether the predictions for trade expansion have materialized.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 10
34. Ministers also agreed that African countries should be proactive by identifying more issues of
particular interest to include in the positive agenda.
OAU/AEC Report on Trade and Investment
35. Ministers felt that the report, Africa in the  Face of a Likely Multilateral Framework on
Investment, Elements of a Common African Position, A Discussion Paper  commissioned by the
OAU/AEC Secretariat, had made very important recommendations on the question of the proposedframework for a multilateral agreement on investment.  Some ministers felt that the proposal for such
an agreement was an imposition on Member States.
36. Ministers rejected the notion of the negotiation of a multilateral agreement on investment
unless the main concerns of Africa are taken into account.
37. It was suggested that Africa should adopt a minimum common position while leaving certain
dimensions of the question of individual Member States to formulate their own national positions.
Among the elements of a minimum position agreed upon by ministers were the following:
(a) The development dimensions of FDI should be taken fully into account in any
possible multilateral agreement on the subject;
(b) Portfolio investment which is more volatile should not be governed by any
multilateral framework on investment;
(c) Full use should be made of the usual WTO Mechanisms including phasing,
transitional periods, limitations to cross retaliation, and the positive list approach of
the GATS;
(d) A multilateral framework on investment should be explicitly linked with a similar
framework on competition policy.
Related Decisions
38. Ministers noted the need for African countries to participate actively in the work of both
investment and competition policy that is no w underway at both the WTO and UNCTAD.  They
called for periodic reports to be submitted within the framework of the new AEC Committee on
Trade, Immigration and Customs on the progress achieved.
39. Ministers agreed that African countries should continue to draw attention to the need for
official development assistance ( ODA) targets that had been agreed upon in other multilateral fora to
be maintained notwithstanding the new emerging role of private flows.
40. Over and above the foregoing, some Ministers noted the attempts by some WTO Members,
particularly the developed countries, to introduce new issues into the WTO agenda.  Ministers further
noted that since the entry into force of the WTO, African Member Countries have, despiteconsiderable effort, been struggling with limited resources to meet their obligations arising from
various WTO Agreements.  The capacity of African members of WTO to take on new commitments
and obligations under the built-in-agenda is severely limited.
41. Ministers therefore agreed that:
(a) The WTO should focus on the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 11
(b) The WTO should take stock of the implementation process and evaluate whether the
prospects of economic growth, sustainabl e development and accrued benefits to
developing members especially to Africa that the outcome of the Uruguay Round had
promised have been achieved.
(c) Any negotiations on new issues are premature as the WTO agenda is already over-
burdened.
Report of the UNECA on its ad hoc  meeting on the New Issues
42. Ministers broadly endorsed the main recommendations of the UNECA ad hoc meeting of
experts on the new issues that was held in Addis Ababa from 8-11 March 1998.  In particular, on the
issue of government procurement, it was noted that the current WTO disciplines were being imposed
on acceding countries although there is no obligation at this stage for such countries to accept them.
43. Ministers further took note of the main recommendations, which included the following.
(a) The working group process now underway in Geneva should focus on issues such as
the balance of rights and obligations of investors; more equitable distribution of
investment flows; and the historical dimens ions of investment including identification
of investment practices that have not proved beneficial to African economies in the
past and how such practices should be avoided in the future.
(b) The  ad hoc meeting called upon the OAU and ECA Secretariats to collaborate in
undertaking assessments of the foregoing issues.
(c) In regard to competition policy, the ad hoc meeting called for the need for the study
group process in Geneva to address such issues as the extra-territorial aspect of
competition policy; the interaction between industrial and competition policy; and the
interaction between economic liberalization and competition policy.
(d) In regard to government procurement, the balance between efficiency in procurement
and development concerns was of major interest of African countries.  The ad hoc
meeting also took the view that the issue of "tied aid" should be put on the agenda for
discussion with the view to extending the WTO disciplines on this subject.
The UNDP Programme for Capacity Building in Trade and Development
44. Following their deliberations on this subject, Ministers agreed that the initiative appeared to
be following the "tradition approach" of being donor driven.  In the actual implementation of the
modules of the programme, much scope should be given to the countries concerned for ownership and
to meet country-specific needs.
45. Ministers further agreed that the relevant modules of the programme should be adapted not
only to focus on the development of export capacity but also diversification and import substitution
capacity where this is a viable proposition.
Conditions for Accession to the WTO
46. Ministers took note of the report on the Round Table on Accessions that was part of the
deliberations of the Senior Officials' Meeting and reached that following conclusions on the subject of
accession to the WTO.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 12
(a) In view of the large number of countries that would like to accede to the WTO,
additional rules are needed to complement the provision of Article 12 in order to
facilitate the process and make it transparent.
(b) African countries should participate actively in the work of the WTO Working Group
on Accession.
(c) All countries that seek accession should prepare actively and acquire sufficient
knowledge of the WTO Agreements to enable them benefit from the existing
flexibilities in negotiating their membership.
(d) UNCTAD is requested to provide assistance to the acceding African countries
through, inter alia  the use of the UNDP project on capacity building for trade.
(e) Transparent rules should be adopted to ensure that acceding countries do not assume
heavier obligations than those relating to the strict application of WTO Agreements.
Reports of the Regional Economic Communities
47. In the consideration of this item, two interventions were made.  The first intervention was by
the Minister of Trade of South Africa on behalf of the Chairman of the SADC Committee of Trade
Ministers.
48. The Minister noted that SADC is beginning to take a pro-active role on WTO issues noting
that the group had met at ministerial level the previous day in Harare.  In following up the SingaporeMinisterial Declaration, SADC had paid close attention to the preparations for the High Level
Meeting on Least-Developed Countries and to the meeting itself.  However it had noted that the needs
assessments that were developed before the meeting were in most cases too broad to be used
effectively.  The meeting itself had been dominated by autonomous offers mostly by developed
countries to improve market access.  But these offers were diverse and unpredictable, as they could bewithdrawn at any point.  There was need to give them contractual status at the WTO.
49. The Minister then went on to present the conclusions and recommendations of the SADC,
Ministerial Meeting which were endorsed by Ministers.  The recommendations are as follows.
(a) There was need to review multilateral rules on regional integration to facilitate and
encourage the participation of developing and less developed countries in theseschemes.
(b) There was need to facilitate a more equatable distribution of investment flows.
(c) Many developing countries continue to face great difficulties in bringing domestic
legislation into compliance with the requir ements of the WTO.  There was need to
assist these countries with their complian ce efforts.  Time frames for compliance
should be extended where necessary.
(d) The various provisions for special and differential treatment have not been fully
addressed.
(e) The TRIPs should not be used to restrict access to technology.
(f) The built-in-agenda provides an adequate framework for future negotiations in view
of the difficulties being faced by many developing countries to implement existingWT/COMTD/W/43
Page 13
agreements.  SADC supports the study process on the new issues but considers that it
is still premature to bring up for negotiations.
(g) There is need to review the standstill provisions of the agreement on subsidies.
(h) Greater transparency in the WTO decision-making process is required.
(i) There is need for more effective working relations between representatives in Geneva
and officials in the capitals.
(j) SADC will organize a major meeting on capacity building in regard to trade issues.
This will focus on technical assistance needs but not on matters of policy.
50. The representative of IGAD in her presentation underscored that as trade liberalization is a
recent addition to the mandate of the Organization, it was still in the process of defining its activities
in this sector.  Meanwhile, some priorities had been identified in regard to policy harmonization in the
areas of transport and communications.
Exchange of Views on the Future ACP/EU Negotiations
51. Following their deliberations on this subject, Ministers agreed on the following conclusions.
(a) The unity of solidarity of the ACP Group should be maintained contrary to the wishes
of the European Union.
(b) Non-reciprocal trade preferences should be maintained.  This will require a request
for a waiver from WTO to cover the trade regime of a future ACP/EU cooperationagreement.
(c) There should be close coordination between Geneva and Brussels in order to ensure
that WTO rules are not detrimental to the effort at securing the best trade options for
African countries.
(d) The outcome of the ACP meetings on 4-6 May 1998 and subsequently on the
14-15 May 1998 should provide inputs to the second WTO ministerial meeting
schedules for 18-20 May in Geneva.
(e) The Chairman of the present meeting of African Ministers of Trade should present
the report of the Ministerial Meeting to the meeting in Brussels.
Exchange of View on the United States Initiatives on Trade and Investment Development
with Africa
52. In their deliberation of this item, some Ministers expressed strong reservations on the US
initiatives.  In particular, concern was expressed that certain key aspects of the Bill that were currently
under consideration in the US Senate did not have any contractual obligations on the US.
53. Ministers further noted that the conditionalities and eligibility criteria of the Bill could be
used to deny some countries access to its provisions.  Some Ministers felt strongly against the
incorporation in the Bill of such conditionalities  as transparency, rule of law and good governance.
Objections were raised to the extra-territorial elements of the Bill, as it would not supersede the
Helms-Burton Act, which prohibits trade with certain countries.WT/COMTD/W/43
Page 14
54. One Minister in registering his country's strong reservations about the Bill indicated that this
was earlier made known to the US side at the highest level.  It was felt that some elements of the Bill
might undermine the strategic nature of the initiative.
55. Other Ministers welcomed the Bill and acknowledged that their countries were consulted, and
expressed the hope that during its eventual implementation, Africa would have the opportunity to
influence the agenda through inter alia  further bilateral consultations.
56. In response to the various expressed the meeting was provided with further clarifications by
the Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa.
57. At the end of the debate the Chairman, in summing, up informed the meeting of the actions
taken by SADC to discuss the provisions of the Bill with the US side and welcomed the current
initiatives of the US on Africa including the Bill.  He stressed the need to address Africa's reservations
to the Bill and urged that the US side should deal with them.
Agenda Item 5: Any Other Business
58. The leader of the delegation of Algeria expressed appreciation for the considerable work that
the OAU has been undertaking in the economic field.  He informed the meeting of the offer of his
Government to host in Algers the Second Meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Trade of
the OAU/African Economic Community.  Ministers accepted the invitation by acclamation.
Agenda Item 6: Adoption of the Report and Closure of the Meeting
59. Ministers considered the draft report of the meeting and proposed a number of modifications,
which have been incorporated in the present report.
60. A vote of thanks to the Government of Zimbabwe and to the OAU/AEC Secretariat for their
role in organizing the meeting was proposed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade of Mauritius, the Hon. Rajkeswur Purryag.
61. The Minister noted that the meeting, the first on a sectoral subject since the AEC was
inaugurated, had been conducted in a business-like manner.  This boded well for future meetings of
the AEC.
62. The Chairman in closing the meeting thanked his colleagues for their presence and drew
attention to the need to follow up the issues that had been discussed.
__________