WT/MIN(17)/4  
WT/GC/186  
 
7 November 2017  
(17-6036) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original: English  
 
 
DEEPENING AFRICA' S INTEGRATION IN THE  GLOBAL ECONOMY THROU GH  
TRADE AND INVESTME NT FACILITATION FOR DEVELOPMENT   
ABUJA STATEMENT  
 
The following communication, dated 5 November 2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Nigeria.  
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1.1.  The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Commission of the Economic Community for West 
African States (ECOWAS), in partnership with the WTO Friends of Investment Facilitation fo r 
Development (FIFD)1, co-hosted a "High-Level Trade and Investment Facilitation Forum for 
Development ", in Abuja, Nigeria, from 2 to 3  November 2017.   The event was opened by  
H.E. Professor Yemi OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, Vice President of the Federal Republic  of Nigeria and 
the Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Management Team.  WTO Director -General Roberto 
Azevêdo, UNCTAD Secretary -General Mukhi sa Kituyi, President of the World Economic Forum 
Børge Brende, ECOWAS Com mission President Marcel Alain d e Souza, Commissioner for Trade and 
Industry of the African Union Commission Albert M. Muchanga, addressed the High -Level Forum, 
as did CEOs and Vice Presidents of Huawei Industries, Procter & Gamble, Jumia Nigeria, MainOne 
Technologies and other firms. In  total,  senior business leaders and trade and investment officials 
from over 30 African countries actively participated.  Discussions focused on why scaling up 
investment is critical for expanding trade and development across the continent, what African 
countries are already doing domestically and regionally to facilitate investment, and how 
cooperative global approaches in the WTO could reinforce, advance, and build upon their efforts.  
1.2.  The High -Level Forum met at a time of critical challenges as well as eno rmous opportunities 
in Africa. A dramatic increase in population, the mounting pressure for jobs, and the pressing need 
to expand prosperity across the continent, are accompanied by a quantum potential to accelerate 
industrialization, leap frog technologic al development, and leverage Africa's demographic dividend 
for sustained and inclusive growth. Africa is emerging as the next global growth frontier and 
realizing this potential must be a major priority, not just for Africa, but for the global economy as a  
whole.  
1.3.  The High -Level Forum created a platform that brought together African investment and trade 
decision -makers, partners from other regions of the global economy, as well as key private sector 
representatives, to discuss these challenges and opportuni ties, and to explore how more 
cooperative approaches to investment and trade facilitation could be harnessed for win -win 
outcomes.  
1.4.  A critical starting point for their exchange of insights and sharing of experiences was the 
reaffirmation that trade and inve stment are inseparable – and remain indispensable 'twin engines ' 
for economic growth, modernization, and development in Africa, as well as in the wider global 
economy. They acknowledged that only by scaling up investments in 'connectivity' infrastructure – 
ports, transport corridors, telecommunications networks – could African countries participate in, 
and benefit from, today's integrated and digital global economy. They also shared the view that 
                                                
1 The members of the Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development comprise: Argentina; Brazil; 
Chile; China; Colombia; Hong Kong, China; Kazakhstan; Republic of Korea; Mexico; Nigeria; Pakistan; and 
Qatar.  WT/MIN(17)/4 • WT/GC/186  
 
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  only by intensively increasing investments in globally compet itive industries, services, and start -
ups – from both foreign and domestic sources – could African countries generate the resources 
required to advance education, improve health care, reinvest in innovation, and generate 
employment opportunities for millio ns of young people. Participants acknowledged – and reiterated 
– the United Nations' projection that developing countries would need an additional US$ 2.5 trillion 
in investment annually to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The High -Level For um 
equally endorsed the proposition that higher levels of domestic security and stability would be 
achieved with higher levels of welfare, prosperity and job creation, enabled by more intensive 
efforts to facilitate trade and investment.   
1.5.  The High -Level Fo rum noted that expanding this required investment – and the global 
networks, know -how, and technologies that accompany it – required complementary polices, 
institutions, and best practices at the domestic, regional and global level. They underscored the 
urgent necessity of creating a favorable business climate and of implementing sound market -
driven domestic policies. They also highlighted the importance of advancing regional and 
international co -operation to create a more transparent, efficient, and predic table environment for 
investment and trade, as well as to ensure that their benefits are widely shared.  
1.6.  One of the central objectives of the High -Level Forum was to examine how the WTO could 
contribute to facilitating required investment – as well as trad e – by developing multilateral 
approaches to improving transparency, cutting red tape, streamlining procedures, and 
strengthening international co -operation, with the aim of expanding sustainable and pro -
development investment. Participants underscored the  importance of enabling developing and 
least-developing countries to increase their participation in global investment flows, including by 
mobilizing the resources needed to address their technical and capacity constraints. To this end, 
participants urged WTO Members to undertake more focused discussions aimed at developing a 
multilateral framework to facilitate investment for development. They also encouraged the WTO to 
cooperate closely with other relevant international organizations, such as UNCTAD and t he 
International Trade Centre (ITC), and in partnership with regional partners, such as ECOWAS, to 
ensure mutually supportive, pro -development approaches to this critical issue.  
1.7.  As a follow -up to the High -Level Forum, a number of African countries express ed their 
willingness to join the WTO Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development (FIFD).  They shall 
be communicating formally to the FIFD Coordinator.  
1.8.  More broadly, the High -Level Forum called for a successful Eleventh WTO Ministerial 
Conference in  Buenos Aires from 10 -13 December 2017 to strengthen the WTO as a global public 
good that remains central to the welfare, prosperity, and development of all its Members.  As a 
valuable and necessary complement to strengthening the global trading system, par ticipants also 
supported ongoing  negotiations to establish the "Continental Free Trade Area"  (CFTA) – a Single 
Market for Trade in Goods and Services across Africa – and called on Members of the African Union 
(AU) to advance this strategic objective expedi tiously.  
1.9.  The High -Level Forum thanked the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the ECOWAS Commission and 
the FIFD for co -hosting this High -Level Forum on Trade and Investment Facilitation for 
Development. In this context, the High -Level Forum acknowledged and welc omed the efforts by 
the Nigerian Government to advance Trade and Investment Facilitation as part of its broader 
commitment to strengthening the overall business environment and improving the 'Ease of Doing 
Business' as essential preconditions for sustained  and inclusive growth in Nigeria, ECOWAS, Africa 
and support for a healthy growing global economy.  The High -Level Forum noted, positively, 
Nigeria’s improved performance by rising 24 places in the recently published World Bank 2017 
Report on the Ease of Do ing Business, with Nigeria identified as one of the Top 10 most improved 
economies in the world.  The High -Level Forum equally acknowledged the efforts of the ECOWAS 
Commission to facilitate trade and investment for growth and job creation.   
1.10.   The High -Level Forum requested the Federal Republic of Nigeria to circulate, as a document 
of the WTO General Council and the Eleventh Ministerial Conference, this Abuja Statement on: 
"Deepening Africa' s Integration in the Global Economy through Trade and Investme nt Faci litation 
for Development ".  
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