. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/750 
3 April 2009 
 (09-1597) 
 Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
 
 
AU CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRADE 
5TH ORDINARY SESSION 
16–20 March 2009, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
 
Communication from Egypt  
   The following communication, dated 26 March 2009, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of Egypt on behalf of the African Group. 
 
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COMMUNIQUÉ 
 
The Impact of the Global Economic and Financial Crisis on Trade and Development in Africa 
 
We Ministers of Trade of the African Union  meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 
19-20 March 2009, recall  the Declaration and Decision of Heads of State and Government of the AU 
in Addis Ababa of 3 February 2009 on the Inte rnational Financial Crisis and its far reaching 
economic, social and development impacts on African countries, and the need to keep markets open to 
African trade; we further recall  the Communiqué of the AU Ministers of Finance and Governors of 
the Central Banks of 12 November 2008 in Tunis;   We underline  our deep concerns regarding the far-reach ing negative impact of the global economic 
and financial crisis on African ec onomic growth and national developm ent plans, balance of payments 
and national budgets, competitiveness, access to interna tional public and private finance, and foreign 
direct investment. It has become clear that the crisis has already begun to negatively impact the 
important economic sectors in African countries, and its consequences have  spread to production, 
exports, employment, investments, tourism, and remittances, among others, and have resulted in a 
deep decline in commodity prices. All African ec onomies have registered deep decline in economic 
growth as a result of the crisis which was initiated in developed countries, and quickly spread across 
the globe to negatively impact developing countries particularly in Africa;   We highlight  that, as a result of the crisis, and more than at any other time, there is a need to place 
African economic development at the centre of inte rnational efforts to stabilize the ailing financial 
sector, to build strategies towards the recovery of the global economy, to attain the Millennium 
Development Goals, to fulfill the Monterrey C onsensus on financing for development with due 
consideration to the effective delivery of aid in accordance with the Accra Declaration and the Accra 
Accord issued at UNCTAD XII, to integrate Afri can economies, particularly LDCs, into the global 
economy while giving added impetus to A frican Regional integration efforts;  WT/L/750 
Page 2  
 
  We are alarmed  at the growing resort to protectionist measures and policies around the world; 
therefore it is imperative that developed countries provide leadership in resisting pressures towards 
economic nationalism.  African countries should be allowed to retain the necessary policy space they 
require to develop appropriate WTO compatible economic recovery and development strategies;  
 
We stress  that within the current global economic contex t there is a need to effectively reduce trade 
distorting subsidies and anti-competitive practices, an d to provide enhanced market access to products 
of export interest to developing an d least developed African countries; 
 We underscore  the need to monitor the impact of devel oped countries’ stimulus plans and financial 
bailouts, on the competitiveness and terms of trade of African economies.  In this regard, the work of 
international economic, financial and trade ins titutions to assist developing countries without 
conditionality, specifically those in Africa, including to monitor and analyze the impact of the crises 
on their economies is of vital importance;   
We reaffirm  that Africa should be fully represented in a ll deliberations regarding the impact of the 
global economic and financial crisis on the worl d economy, particularly on the economies and trade 
flows of developing countries.  We also stress the ur gent need to enlarge current international efforts 
to deal with the crisis, including those of the G- 20, to include a more balanced and fair African 
representation;   
We emphasize  the need to preserve progress and convergen ces achieved during 2008 in all the Doha 
negotiating tracks under the single undertaking and cau tion against the adverse ramifications of re-
opening well established agreed mandates, and backtracking on the progress and convergences 
reached so far;   
We stress  that for Africa, development outcomes in each of the negotiating tracks remain the raison 
d’être of the Doha Round. This means that tangibl e development content must be evident within each 
negotiating track, and in the overall outcome.  We fu rther underline the need to ensure that a clear 
development component is an integral part of the EPA’s negotiated outcome;   We call  on all the bilateral and institu tional development partners, in light of the global economic and 
financial crisis, to fully commit to their pledges on Aid for Trade without conditionality. We also call 
on the G-20 Summit, to be held in London on April 2
nd 2009, to ensure that financial commitments 
directed to Aid for Trade are maintained, enhanced and delivered effectively to meet Africa’s Poverty  
Reduction and development strategies with due attention to the Paris Declaration in this regard;  
 
We welcome  the invitation extended to the AUC Chairp erson to attend the upcoming London Summit 
of the G-20.  On this important occasion, Africa will deliver a strong message on the importance of the early conclusion of the Doha Development Round to ensure that markets remain open to African 
trade, to reject protectionism and any measures that  impede fair trade, to preserve the necessary policy 
space needed for decision making, to  ensure the availability and affo rdability of trade finance, which 
is particularly vital to African countries, and to underline the crucial role that Official Development 
Assistance (ODA) and Aid for Trade can play in help ing African countries face the negative impact of 
the crisis on their economies and development plans.  
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