In particular, trade is concentrated in regional blocs. Therefore, African countries should place a high priority on trying to generate economic dynamism with neighbouring countries. Another implication is that countries strategies towards trade and towards attracting investment should be targeted towards those non-African regional blocs with which the country has the strongest potential complementarities. Key Lessons for a Successful Outward-Oriented Development Strategy 1. Ensure a stable macroeconomic environment.
Macroeconomic stability is an old lesson, but one which remains fundamentally important.
Although many African countries have made significant improvements in these areas, there is a need to consolidate and further improve macro-economic fundamentals. Liberalize trade, but with care. In order to participate more in international trade, African countries will need to further liberalize their trade regimes. But liberalization has fiscal and balance of payments implications stemming from the difficulty of finding alternative secure sources of revenue. Also, premature de-industrialization could set in if trade liberalization is carried out without regard to the competitiveness of otherwise successful domestic enterprises.