Regional dialogue for Eastern and Southern Africa on trade in services

30th – 31st October 2006 • Co-organised with Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF); African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)

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As a contribution to fostering better understanding among the various stakeholders from the different countries in the region on how trade in services can be used as a tool for sustainable development, ICTSD, AERC and ESRF are organizing the Regional Dialogue for Eastern and Southern Africa on Trade in Services and Sustainable Development to be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 30-31 October.

This discussion is particularly relevant at this point in time, given that the suspension of the Doha Round of negotiations at the WTO provides countries with the margin to reflect more carefully on the kind of policy objectives and regulatory reform that they need to undertake if they are to optimize the gains from trade in services. At the same time, with the proliferation of regional trade agreements and the daunting negotiations looming over the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union, countries from the region may benefit from a dynamic exchange of perspectives and insights from multiple stakeholders and trade experts which the dialogue brings together.

In brief, the purpose of the dialogue is to:

1. Examine the regional interests in trade in services and the manner and extent to which these may be reflected in international trade negotiations, both at the WTO and in regional trade arrangements, as well as through autonomous reform, with a view to promoting the region’s sustainable development;

2. Bridge the information gaps among the countries in the region on trade in services and gather regional thinking on key issues relevant to WTO and other international trade negotiations;

3. Enable stakeholders in Eastern and Southern Africa to better define and articulate their own services objectives and policies both domestically and in multilateral and regional trade negotiations.