OTH19-4

Aid for Trade Session: African countries' participation in global value chains (GVCs) has remained very low and often in upstream value chain activities, with poorly processed agricultural and mineral products. Undoubtedly, African countries can aim for better integration into existing value chains, but also occupy higher segments in terms of value addition. In this perspective, regional integration offers opportunities as the continent is experiencing an important demographic dynamic coupled with a phenomenon of accelerated urbanization, which creates an unprecedented demand for manufactured products. This offers enormous potential for diversification of economies in a continental integration dynamic with the new continental free trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Aid for Trade is an important lever for reducing barriers to trade and strengthening regional integration and can promote regional value chains (RVCs) and promote interconnected regional activities to integrate GVCs.
The WTO Chairs of Benin and Senegal, with the support of France, launch a research program that aims to promote RVCs in West Africa. It includes a research component and a capacity building component, for the benefit of actors including the national and regional private sector, with the aim of removing barriers to the creation and strengthening of RVCs to diversify economies for inclusive sustainable development. The Chair of Tunisia will discuss the presentations by Benin and Senegal