Nairobi — AFTER a two-day of extensive debate amongst the African Union trade experts, the continent's trade ministers have finally agreed to a declaration.

In the AU ministers meeting held at Kenyatta International Conference Centre on April 14, the Nairobi ministerial declaration was finally endorsed after a long battle of words and intellectual attacks on various trade issues brainstormed by member states.

Earlier, the experts, waving flags in protest as well as resenting to, as least as paragraph construction among other copy semantics had the six-page document produced to guide the ministers on various trade positions of the continent, especially, at the ongoing World Trade Organisation negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Indeed, having been opened by Kenya's Vice President, Mr Moody Awori and chaired by the Kenyan Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, the convergence of the continent's trade ministers from AU member countries brainstormed over the issues contained there in, and agreed to them.

Among the crucial concerns that sparked wide resentment included Aid for Trade, lack of progress on the deadlines on modalities for Agriculture and Non-Agriculture Market Access (NAMA)-which the members claimed were not all inclusive and the market access pillar, particularly on tariff reduction formula, special products, Special Safeguard Measures (SSM).

"Recognising the serious adverse impact that the long term decline and sharp fluctuations in the prices of primary commodities continues to have on the incomes of farmers in Africa and also the impact on their food security, livelihood concerns and rural development," the declaration reads, further noting that, "We stress that the outcome of the negotiations in Agriculture and NAMA should effectively address particular trade related concerns of commodities depending developing countries and Least developed countries."

The 38 countries also deliberated on progress in the areas of domestic support and export competition in order to achieve the modalities that address the trade distortions faced by African countries.

On cotton, it was endorsed that there was need to stress the vital importance to achieve full modalities by the end of April 2006 as agreed in Hong Kong.

The motive, the countries claimed, was to be achieved by including the substantial reduction of domestic support and the establishment of a mechanism to deal with price fluctuations of cotton.

Amidst the heated up debate in which several amendments were made, the delegates also cited the need to stress the importance of preserving the flexibilities of individual developing and LDCs as contained in the General Agreement on Trade and Services.

However, tempers were stretched to extremes when the issue of the importance of market for Bananas, which they least expected to cause a tension, was picked up by Uganda.

"It should be made clear. We emphasise the importance of bananas for some African countries like Uganda and the need to assure a fair market access for its producers," the Uganda Minister for Tourism, Trade and Industries, Mr Daudi Migereko, told the delegation, which had, by a matter of fact, under weighed the paragraph on the commodity.

Nevertheless, another dispute erupted over the paragraph that called for Africa to use United Nations International Development Organisation expertise, which proposal Kenya kicked out saying it was not part of the agenda.

Other adoptions included that on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), Resolution on the Rationalisation and Harmonisation of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

"We have a deal this time. The giant trading blocks have realised and I am sure will take our interests seriously as clearly as we have presented them and we are not ready to be compromised in any form," Migereko told Daily Monitor.

Meanwhile, shaken by the affirmative stand of African states on international trade, the WTO, United States, European Commission, Japan and Brazil tethered themselves to renewing their commitments.

WTO boss Pascal Lamy confessed much has to be done but said it was not too late for the warring parties to settle outstanding trade issues through dialogue and multilateral approaches.

The rest of the members (US, EU, Brazil and Japan) without giving specific deadlines pledged to slash subsidies, avail more development funds under the trade for aid arrangement and improve trade opportunities such as African Growth and Opportunities Act among others.