Geneva — In his remarks at a Round Table focusing on Cape Verde's economic success story, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Mr. Carlos Lopes, lauded the country's "development enablers", namely peace and security, good governance, macroeconomic stability, and sound institutions.

The roundtable was devoted to the analysis of Cape Verde's development trajectory. The country joined the World Trade Organization in 2007 and graduated from the Least Developed Countries category in 2008. According to the session, the Island State has continued to make progress towards achieving inclusive growth, despite the effects of the economic crisis.

Mr. Lopes highlighted the fundamental importance of forging a consistent development strategy, which he said, is shared amongst the various stakeholders and guides policy implementation.

"Cape Verde pursues economic integration not as an end in itself, but as a deliberate strategy to harness its geographical advantage, and to mitigate its economic vulnerability," he said.

Discussions outlined the pillars of the Cape Verde 2030 development strategy, highlighting the efforts the country is making to achieve a more inclusive pattern of growth and diversify its economy, which is currently largely dependent on the boom in tourism.

Looking ahead, Cape Verde's transformative agenda identifies several "clusters", namely agroindustry, maritime economy, information technology, creative economy, financial services, and air services, for development as future engines for growth; as well as modernization of agriculture.

The session underscored the contribution of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) in providing a platform for development partners, recipient countries, and agencies to work together towards a more cohesive in-country trade integration strategy. It also reiterated the need to ensure a smooth transition for countries graduating from the LDC category.

The Round Table was organized by Cape Verde's authorities in collaboration with the Enhanced Integrated Framework Secretariat at the fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade.

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