Carlos Lopes Takes Part in Arab League Economic and Social Council Meeting

2 September 2015
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United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa)
press release

Cairo — UN Under-Secretary-Generaland ECA Executive Secretary Carlos Lopes will take part on 3 September 2015 in Cairo (Egypt) in the 96th ministerial meeting of the League of Arab States Economic and Social Council.

This meeting will take place with the participation of high Arab and International officials including Mr Nabil Alarabi, Secretary General of the League of Arab States and Mr Waleed Al Wohaib, Chief Executive Officer of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation.

During this event, Mr Lopes will chair a dissemination seminar on the results of the 2015 edition of the Economic Report on Africa (ERA 2015), « Industrialization through Trade ».

This document analyses, among other aspects, how regional trade can support countries' industrialization and set up regional value chains. Key recommendations include the call for African countries to pursue the building of strong institutions, set up human capital investment strategies, adopt a gradual approach to industrialization and step up national coordination between trade related policies. On the African level, the report also calls for countries to set strategic, continent-wide trade policies and turn the continental free trade area into a reality to boost trade and support Africa's industrialization.

Ten African countries are members of the League of Arab States. This meeting is taking place as, since June 2015, five them (Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya and Sudan) have taken part in the launch of the tripartite COMESA-SADC-EAC free-trade area. Discussions have also started for the set-up of a Continental Free Trade Zone covering the whole continent. With a projected population of 1.4 billion by 2025 and a rising middle class, Africa's market is expected to become as large as the markets of the Americas and Europe combined.

« Africa and the Arab world have been deeply related since ancient times. Strengthening our partnerships can help us overcome common economic and social challenges and pave the way towards structural transformation and shared prosperity", said Mr Carlos Lopes ahead of the meeting.

For more information about the Economic Commission for Africa's mission, and to access ECA reports, please visit: www.uneca.org. To download the Economic Report on Africa (ERA 2015) « Industrialization through trade », click http://www.uneca.org/publications/economic-report-africa-2015 for the English version and http://www.uneca.org/fr/publications/rapport-%C3%A9conomique-sur-l%E2%80%99afrique-2015 for the French version.

بيان صحفي باللغة العربية:

كارلوس لوبيز يشارك في أعمال اجتماع المجلس الاقتصادي والاجتماعي لجامعة الدول العربية

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