The African Legal Support Facility is organizing a two-day round table on the theme of "Africa Capacity Building for International Commercial Law" on 13 and 14 September. The venue will be the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Gammarth, in Greater Tunis, Tunisia.

The main purpose of the seminar is to bring together institutions that build capacity for African lawyers in international commercial law. It will focus on practical ways by which institutions can work together to develop legal capacity.

After the opening remarks on 13 September, Professor Salvatore Mancuso, a leading expert on international and comparative law, will present a concept paper. This will be followed by presentations by various institutions on their programs in Africa.

The conference will move onto discussions on subjects such as priorities and existing programs, how to strengthen international commercial law for African lawyers, practical means for collaborating in the development legal capacity, and a resource mobilization plan.

The ALSF is an international organization dedicated to providing legal advice and technical assistance to regional member countries in Africa in matters related to creditor litigation and complex commercial transactions. The ALSF was created as a response to calls from African finance ministers for assistance in these key areas. The goal of the ALSF is to remove asymmetric technical capacities and level the field of legal expertise among parties to litigation and negotiations.

The ALSF is hosted by the African Development Bank, which contributed an initial USD 16 million to help establish the Facility, although it operates independently as an international organisation.