AUC to hold trade-skills workshop for service negotiators

News media are invited to attend the African Union Commission-sponsored Training Workshop on Trade in Services Negotiations for AU-CFTA (Continental Free Trade Area Services) Negotiators, a five-day workshop starting on Monday  in Dakar, Senegal.

The workshop's goal is to help service negotiators in Africa improve their skills so they can navigate trade and service opportunities at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, especially in preparation for CFTA negotiations on services.

This forum comes at an opportune time for negotiators, as AU member states, having begun discussions for service trade at multiple economic levels, have entered into negotiations with the awareness that service guidelines are still being shaped in African nations.

Challenges in establishing regulatory policy include creating ways of coping with business setbacks and ensuring accessibility to services for poorer populations, while balancing the need to improve life quality with the very real complexities and costs of harnessing appropriate resources.

African Union Commission officials strive to create and improve prospects for trade and aim to help entrepreneurs, providers and suppliers improve their skills and knowledge in preparation for consistent and equitable Continental Free Trade Area dialogue.

The initiative for CFTA Negotiations in Trade in Goods and Trade in Services was initially launched in June by the African Union Summit of Heads of Government in Johannesburg, South Africa.