ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 12, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA
When: Monday 16 to Saturday 24 May 2016
Where: Medium Conference Hall – AU Headquarters, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia
Who: Organised by the Department of Trade and Industry
Format The Inaugural Conference of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Trade and Industry and Minerals is split into the meeting of Senior Officials and the Meeting of Ministers which is structured as stated below.
Meeting of Senior Officials from 16 – 22 may 2016
Senior Officials from the Ministries of Trade, Industry and Minerals will meet in a plenary session to consider the Rules of Procedure for the STC and other cross cutting issues. The Meeting will also meet in parallel sessions to consider specialised items as follows;
Parallel Session I: Senior Trade Officials to review and consider specialised reports;
Parallel Session II: Senior Industry Officials to review and consider specialised reports;
Parallel Session III: Senior Industry Officials to review and consider specialised reports;
Meeting of Ministers from 23 – 24 may 2016
The Ministerial Session of the Conference is scheduled for the 23rd – 24th May 2016 on the first day, Ministers will have an interactive Panel Discussion with strategic partners in an open session. Ministers will also consider the Report of the meeting of Senior Officials and other strategic reports in a closed session.
Objective: The overall objectives of the inaugural Conference of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Trade and Industry and Minerals is to provide strategic advice to the Policy Organs of the African Union, ensure implementation of agreed programs and projects as well as establish synergies, linkages and complementarities in the areas of trade, industry and mining in line with AU Agenda 2063 and its Ten Year Implementation Plan.
More specifically, the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Trade and Industry and Mineral aims to attain the following objectives:
i. To review and adopt the Rules of Procedure of the Specialized Technical Committee on Trade and Industry and Mineral resources;
ii. To consider various strategic documents related to Trade, Industry and Mineral resources in Africa;
iii. To identify synergies, linkages and complementarities in on-going programmes in the areas of Trade, Industry and Mineral resources; and
iv. To operationalize a functional operational modalities for coordination mechanisms among the ministries of Trade, Industry and Minerals at Member State level.
Participants: Participants will include AU Ministers responsible for Trade, Industry and Minerals, and their relevant senior officials; Regional Economic Communities; and collaborating institutions as observers.
Context:
Recent developments in the global production systems in particular the internationalisation of production have implications for industrial, trade and integration policies in Africa. In the context of a developmental integration strategy, Africa can foster greater linkages between trade development and industrialisation through promoting the establishment of regional value chains in line with the objectives of Agenda 2063. It is in this context that the Commission is organising the inaugural session of the STC-TIM to be held under the overall theme, “Promoting Regional Integration through Trade and Industrialisation in Africa”.
Under the Ten Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063, the Department of Trade and Industry responsible for the implementation of two flagship projects, the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and the preparation of the African Commodities Strategy. In addition to coordinating these projects, the Department is also expected to play a significant role in the Integrated High Speed Train project which is coordinated by the Department of Infrastructure and Energy. For optimal results the Commission should establish synergies, linkages and complementarities in the priority projects.
Journalists are invited to cover the official opening and closing ceremonies of the FIRST AU SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON TRADE, INDUSTRY AND MINERALS, on Monday 16 and Saturday 24 May 2016.
