Crossroads debate: how will the financial crisis affect Africa?

World markets are collapsing. Can Africa withstand the impact? What can Africa learn from the failed policies of the world's wealthiest economies?

Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre participated in the panel discussion on this issue along with other panelists, namely Colm Foy, editor of African Economic Outlook at the OECD's Development Centre and Aly-Kahn Satchu, commodity trader on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, author of Anyone Can Be Rich.

Listen to the discussion at:
http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/articles/107/article_2045.asp

South Centre participates in the African Group Retreat on WTO Doha Negotiations

Ms. Luisa Rodriguez and Mr. Darlan F. Marti participated in the WTO African Group Seminar on Agriculture and NAMA modalities from 23-25 May 2008. The two programme officers with the Trade for Development Programme of the South Centre participated as speakers at several of the sessions of this seminar.

South Centre participates in retreat of African Negotiators

South Centre trade experts participated to a retreat of African negotiators regarding the WTO Agricultural and Industrial trade negotiations. The retreat was held on 16 and 17 February 2008 and was convened by Côte d'Ivoire on behalf of the African Group. It provided negotiators with an opportunity to discuss the revised draft modalities for Agriculture and NAMA presented on 8 February 2008.

Luisa A. Rodriguez, Programme Officer for Agricultural goods, and Darlan F. Martí, Programme Officer for Industrial trade, assisted negotiators in better understanding some of the technical elements in the draft modalities texts, contributing to enhancing African negotiators positions in the various topics covered in the modalities texts.

Benjamin Mkapa: Country-based policies are best

Benjamin Mkapa, the former Tanzanian president and the Chairperson of the South Centre board, writes in the East African (Nairobi) that Africa’s poorest countries should develop policies to suit their unique circumstances to replace policies imposed on them by their developed country counterparts. Such policies would enable world’s poorest countries to benefit from globalisation because “how governments manage the country’s internal affairs determines the extent to which their people benefit from globalisation and are protected from its negative effects.
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