arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Intro :
Tijdens de Conferentie over Globalisering in Gent op 30/10 betoogde Chee Yoke Ling van het Third World Network dat "Seattle" - de vorige top van de Wereldhandelsorganisatie - niet zozeer mislukte door de protesten op straat, maar vooral omdat de Derde Wereld-landen tijdens de top zelf zodanig misnoegd waren dat ze er de brui aan gaven. Hieronder een artikel over de voorbereiding door de Afrikaanse landen voor de komende top in Qatar. Mijn bedenking : de regeringen zullen in Qatar enkel doorslaggevende argumenten gebruiken als ze de hete adem van "hun straat" in hun nek voelen.

WTO Preparatory Conference Advocates One Voice of Africa
Accra Mail (Accra)

October 23, 2001
Posted to the web October 22, 2001

Ministers of Trade of Ghana, Uganda and representatives of Mauritania, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria have agreed on the need for Africa to present a common front on issues during and after the Fourth World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference at Doha, Qatar.

The agreement was to ensure the articulation of African positions on various issues with a view to ensuring that decisions taken at the end of the conference reflected African concerns and positions.

This was contained in communiqué issued on Friday after a preparatory conference by the selected ministers and representatives in Accra.

The communiqué said African countries should participate actively not only in the ministerial conference but also in all activities of the WTO.

The ministers and representatives also agreed that the issue of development should be at the centre of any negotiations to facilitate Africa's growth and development in the global economy.

It called for a re-affirmation and full commitment to positions adopted by the African Trade Ministers Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria, last September.

They also expressed their determination to fine-tune their domestic policies to support the private sector to take effective advantage of the opportunities in the multinational trading system.