To provide a platform for women to voice their needs and interests regarding trade in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Namibia held a national consultation for the AfCFTA protocol on women in trade.
In a virtual event, the economic advisor at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Wilmot Reeves said the aim of the consultation was to understand the export profile (sectors) in which women are engaged in cross border trade and to identify broader value chains linked to the export profile.
"The objective here is to explore specific interest or sectors in which women would like to expand within the intra-African trade market, and to identify the bottlenecks women face in trade, and which require resolution," explained Reeves.
Reeves added that they aim to identify a category of trade measures whose implementation will uniquely support the capacity of women exporters to maximise opportunities and benefits presented in the AfCFTA.
He further indicated the key thematic areas for women include manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing, technology and innovation, creative industries, professional services, trade facilitation, trade policy, and informal cross border trading.
The overarching objective behind the AfCFTA is the elimination or reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers amongst the 54 countries that agreed to be members of the bloc by providing a single market for goods and services, facilitated by movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration and prosperity.
Continue reading "Namibia: paving ways for women in trade through AfCFTA"
No comments:
Post a Comment