Digital trade within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be at the center of discussions during an upcoming conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The conference will take place from 31 May to 1 June 2018 at the United Nations Conference Centre.
It will feature an dialogue between Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), her predecessor, Carlos Lopes and ABOU-ZEID Amani, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission (AUC) on the opportunities and challenges of digital trade,” said David Luke, Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) at the ECA.
The conference dubbed “Digital Trade in Africa: Implications for Inclusion and Human Rights,” is organized by ATPC in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) East Africa Regional Office, and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Geneva Office.
It is expected to set the pace for further collaborations between the three institutions in line with the AfCFTA, as explained by ATPC’s Coordinator, according to the press statement from ECA.
“The outcomes of the conference are expected to inform the development of the three organizations’ joint research programme on digital trade, inclusion, privacy and human rights with policy recommendations for the second phase of the AfCFTA negotiations and for policy makers and entrepreneurs in this area,” said Mr. Luke.
The event will be attended by experts from the African Union Commission, civil society organisations, Regional Economic Communities, academia, international organizations, private sector, and women and youth representatives.