English / French

High-level regional roundtable on Non-Tariff Measures

14 - 15 June 2016, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Agenda

Tuesday 14 June 2016, 8.30–17.30

08:30 Registration

09:00 Opening Ceremony

09:45 Item 1: Presentation of the main findings and regional insights from the NTM Surveys in ECOWAS countries

10:45 Key NTM-related trade obstacles within ECOWAS

13:30 Item 2: Thematic roundtables to discuss and define recommendations to address regulatory and procedural trade obstacles

16:45 Item 3: Summary of round table discussions by the rapporteurs of each round table

17:30 Closing of official programme of Day 1

19:30 Dinner

Wednesday 15 June 2016, 9.00–12.30

09:00 Item 4: Presentation of key recommendations and development of an action plan

10:45 Item 5: Validation of an action plan to reduce NTM-related trade cost to boost intra-regional trade

12:00 Closing

Overview

In the framework of the commitments to Africa’s regional integration and the Transparency in Trade Initiative, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Ministry of Commerce of Côte d’Ivoire are taking the initiative to organize a high-level regional roundtable on NTMs in Abidjan, on 14-15 June. The event will bring together delegates from the participating ECOWAS countries and relevant regional organizations to exchange views on opportunities to boost intra-regional trade by tackling regulatory and procedural trade obstacles.

The discussions will build on the various ongoing efforts within the region to facilitate trade and will be informed by the results of exporter surveys conducted by ITC in partnership with national stakeholders in 6 countries in the region, which document private sector experiences with NTMs.In the framework of the commitments to Africa’s regional integration and the Transparency in Trade Initiative, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Ministry of Commerce of Côte d’Ivoire are taking the initiative to organize a high-level regional roundtable on NTMs in Abidjan, on 14-15 June. The event will bring together delegates from the participating ECOWAS countries and relevant regional organizations to exchange views on opportunities to boost intra-regional trade by tackling regulatory and procedural trade obstacles.

This event is intended for high-level representatives from trade ministries, customs authorities and standards and quality management Institutions as well as representatives of regional organisations and development partners. The objective is to formulate concrete actions aimed at reducing trade costs often associated with NTMs.

For further information on the Roundtable event,
contact us at ntm@intracen.org.

Venue:

African Development Bank Group, Immeuble CCIA, Plateau, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Official Event Documents

Terms of reference: Facilitating Trade Integration in ECOWAS — EN ¦ FR

Agenda: EN ¦ FR

Discussion paper:

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Facilitating trade in ECOWAS: Insights from the ITC business surveys on NTM

Discussion paper for the high-level regional round table on NTMs in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on 14-15 June 2016

The present paper takes a closer look at regional integration in the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS). With the aim to inform the ongoing discussion on further integration potential, insights from comprehensive surveys on exporters’ and importers’ perspectives on non-tariff measures (NTMs), carried out in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Senegal under the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) NTM programme, are used to highlight remaining trade obstacles in the region and possibilities to overcome these. More specifically, the paper serves as background document for the high-level regional round table on NTMs, held in Abidjan on 14-15 June 2016. The paper was prepared in a collaboration between ITC and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Available in: English ¦ French

ITC's programme on non-tariff measures

Additional Resources and links

(Please check regularly for updates)

Session summaries:

  • Forthcoming