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welcome to this week's edition of across
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Africa and it's a special one and it's
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my pleasure to say that I will be
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speaking to the head of the World Trade
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Organization as my special guest
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Nigeria's former Finance Minister Dr
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enoi aono iala doctor thanks so much for
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making the time to squeeze Us in thank
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you Georgia first of all the World Trade
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Organization for those of us who aren't
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economists just briefly lay out why
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trade is so important to the continent
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and its prospects well first of all the
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World Trade Organization is that
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organization that makes sure that
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countries within the world can trade
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with each other according to stable
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rules fair and open predictable rules
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this is very important because if you
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can just do what you like in trade it
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means that if I'm a Trader sending Goods
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to your country you can charge me
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whatever customs duties or import
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duties that you like when my goods
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arrive and that could make it more
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expensive for people in that country to
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buy it uh and vice versa with the World
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Trade organizations countries that are
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members agree beforehand that here are
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the ru the this is these are the duties
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or we call them tariffs we are going to
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charge when Goods arrive in our
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different countries and we keep these
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stable and fair so that Traders business
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people who export know what to expect at
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the other end those who import know what
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to expect when the goods arrive the
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World Trade Organization makes it run
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you know and people don't notice because
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when things are going really smoothly
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you don't notice do you but that's is it
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going smoothly because I mean there have
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been some criticisms suggesting that
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Africa has a bit of an asymmetrical
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relationship with more with with richer
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regions or blocks um in terms of the way
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that the WTO operates would you say that
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was fair well first of all uh let me say
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two things you said is it going smoothly
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at this point in time we're seeing more
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protectionism that is you know certain
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countries uh feeling that they want to
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making it a little less easier for goods
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to access their markets and therefore
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others responding by also doing the same
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we call that protectionism when you're
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raised the duties and the tariffs and
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that is not something we we want to see
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like I said the wto's role is to make
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sure that tariffs are predictable that
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Traders know what to expect so that's
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not something we want and certainly for
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Africa then second you said WTO rules
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you know this a symmetry that it favors
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maybe more rich countries than poorer
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countries uh uh in Africa first it is
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true that Africa strayed with the world
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has remained stagnant over time 3% or
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less of global trade is Africa's trade
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with the rest of the world has been
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about 3% or less for many many years and
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that's not good enough okay but is it
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because of WTO rules or is there
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something else going on there that we
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need to think about as an African I have
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to tell you
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straightforwardly that in order to trade
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more with other countries or even with
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your yourselves within the continent you
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need to add value to your products if
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you keep exporting the same things
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you've been exporting for decades
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primary Commodities that are very
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subject to price volatility in the world
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you're not going to capture a largest
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share of the market Africa must add
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value to its products on the continent
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Africa's trade with itself inra Africa
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trade is anywhere from 15 to 20%
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depending on Whose figures you're
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looking at that also is not good enough
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and that has also been stagnant over
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time so do you expect that the African
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Contin Continental free trade area is
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going to to to change that substantially
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in any kind of foreseeable future
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Absolut we I think so I think the
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African Continental free trade area is
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one of the best things the continent has
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done it would take time to yield the
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benefits but when you have a market of
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1.4 billion people that is saying a lot
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so now what do we have to do to take
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advantage of that African Continental
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free trade area and the wto's rules we
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must insist that everything we produce
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we have to add value to it process it on
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the continent Africa must industrialize
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more we must do more manufacturing we
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make coffee transform it critical
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minerals are becoming very important you
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know all these rare SS lithium yeah we
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saw that at Summit in South Korea
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they're clearly aware of the potential
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clear aware that you know this time
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around Africa must not miss the
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opportunity by just extract allowing
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people to extract the raw material and
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and send it no what we are saying now at
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the WTO which is very supportive of what
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you want to see on the continent is you
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have to invest you have to process if
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it's lithium there you have to establish
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the factories that make the batteries
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that ultimately use the product and
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several countries can be involved in
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this so you have a supply chain created
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that to create more jobs for our young
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people and then when we export that
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finished product we're going to make so
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much more money and our sh of World
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Trade will increase so why isn't this
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happening already what would you like to
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see members on the African continent
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doing more of in order to prepare
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themselves to take advantage of these
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opportunities that you just set out we
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have to make ourselves more investment
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friendly meaning we need to sweep away
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the bureaucracy in the way of investment
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one two we need better infrastructure
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part of the reason why it's difficult to
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produce on the continent is we still
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have 55% of people on the continent with
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no access to energy or power so we must
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assure constant power electricity we
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many countries are now building
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industrial parks to accommodate those
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who want to set up manufacturing plants
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we must make sure we don't ask them to
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take as many licenses just to invest in
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our country as possible I'm not saying
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everything should be free and open but
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let's not put too much bureaucracy and
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therefore also give a chance for people
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to ask for something under the table all
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that should be swept away so that an
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investor can come in really put him
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money invest create the jobs we we um
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add value to the products and we can
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export these are the things stopping us
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so we need investment one to help us
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with infrastructure and actually now we
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have a beautiful chance because everyone
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wants to go green they're looking for
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green energy green hydrogen and many
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countries on the continent have the
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potential to produce green hydrogen we
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should use some of it for ourselves in
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order
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to uh provide Power for our industry and
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our people and the rest we can export
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but let's produce clean energy you know
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we we have a chance to do that on in so
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many countries so that's going to take a
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huge amount of capacity building doesn't
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mean that it's not going to happen but
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also what about the the continent's um
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Human Resources I mean I I on a
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continent where the vast majority of
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entrepreneurs are women what can the WTO
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do or or or what's your take on what
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Africa itself can do to make more of
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this of this resource this
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entrepreneurial drive that we're already
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seeing evidence but a lot in the gray
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market and the black market and
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therefore
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untapped I actually uh you're right the
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one thing we do possess on the continent
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which we don't lack is entrepreneurial
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drive and spirit and among our youth I'm
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so amazed that's what gives me a lot of
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hope they're so entrepreneurial and
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they're with it a lot of them are
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trading digitally and digital trade is
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the wave of the future so I'm not really
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it's not really about capacity building
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so much as it is about making the cost
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of investing in the continent lower you
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know sometimes investing in Africa is
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like adding another 300% plus tariff on
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your goods it's too costly so I'm
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convinced that the time we can put
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proper infrastructure as we put more
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infrastructure into place and we sweep
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away the barriers we will have more
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investment and the young people you said
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yes human capital is important and we
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must train them but right now we have
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trained people that can be employed so
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let us do what we need to do on the
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other side it's also not Africa's fault
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that many investors feel the continent
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is
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a risky place to invest and I think that
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that is exaggerated okay the risk
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premium that outside investors want or
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think they need in order to invest on
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the continent is too high so we need to
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do everything to convince them that that
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thing is perception not fact that
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actually when you invest on the
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continent the returns can be quite High
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returns up to 30% rate of return on an
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investment you can get that easily you
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know so let
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us uh do what we need to do in cutting
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down the cost of investment and making
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it easier let us communicate that and I
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want to say Georgia that here at the WTO
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we have an agreement called investment
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facilitation agreement that is being
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negotiated or actually we're almost
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completing the negotiation that will
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help sweep away the barriers for all the
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countries and I'm very proud to say that
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most African countries have signed on to
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it so once it becomes effective that
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will also show investors that Africans
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mean business and that they they don't
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have to wait for it to be said they can
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see when you sign on to this agreement
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you're saying I will make sure you don't
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have to get licenses for every single
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thing you want to do except for the very
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necessary ones and that will make it
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easier for you to do business and
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finally when you say Africans mean
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business there is an African who means
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more business than new former Nigerian
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Finance Minister now head of the WTO and
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also the first female head of the WTO do
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you think that has brought any New
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Perspective to the role well you know in
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order to get a true perspective you have
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to ask my members because uh they are
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the ones who can tell you what they feel
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whether my presence has made a
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difference but here is what I think
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being here as someone who is African and
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from a developing country I have a
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heightened perception of what doesn't
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work for African countries within our
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rules for example the agricultural
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agreement you know that agriculture is
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so important for our countries we need a
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breakthrough in an in the we are
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negotiating an agricultural agreement
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here and it's not going as fast as we
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want but we need to finish it because it
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will enable us to take put away those
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things that are stopping some African
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countries from being competitive in
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agriculture when other countries are
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giving subsidies
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to their products that we are also
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producing and we don't have the money to
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give the subsidies that means we cannot
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compete so I'm here I can see that you
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know and and working to make sure we get
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a breakthrough so there's a heightened
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perception of what does the continent
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need what is it at the WTO that is not
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working for us that we can make better
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and what more do we need to do and I'm
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proud to say there are one or two things
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Georgia we actually doing now one for
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the cotton producing countries who are
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experiencing stress in competing because
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of subsidies elsewhere we have managed
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to get an alliance with FIFA the
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Football Federation with unido the
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United Nations industrial organization
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ourselves afreim Bank to come together
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to help those cotton countries to add
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value to the cotton in place on the
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continent no more exporting this you
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produce turn it into textiles which will
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create more jobs and spots apparel
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the sports apparel Market of which FIFA
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is a big member is worth over $260
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billion if African countries can capture
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even 10 billion of that isn't that doing
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something so yes we're working in a
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partnership with them now to clear the
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way to us being able to do to make a
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grab a piece of that market and that's
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happening here at the WTO thank you so
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much for your time Dr ingos it would
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been a real pleasure to speak to you
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thank you as well for joining for the
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special edition of across Africa do so
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again if you can till then take care
