Trade seminar in city next week

NAMIBIA’S civil society has been called upon to take part in the ongoing negotiations during a seminar to be held next week, focusing on the Economic Partnership Agreement talks between the EU and SADC.

“Trade negotiators are calling on civil society representatives to step forward and help steer the design of new trade rules …” read a statement released by the European Union.The seminar will be held in Windhoek on Wednesday.Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area (FTA) between the European Union and the African Caribean Pacific Countries.According to Web research, EPAs are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are incompatible with WTO rules.The EPAs are a key element of theCotonuo Agreement, the latest agreement in the history ofACP-EU Development Cooperation and are to take effect as of 2008.Namibia falls under the SADC EPA negotiating configuration which also includes Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania.Economic Partnership Agreements are being negotiated between the EU and six regional groupings of the ACP nations, and their objective is to promote development.Next week’s seminar will bring together a number of participants from the region to discuss with representatives from the both the public and private sectors and development agencies on how trade agreements can deliver development.read a statement released by the European Union.The seminar will be held in Windhoek on Wednesday.Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area (FTA) between the European Union and the African Caribean Pacific Countries.According to Web research, EPAs are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are incompatible with WTO rules.The EPAs are a key element of theCotonuo Agreement, the latest agreement in the history ofACP-EU Development Cooperation and are to take effect as of 2008.Namibia falls under the SADC EPA negotiating configuration which also includes Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania.Economic Partnership Agreements are being negotiated between the EU and six regional groupings of the ACP nations, and their objective is to promote development.Next week’s seminar will bring together a number of participants from the region to discuss with representatives from the both the public and private sectors and development agencies on how trade agreements can deliver development.