The objectives of the seminar on the DSM model as a tool for aligning industrial and trade policies for the AfCFTA market are as follows:
1. Train a critical mass of experts in Central Africa (from sector ministries, universities and other relevant institutions) in putting to good use the results of international trade models, in this case the DSM methodology, in order to better calibrate trade and industrial policies in the context of the AfCFTA;
2. Based on the results of the DSM model for Cameroon (realised by ECA), discuss inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms and the necessary alignments needed between, industrial policy and trade policies in order to make the most of the AfCFTA;
3. Discuss the hypotheses that would lead to the development of a DSM model for the ECCAS region, which will inform the PDIDE-AC and AfCFTA strategies at the national and sub-regional level, and thus identify the group of products that each country would be best placed to export sustainably (taking into account the potential of each market and how accessible it is).