What: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are convening a multi-stakeholder workshop on measuring the contribution of the services sector to national and regional value chains.
When: 24 to 25 November 2021
Who: The event will bring together policymakers and experts from African Union member states, regional economic communities, the private sector, academia and development institutions with an interest in regional integration issues, and in particular the services sector.
Participants from across the continent will share their national experiences and lessons learned, as well as emerging best practices, in quantifying the contribution of targeted services sectors to national and regional value chains. They will hear experiences of services trade policymaking in six African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, The Gambia, Mali, Nigeria and Togo.
Why: The services sector, as an industry, offers opportunities for African countries to diversify their production and trade and grow their economies sustainably. This is critical at a time when the continent has embarked on the liberalization of its services sector under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). A major challenge that remains for African countries is how to better assess the contribution of the services sectors to the economy and fully capture their linkages to global and regional value chains.
This entails addressing constraints related to data gaps on services and strengthening capacities at national and regional levels to measure the value added generated by services sectors, with a view to supporting policymaking.
Where: Hybrid: Online (Zoom) and Trademark Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya
To follow the discussion online, please register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtduqurDouEtH9EWSsY-eUZeGeln-0g_Bq
MEDIA CONTACTS:
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Senait Afework (Ms.)
African Trade Policy Centre, ECA
Email: afeworks@un.org
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Catherine Huissoud
catherine.huissoud@un.org