Africa-Press – Angola. The Secretary of State for Commerce, Amadeu de Jesus Alves Leitão Nunes, announced yesterday in Luanda that the Executive is preparing a list of commitments, for the liberalization of the communication, financial, transport, tourism, construction, energy sectors, among others. .
The objective of this measure is to boost trade in services in the country, within the framework of Angola’s regional integration process, in the SADC and African continental free trade zones (AFTA).
Amadeu de Jesus Nunes, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the seminar on trade in services, which has been taking place since Tuesday in the amphitheater of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in a promotion by the World Trade Organization (WTO), pointed out that , trade in services is vital for the country’s sustainable economic development, as it positions itself as the fastest growing sector of the global economy.
For the official, the Executive’s efforts in matters related to trade in services are essentially aimed at strengthening the capacities of national staff, with a view to finding synergies to obtain better results, in view of the current challenges of the sector of trade in services throughout the national territory.
Preparation of studies
According to the Secretary of State for Commerce, with the holding of the seminar on trade in services, his department will be able to prepare studies with various economic sectors, with a view to creating a stable framework for trade integration, with the aim of to support Angolan companies to take advantage of regional trade agreements, by building partnerships and contact networks.
According to Amadeu Nunes, the preparation of studies with various economic sectors, for the promotion of trade in services in the country, is part of the Government’s strategic plan, within the framework of the Program to Support Production, Diversification of Exports and Import Substitution (PRODESI ).
Exports reach 3.0%
For Amadeu Nunes, exports of trade in services from African countries recorded, on average, a growth rate of 3.0 percent in the period 2005/2020, with a share of 2 percent of global exports. According to the Secretary of State for Commerce, over the last decade, trade and foreign direct investment in services have registered faster growth rates compared to goods.
“Although Africa is catching up with regard to trade in services, and experiencing a much lower flow of intra-African trade in services compared to other regional organizations worldwide, the protocol on trade in services services has introduced a real impetus to expand this segment within Africa, which could provide a more diversified approach to the continent’s economies”, he said.
During three days, the participants will discuss topics related to the “Overview of the General Agreement on trade in services”, “Services and trade in services”, “Benefits of linkages and liberalization”, “Structures and scope of application of the AGCS” , “Methods of supply”, “General obligations and conditional obligations”, “Presence of individuals” and “Proposal for drawing up specific commitments”.
The seminar on trade in services, which is being administered by speakers from the WTO, has the participation of representatives from the service sectors, regulatory bodies, provincial directors of trade and members of business associations.
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