Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan capital, Luanda, will host, on Oct 14th and 15th, a training seminar for Commercial Competition Authorities of Portuguese-Speaking African Countries (PALOP), a meeting bringing together experts from South Africa, Brazil, Portugal, and representatives from the United Nations and the European Commission.
The event aims to deepen technical and institutional cooperation between the Competition Authorities of Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique, promoting the exchange of best practices and economic regulation policies in the Portuguese-speaking world, an initiative of the Angolan Competition Regulatory Authority (ARC).
For three days, participants will strengthen their knowledge of investigation techniques for collective practices, abuse of dominant positions, and control of business concentrations, with the aim of strengthening cooperation between countries.
With the attendance of around 50 law enforcement officials and technicians from Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique, the seminar also aims to clarify and raise awareness among technicians about the Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol on competition policy.
During the opening ceremony of the meeting, ARC administrator Nelson Lembe stated that the seminar is of strategic importance, as its main objective is to foster the sharing of experiences and best practices between authorities and international partners, with a special focus on investigating anti-competitive practices, such as abuse of dominant positions, as well as the control of business mergers.
He noted that this activity reflects ARC’s commitment to strengthening cooperation in Angola within formal multilateral platforms, such as the AfCFTA and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as in informal forums, notably the International Competition Network, the African Competition Forum, and the Lusophone Competition Network, not to mention bilateral ties with Portuguese and Brazilian authorities.
“The entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area represents, for us, a historic milestone in the construction of a free, integrated and competitive economic arena, guieded towards inclusive and sustainable growth and essential for developing countries that face major challenges in global markets,” he emphasized.
He added that the protocol on Competition Policy, included in AfCFTA ‘s Phase II, reinforces the rush of consolidating technical and institutional capabilities that ensure the benefits of market liberalization so that they are not compromised by anticompetitive practices, as this premise is aligned with Angola’s efforts to consolidate its competition policy.
The ARC official recognized such capacity-building initiatives as valuable opportunities for joint learning, considering that institutional development and the development of staff depend on training.
Other topics covered include “Defining Types of Economic Impacts,” “Fundamental group Investigation Tools and Methodologies and Their Importance for Economic Development,” “Defining and Providing Examples of Anticompetitive Practices and Best Practices,” among other topics.
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