Resolution on Trade

CM/Res.1400 (LVI)

RESOLUTION ON TRADE

The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Fifty -sixth Ordinary Session in Dakar, Senegal, from 22 to 28 June 1992,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on Trade, in particular Parts I and II relating to the Meeting of African Ministers responsible for Trade, preparatory to the 8^th Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD VIII) held in Lusaka in September 1991 and the actual conference held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia in February 1992:

Taking into account the fundamental institutional changes and evolving developments in the working methods of UNCTAD,

Bearing in mind the complexity and highly technical nature of issues always considered in UNCTAD meetings,

Conscious of the need for thorough and continuous preparations for UNCTAD meetings, in particular its Quadri-annual Conference:

1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Secretary-General on Trade in particular Parts I and II relating to the preparations and negotiations, as well as the outcome of UNCTAD VIII;

2. REQUESTS the Permanent Steering Committee to continue to serve as the focal point for Africa’s preparations for all UNCTAD and international negotiations;

3. DIRECTS that the Joint Secretariat of the OAU and ECA to be strengthened and to work on a continuous basis with the Embassies of Member States in Addis Ababa in close cooperation with the African Group in Geneva, on issues of international negotiations, in particular issues under consideration by the Working Groups and Committees of the Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD;

4. INVITES Member States to consider the inclusion of trade experts in their delegations to the meetings of the Permanent Steering Committee and to consider also strengthening their Embassies in Addis Ababa with Economists and Trade Experts;

5. REQUESTS the OAU General Secretariat to redouble its efforts, within the context of the on-going restructuring exercise of the General Secretariat, to strengthen its manpower resources both at Headquarters and Regional Offices with Economists and Trade experts;