Experts from ACP countries began meeting in Yaounde, yesterday, to close the first phase of the "Hub and Spokes" project.

In a bid to secure a greater participation and accelerate the integration of ACP countries into the world economy, experts from more than 23 Central and West African countries started meeting at the Hilton Hotel, yesterday, for the 6th coordination meeting that will focus exclusively on the closure of the first phase of the project and its evaluation as well as the preparation of the second phase scheduled to start on January 1, 2011.

The European Commission, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) launched the "Hub and Spokes" project in March 2005 to reinforce the capacities of ACP countries in the formulation, negotiation and execution of commercial policies.

Participants included representatives of intergovernmental organisations like the Central African Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as advisers and focal points trained under the project.

Introducing the workshop yesterday, the Director of Sustainable Development and Solidarity at the OIF, Mr. Tharcisse Urayeneza, explained that the seminar was the last organised in the first phase of the project, which was launched in order to enable 77 ACP countries to negotiate and conclude the Euro-ACP economic and partnership agreements and make of trade a poverty reduction and economic growth tool.

On his part, the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, stated the benefits that had already accrued from the project. Beneficiary ACP countries enjoyed a better preparation and a more efficient participation in international trade negotiations, especially negotiations with the European Union on economic partnership agreements as well as Doha Round negotiations for the development of international trade. In Cameroon, he cited benefits like the reinforcement of dialogue between the private sector and the public sector; the involvement of the civil society in the formulation of trade and development policies; and the training of senior officials from the public, private and civil society sectors that enabled them to play key roles in the formulation and execution of the Strategic Document for the Reduction of Poverty as well as the Strategic Document for Employment and Growth. Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana hoped that the second phase of the project will help reinforce the economic integration in the different sub-regions; a condition for the effective presence of African countries in the globalisation process.

The coordination meeting will end on Thursday, July 29, 2010.

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