SOUNDBITES FROM THE WEBINAR

Pat Utomi “The whole thing about international trade is that the comparative advantage that parts of the world bring to the table makes for everybody’s greater prosperity. It is in the mutual interests of all that trade be more equitable.” Jaswinder Bedi,

President of the Export Promotion Council Kenya

“We have moved into a new space called protectionism and from protectionism we are moving into a new space called localisation, nationalisation and popularism.

“If Doha has not been concluded for 16 years, what guarantee do we have that it’s going to be concluded in the next 16 years? The WTO is only currently being used as a mechanism for dispute resolution, and if that’s the only purpose, maybe we need a new organisation.”

Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, Executive Chairperson of Kalagadi Manganese

“We need to have a reformed WTO, failing which we need to look at whether we really need it? I’m more inclined to be of the view that we actually do not need a WTO if it’s not going to take the interests of Africans.”

Samuel Dossou Aworet,

President of the African Business Roundtable “What is the first need of the continent? For me, it’s that we have to be self-sufficient in terms of what we eat, in the area of food, and in terms of how we take care of each other, in the area of health.

“We have created PAFTRAC to put together women and men who can elaborate our own strategy as a continent. Up to now, the strategy has been the strategy of our international partners.”