Minister Paula Lehtomäki to attend the Nordic–African Trade and Development Conference

Press release 19/2005
17 January 2005


Paula Lehtomäki, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, will take part in the Nordic–African joint ministerial conference on trade and development to be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 19-20 January 2005.

The conference, arranged together by the Nordic countries through the Nordic Africa Initiative, will be attended by representatives of all the Nordic countries, 20 influential African nations, the main international finance institutions, the central economic organisations in the African region, and by representatives of civil society, agricultural and industrial organisations.

The conference objective is to clarify and define concretely the challenges and potentials of international trade and the international trade system with regard to promoting Africa’s economic development. “Strengthening the system of international trade requires closer dialogue between industrialised and developing nations. The work of the stalled World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations round cannot be finished without mutual trust. This trust needs reinforcing among all WTO members, but particularly between developing and industrialised countries. The nations of Africa play a key role here. Combining Nordic resources enables more effective influence than if each of the Nordic countries were to act alone,” Minister Lehtomäki states.

The conference is divided into three areas: the effect of international trade on African economic growth; the possibilities of trade to influence attainment of the Millennium Goals, i.e. to cut poverty by half in Africa; and the opportunities and problems associated with liberalisation of trade from the African perspective.

Minister Lehtomäki will serve as chairperson for the first area. During the panel session chaired by Minister Lehtomäki, Supachai Panitchipakdi, Director General of the WTO, will deliver a talk on the impact of international trade to economic growth in Africa. “Liberalisation of trade is essential, but as such it is an inadequate measure for bolstering economic growth in African countries. Developing countries must themselves follow a consistent policy in order both to increase domestic production and consumption and to attract foreign investment,” Lehtomäki stresses.

Minister Lehtomäki and Director General Panitchipakdi will also have a bilateral meeting in Dar es Salaam before the conference begins. On the agenda at their meeting, in addition to the Dar es Salaam ministerial conference, are topical WTO issues, especially the ongoing Doha Round of trade negotiations.

Additional information: Jukka Nystén, Head of Unit, tel. + 358 9 160 55071 and Okko-Pekka Salmimies, Special Adviser to the Minister, mobile +358 40 735 6545.