Connectivity remains a major obstacle to trade in developing countries such as Africa, according to World trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Roberto Azevêdo.
He pointed out that for trade to play its full part in helping developing countries to successfully integrate into the global economy, the right conditions needed to be in place. This, he said, included connectivity.
“If you’re selling goods, you need the hard infrastructure that allows you to ship them to your buyer,” Azevêdo told delegates at a forum on facilitating trade and investment held in Nigeria yesterday (Thursday). “And to support this connectivity we need the appropriate soft infrastructure [and] that means a regulatory environment which works to facilitate trade.
“Africa’s infrastructure investment needs are estimated at about $120-150 billion annually, with a financing gap of about $60-80 billion per year,” he added.
Azevêdo noted that bridging this gap would help reduce Africa’s trade costs and boost its competitiveness, diversification, industrialisation and participation in global trade.
“It can also help to spread the benefits of trade more widely, reaching more people and leveraging trade to promote growth and development.”
He highlighted that a large part of investments in infrastructure would need to come from other partners as many governments on the continent did not have the public resources to build the infrastructure needed.
“Investments will also help overcome supply side constraints, promote the diversification of the productive structure, reduce dependencies on basic commodity exports, and add value to the exported product,” added Azevêdo.
This, he emphasised, would leapfrog countries towards a more modern economy which in turn would have a positive impact on the capacity and skills of the workforce.
