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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

New injection of trade expertise for 78 developing countries: Commonwealth spearheads €20 million trade project

17 October 2004

"The Commonwealth is taking a lead role in providing trade negotiating capacity for 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific states. The 'Hub and Spokes' project is a creative new approach to developing trade capacity in developing countries. This project is a huge vote of confidence in the Commonwealth by governments and other international organisations," Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said today.

"Every euro invested by the Commonwealth has generated four euros more for developing states. The Commonwealth has contributed €4 million and unlocked €16 million from other partners in the project. We have the funding and expertise to add some practical value," the Secretary-General said.

The new €20 million partnership, which has also been announced in Brussels by the European Commission, will see more than 50 trade experts posted to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to advise governments on trade policy and negotiations. The partnership will put in place a network of 9 trade policy advisers (hubs) at the headquarters of regional organisations and 48 trade policy analysts (spokes) in the national ACP capitals. The analysts, most of whom will be ACP citizens, will work in association with local counterparts, to be selected by the host governments.

The partnership is funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the European Commission together with La Francophonie, with further support from the ACP Secretariat.

"We value our partnership with these organisations and are working closely with them to ensure that our members get the full benefits from the new terms of trade being negotiated. The expansion of this programme comes as more Commonwealth countries are grappling with the ongoing trade negotiations which will have a huge impact on their future," Mr McKinnon said.

"The Commonwealth Secretariat's mission is to work as a trusted partner with our 53 member governments, to act as a catalyst for building global consensus, and to work towards the eradication of poverty. The project is one of the ways we are delivering on this mission to our membership and beyond it through the ACP Grouping," the Secretary-General concluded. 

Note to Editors:

The Hub and Spokes project is one of the three components of the Trade.Com Facility of the European Commission's capacity-building initiative for ACP countries. It aims to enhance the capacity of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states in trade policy formulation, mainstreaming trade in their poverty reduction strategies and to participate in international trade negotiations.

The Commonwealth Secretariat will manage and implement the project in 55 of the 78 ACP member states. The Secretariat has already recruited and deployed three regional advisers in Lusaka, Zambia, at the headquarters of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); in Suva, Fiji, at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat, and in Gaborone, Botswana, at the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat. Twelve trade policy analysts have also been posted to the Governments of Fiji Islands, Guyana, Malawi, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Zambia and the PIF Secretariat.

Recruitment is under way to place additional advisers at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union (AU) and to position trade policy analysts in an additional 17 countries.

The European Development Fund and Commonwealth Secretariat-funded portion of the project envisages funding of approximately €16 million and €4 million respectively over the four-year life of the project. Activities to be undertaken will primarily focus on capacity-building for ministries and organisations responsible for trade policy formulation and negotiations.

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