The importance for the achievement of universal sustainable development objectives of targeting aid for trade quantitatively and qualitatively to the least developed countries, as advocated by the revised EU strategy on the subject (see EUROPE 11923/4), was highlighted on Monday 18 March by MEPs from the European Parliament's Committee on Development and Committee on International Trade.
The publication of the first 2018 progress report on the implementation of the strategy, as it was revised in 2017, is encouraging: compared to 2016, aid for trade commitments in 2017, particularly to African countries and LDCs, increased by 2.7 per cent to reach a record level of €13.5 billion.
In 2017, commitments to LDCs amounted to €3 billion, or 22% of the EU's total aid for trade - an all-time high (18% on average between 2010 and 2015). The EU's objective is to achieve a share of at least 25% for these countries by 2030.
This report shows that the EU has maintained its position as the largest donor by providing 32% of global aid for trade. Africa continued to be the largest recipient of EU Aid for Trade in 2016 (42% of the total, excluding EIB loans), followed by Asia (22%), America (12%) and Europe (11%). And on trade-related assistance, which has more than doubled in ten years to €3.8 billion in 2016, aid for trade facilitation amounted to €370 million.
“To create a future for young people in Africa, Aid for Trade is a key element in creating jobs, but it is not the exchanges of the past that can create added value. It is necessary for everyone to get a fair share in the supply chain, to benefit from this support and its spin-offs, to have more trade, but also trade that generates more value in order to be able to consider progress in global redistribution and thus move closer to sustainable development objectives”, said Linda McAvan (S&D, UK), Chair of the Committee on Development.
MEPs stressed the importance of helping young people in Africa to find employment and removing obstacles to women's entrepreneurship.
Annete Ssemuwemba, Deputy Director of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), presented to MEPs the 2019-2022 strategic programme of this multilateral partnership specifically dedicated to assisting least developed countries to use trade as an engine for growth, sustainable development and poverty reduction.
The main objectives will be to: - improve the trading environment, by creating strong institutions and coordinating them for resource pooling; - develop export markets through technological support in the product and service sectors; - strengthen market access.
In West Africa, the EIF supports the export of value-added products such as shea butter, mango or dried mango, Ms Ssemuwemba said. In Mali, for example, the EIF is investing €1.5 million and Mali €4 million to develop the mango sector. The EIF works with countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. 17 of them have the EU as coordinator to avoid duplication in Aid for Trade. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)