By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –
GOVERNMENT has said the emergency of the mega Free Trade Areas (FTAs) will impact on the multilateral trading systems implemented under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said there were a number of issues outside the WTO that had emerged globally, which had implications on the multilateral trading system.
Ms Mwanakatwe said the materialisation of the mega FTAs, dampening of commodity prices on the international market and instability of the currencies in the commonwealth African countries were some of the issues impacting on the multilateral trading systems.
She was speaking during  the Commonwealth African Consultative meeting held in Lusaka recently.
This is contained in a statement issued in Lusaka and made available to Times by Commerce, Trade and Industry permanent secretary Kayula Siame.
Ms Mwanakatwe said there was need to deliberate on the possible solutions that would facilitate the maintenance of a multilateral trading environment that serves the interest of both small and big economies without compromising the development objectives of Africa.
“More efforts are required to resolve the remaining issues under WTO negotiations, such as development related issues which are important to the African continent.
“The conference in Nairobi took bold steps on a number of issues including the decision to eliminate export subsidies,” she said.
Ms Mwanakatwe said this was a critical moment in the multilateral trade talks as issues that seemed to delay progress hinge on the changed global economic landscape from the time the mandate was agreed at the Doha,Qata in 2001.
She commended the Commonwealth secretariat  for organising the consultative meeting in Zambia which took place from April 14-15, 2016.
The aim of the meeting was to assess the outcomes of the 10th WTO Ministerial conference and their implications on national and regional trade policies.
The meeting also explored practical options and measures to effectively implement regional trade strategies and to advance the negotiations for the establishment of the Africa-wide continent free trade area.