Trade for Peace: Integration of Fragile States into the Global Economy as a Pathway Towards Peace and Resilience

NEWS: High-level panel calls for integration of fragile states into the global economy

More than 1.6 billion people still live in countries affected by fragility and conflict, with many today living in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). By 2030 most of the world’s poor are expected to live in fragile and conflict-affected countries. While trade opens new opportunities, the countries that have long been isolated by years of conflict, including 13 out of 22 governments acceding to the WTO, are yet to fully realize their trade potential. They face specific conflict-related challenges in building their economic foundation and integrating into the global economy to strengthen their economies and institutional framework, to attract investments, and to raise the standards of livelihood.

The working session will focus on the role of trade in fragile contexts to help achieve the SDGs. It will discuss how trade policy can be harnessed to prevent conflict, build resilience and contribute to inclusive and sustainable development, and will analyse the role WTO accessions and its contribution to peacebuilding and state building, and how these could be expedited to facilitate faster recovery from conflict.

When:              17:00 to 18:30, Thursday, 4 October 2018

Where:             Room W @ WTO

Who:

Keynote Speaker:

H.E. Mr. Xanana Gusmão, Former President and Former Prime Minister of Timor-Leste

Moderator:

Ambassador Alan Wm. Wolff, Deputy Director General, WTO Secretariat

Panellists:

H.E. Mr. Deng Deng Hoc Yai, Minister of General Education and Instruction of South Sudan

H.E. Ms. Kamila Sidiqi, Deputy Minister for Commerce at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan

Ms. Maryan Hassan, Chief Negotiator for the Accession of Somalia to the WTO

Ms. Sara Sekkenes, Conflict Prevention and Partnerships Advisor, UNDP  

Mr. Will Martindale, Head of Policy and Research, at UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

Dr. Helder da Costa, General Secretary of the g7+

Reception immediately following in the WTO's main entrance space.

Organizers: World Trade Organization (WTO), g7+ Secretariat, Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)