[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

4 April 2008

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies will deliver an opening address at the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Assessment Conference that will take place at the Protea Hotel, Arthurs Road in Seapoint, Cape Town from 7 to 8 April 2008. The media is invited to attend the opening session of the meeting at 08h30 and a media briefing on 8 April 2008, at 16h30.

The conference is organised by the Secretariats of the Commonwealth and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, in co-operation with the Trade Law Centre of South Africa (TRALAC). Participants will include trade ministers and lead negotiators ACP countries, representatives from Brussels and Geneva-based Ambassadors, Commonwealth member countries, academics, NGOs and trade experts.

The purpose of the conference is to provide the ACP countries with an opportunity to assess all the aspects and undertake a comprehensive stocktaking of EPAs that have been concluded in order to provide them with an objective and accurate assessment of the content, character and implications of the various agreements that will help guide and inform their policies.

South Africa (SA) is part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) group of countries that are negotiating the EPA with the European Community (EC). The SADC EPA group of countries is not composed of all the fourteen SADC Member States, but is comprised of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania.

The SADC-EC Interim EPA was concluded in November last year and was initialled by four South African Customs Union (SACU) Member States, namely Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland, as well as one non-SACU SADC country, Mozambique. South Africa did not initial the Interim EPA due to concerns that she hoped would be addressed prior to initialising the Interim EPA. A number of concerns have also been raised by other Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and regions that negotiated EPAs under different configurations with the Eastern Cape.

For more information contact:
Kgothatso Chuene
Cell: 072 571 9885

Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
4 April 2008