“Trade agreements can promote integrated economies and reduce conflicts,” Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Hanan Morsy said at the opening of the Inaugural African Union Policy Conference on Promoting the Peace, Security, and Development Nexus, which is being held from 25 to 27 October in Tangier, Kingdom of Morocco.
Convened by the African Union Commission, the Policy Conference is billed by its co-organizers – the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) – “as a historic moment where the synergies between development, regional integration, peace and security are being discussed in one room”.
Morsy revealed the findings of the ECA-commissioned study on “Realizing the Triple Nexus and Trade: Towards A New Agenda for Africa,” which demonstrates that trade is relevant in countering fragility and promoting effective transitions from war to peace.