ICTSD launched the E15 Initiative in 2011 to stimulate a fresh, strategic look at key challenges and opportunities for the global trade and investment system and improve its efficacy, fairness, and inclusiveness as well as its ability to promote sustainable development.

Since then, ICTSD, the World Economic Forum, and 16 partnering institutions have brought together more than 375 leading international experts in over 80 interactive dialogues. 

From 14 to 17 December 2015, ICTSD has organised the Trade and Development Symposium in partnership with the University of Nairobi and the Saana Institute, with the support of the Republic of Kenya.

Jaime de Melo, Scientific Advisor at Ferdi was a speaker for four sessions  :

• Trade, Nature and the 2030 Agenda: The Quest for Policy Coherence
• Harnessing Manufacturing to Africa's Trade and Growth: From Lagging to Leading Sector 
• Role of Trade Facilitation in the Context of Increasing Regional Integration of LDCs
• The WTO and Sustainable Development: An Agenda for the General Council

Trade, Nature and the 2030 Agenda: The Quest for Policy Coherence Tuesday 15 December Session organised by ICTSD, IISD et Earth Mind     Moderator : Ricardo MELENDEZ-ORTIZ, Chief Executive Officer, ICTSD   Speakers: - Selina JACKSON, Special Representative to the UN and the WTO, World Bank - David RUNNALLS, Distinguished Fellow and former President, International Institute for Sustainable Development - Prof. Jaime DE MELO, Emeritus Professor, University of Geneva and Scientific Director Ferdi - Daudi SUMBA, Vice President, Government Relations & Program Design, African Wildlife Foundation - Ana ESCOBEDO, Director of International Government Affairs, ArcelorMittal   Session objectives The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and supported by the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), was adopted in September 2015. Among the set of global priorities, the Agenda includes reform of illegal and unsustainable resource extraction (including illegal fishing, and the poaching and trafficking of protected species) and promotion of sustainable marine and terrestrial resource use.  As the attention of policy-makers and civil society turns to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, this high-level panel discussion will explore the key inter-dependencies between trade, environment, and other policy areas that need to be addressed to build a coherent policy framework to support legal and sustainable trade in wild natural resources and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.  

presentation by Jaime de Melo     

Harnessing Manufacturing to Africa's Trade and Growth: From Lagging to Leading Sector Wednesday 16 December 2015 Session organised by International Growth Centre (IGC) and Ferdi.   

Moderator : Dr. Richard NEWFARMER, Country Director for Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan, The International Growth Centre

Speakers : - John PAGE, Country Director, The International Growth Centre - Prof. Jaime DE MELO, Emeritus Professor, University of Geneva and Scientific Advisor at Ferdi - Dr. Stephen KARINGI, Director, Regional Integration and Trade Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa   Session objectives 

Although Africa has seen celebrated improvement in its economic performance in recent decades, the region’s slow underlying pace of structural change has led some observers to be pessimistic about Africa’s prospects. Indeed, its manufacturing sector constitute a smaller share of output and employment in Africa now than in the mid-1980 and its share of world manufactured exports has fallen during the same period. Recent research, analysing how differences in countries policies and institutional approaches affect industrialisation, has pointed toward government policy playing a crucial role in incentivizing deepened growth in Africa’s manufacturing sector.  Is Africa doomed to slow growth and technological change because its manufacturing sector is small?  What are the major impediments to its future expansion?  What is the appropriate role for industrial policy?  The session will explore reasons for the slow take off of manufacturing and policies designed to spur further industrial growth.

presentation by Jaime de Melo

"Industrial and Structural Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa"

Role of Trade Facilitation in the Context of Increasing Regional Integration of LDCs Thursday 17 December 2015 Organised by LDC IV Monitor, Southern Voice and the Centre for Policy Dialogue. 

Moderator : Dr. Debapriya BHATTACHARYA, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue

Speakers : - Prof. Mustafizur RAHMAN, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue - Nicolas IMBODEN, Partner & Co-founder, IDEAS Centre - Dr. Ratnakar ADHIKARI, Executive Director, Enhanced Integrated Framework Executive Secretariat, World Trade Organization - Prof. Jaime DE MELO, Emeritus Professor, University of Geneva and Scientific Advisor at Ferdi - Dr. Jodie KEANE, Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute   Session objectives :

The session on "Role of Trade Facilitation in the Context of Increasing Regional Integration of LDCs", organised by the LDC IV Monitor along with Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), envisages to explore possible avenues and modalities to implement the needed Trade Facilitation (TF) measures which could help the least developed countries (LDCs) in their efforts to take advantage of increasing regional integration of their economies. The objectives of the session are to: (a) identify the emerging TF-related deficits in view of regional integration of the LDCs; (b) examine concrete measures to address these deficits; and (c) explore possible supportive measures including finance to help LDCs in implementing TF measures

presentations by Jaime de Melo :

"Aid-for-Trade and the Trade Facilitation Agreement : What can it do for LDCs"       

"The Climate and WTO Regimes: Reforms to avoid collision"

   The WTO and Sustainable Development: An Agenda for the General Council 

Thursday 17 December 2015

Organised by ICTSD

Moderator : Amb. Darlington MWAPE, Senior Fellow, ICTSD

Speakers : - Dr. Debapriya BHATTACHARYA, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue - Christophe BELLMANN, Senior Resident Research Fellow, ICTSD - Dr. Mia MIKIC, Chief, Trade Policy and Analysis – Trade and Investment Division,United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and the Pacific - Prof. Jaime DE MELO, Emeritus Professor, University of Geneva and Scientific Advisor at Ferdi - Yaw ANSU, Chief Economist, African Center for Economic Transformation 

Session objectives 

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and supported by the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), was adopted in September 2015. Paragraph 86 of the AAAA invites the WTO General Council to consider the WTO’s contribution to sustainable development.  To date, there has not been much public discussion of how this invitation will be taken up. 

This session provides space for an informal conversation among experts about how the WTO’s General Council could respond to this invitation, and specifically to identify what key contributions the WTO could, or should, make to sustainable development in the next 15 years.

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