The African Union Commission Specialised Technical Committees (STC) on Trade, Industry and Minerals is the Policy Organ responsible for oversight on policy projects and programs in the areas of Trade, Industry and Mineral Resources and reporting on them to the Assembly through the Executive Council. In addition to evaluating the implementation of decisions taken by various Organs of the Union in the areas of Trade, Industry, tourism and Mining, the STC also has the responsibility of supervision and ensuring successful implementation of projects and programs in these four areas.

The AU Commission led by the Department Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining Department (ETIM), is organizing the third Specialized Technical Committee on Trade, Industry and Minerals to be held under the theme “Deepening economic integration through interconnected and competitive product value chains based on local commodities”. The theme is relevant in driving the realization of Africa’s Agenda 2063, particularly, “Aspiration 1” which seeks a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The Ministerial segment of the STC will be preceded by the Experts meeting that will discuss Africa's Industrialisation, and present the outcomes to the Ministers to consider and provide policy direction. As we move towards building more resilient economies in 2021, the timing of this STC meeting is crucial to accelerate Africa’s transformative development.

In 2013, member states of the African Union agreed upon "Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want", working towards an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. In line with this vision, deepening economic integration through interconnected and competitive product value chains based on local commodities will expand trade across the continent, which is crucial for Africa's development.

Before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit the continent, many African economies had been pursuing reforms aimed at integrating into the world economy and were as a result experiencing substantial economic growth. This growth has primarily been supported by commodity exports. Transforming Africa from a raw materials exporter to a producer of market-competitive value added products will require the continent to integrate into regional and global value chains and promote horizontal and vertical diversification anchored in value addition, innovative approaches and local content development.

Only a massive industrialisation effort will enable Africa to eradicate poverty, provide job opportunities to millions of young people and achieve sustainable development. The STC will at its third meeting consider several issues related to Africa's Industrialisation initiatives and programs with a view to accelerating the continent’s process of economic transformation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled nearly every economy across the globe, there is consensus across the African continent on the need to build a strong and resilient economy to withstand future shocks. This will include developing an integrated and complementary African value chains, to support the commitment to transform Africa from a raw materials exporter to a producer of market-competitive value added products.

The COVID-19 crisis combined with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) beginning in January 2021, call for innovative policies to realize Africa’s full potential. Emerging trends in global investment and technologies cast doubt on the potential of past strategies to succeed in the new global and continental context.

The issues being presented to Ministers at the STC meeting all relate to the pursuit of deeper continental economic integration which will greatly assist Africa in mitigating the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic. A stronger and more integrated Africa will also be better able to resist negative socio-economic impacts of externally induced economic shocks such as were observed during the financial crisis of 2008. For this reason, a 90-minute panel discussion on the theme: “Deepening economic integration through interconnected and competitive product value chains based on local commodities”, is also being organised and will take place on the day of the Ministerial meeting. A high level panel of experts on economic integration has been assembled for the webinar.

More details can be found in the Concept Note and working documents attached at the bottom of the page.

The main objective of the STC is develop concrete policy actions and measures required for deepening economic integration through interconnected and competitive product value chains based on local commodities,  for consideration and approval by the African Union Summit.

The specific objectives of the third meeting of the STC-TIM are to consider for adoption:

1. The Draft African Commodity Strategy and its Action Plan;
2. The Draft Africa Quality Policy;
3. The Africa Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) Business Plan;
4. The African Minerals and Energy Resources Classification and Management System (AMREC);
5. The draft African Fashion Industry Value Chain and Pan African Fashion Initiative Strategy; and
6. The Study on financing industrialisation.

• The draft African Commodity Strategy is one of the flagship projects under the African Union (AU)’s Agenda 2063. It is also an integral component for the successful outcomes of the Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) Action Plan.
• The Africa Quality Policy (AQP) will lay a foundation for the development of a quality culture across all AU Member States thus ensuring safer and high-quality production of market competitive goods and services. The AQP will support implementation of the AfCFTA through facilitation of continental cooperation in standards harmonisation, and elimination of technical barriers to trade (TBTs) and other non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade.
• The Africa Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) Business Plan, the African Minerals and Energy Resources Classification and Management System (AMREC) will orient Africa’s exploitation of its natural resources towards local value addition whilst moving away from the exportation of minerals in their raw form.

The Expected Outcomes are;

The STC is expected to have the following outcomes:

1. Recommendations for the formulation of draft Decisions for the AU Assembly with respect to the African Commodity Strategy and its Action Plan, the Africa Quality Policy and the African Fashion Industry Value Chain & Pan African Fashion Initiative Strategy.
2. Ministerial Declaration of the STC-TIM with respect to the Africa Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) Business Plan, the African Minerals and Energy Resources Classification and Management System (AMREC), and the Study on Financing Industrialisation.
3. Strategic guidance for the ETIM’s work programs and projects in the area of Trade, Industry, Tourism, Investment and Minerals for the next two years, up to 2023.

Participants to the Conference will be from the Ministries of Trade, Industry and Minerals. Other participants will include experts and senior officials from the African Union Organs and Specialized Institutions and Agencies, Regional Economic Communities, African Capacity Building Foundation, African Development Bank, OECD Development Centre, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UN Agencies, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, other international and Regionals Institutions, other partners, Civil Society Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations.

The Specialized Technical Committee on Trade, Industry and Minerals organizing Committee will ensure participants successfully and seamlessly register online for the High-level Ministerial Dialogue with policymakers and industry specialists on 3^rd September 2021. 12:00 PM EAT.

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qFMDiTEZRFCitfXMsWm6yg   

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

• Statute of the African Minerals Development Centre
• Africa Mining Vision.
• Report of the Specialized Technical Committee On Trade, Industry And Minerals, 2019
• An Overview of the Report of the International Study Group on Africa’s Mineral Regimes .
• Declaration and report of the 3rd STC on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration
• Domestic Resource Mobilization: a Fight against Corruption and Illicit Financial Flows
• How Africa loses US$50 billion to Illicit Financial Flows
• African Union Assembly Special Declaration On Illicit Financial Flows-
• African Continental Free Trade Area
• 2019 Africa Development Dynamics Report
• 2020 Africa Multidimensional Regional Integration Index (AMRII)
• African Integration Booklet
• African Integration and Development Review
• Publication of the PAN-African Financial Institutions
• The Futures Report: Making the AfCFTA Work for Women and Youth
• 11th African Private Sector Forum Declaration 2019