The Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) on Tuesday proposed the validation of the Conditional Revised Offer for Specific Commitment for the Protocol on Trade in Services enshrined in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.
The purpose of the meeting, the Director General/Chief Trade Negotiator (DG/CTN), Ambassador Yonov Agah was to enhance relevant stakeholders’ inclusivity on the draft Offer and validate the Offer for onward transmission to the AfCFTA Secretariat.
While reiterating the importance of the services sector on GDP which falls between 60 per cent to 70 per cent, the DG revealed discussions at the Enlarged National Focal Point (ENFP) meeting, highlighting how Nigeria’s Draft Offer should be presented.
The recommendations Agav highlighted include “Submit Nigeria’s Draft Offer as a State party” and the “Commencement of discussions on the review of Nigeria’s commitment in Trade in services under the WTO, which has not been reviewed in 30 years”.
In addition, Agah said the need arose from the “Complexities and challenges associated with the ECOWAS combined offer for Trade in Services under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
“Technical discussions on the update/status of the Protocol on Trade in Services; Nigeria’s Offer; ECOWAS Combined Offer on Trade in Services, amongst others”, which Agah said, were deliberation on.
Subsequently, he added that offers related to the stakeholder’s jurisdiction and cognizance of the complexities in the ECOWAS were highlighted for review.
After the meeting, stakeholders according to Agah, agreed to proceed with the submission of Nigeria’s Draft Offer as a State Party under the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services.
The decision he assured was arrived at to avoid further delays in the negotiating process and the difficulties that may arise in understanding the ECOWAS Combined Offer.
The meeting had in attendance relevant key players in the five priority sectors, namely, Business, Communication, Financial, Tourismand Transport sector.
