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<div>Dear William,</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Thanks for bringing this to the fore as it is a welcome development for Lamy to recognise the strides being made in Africa. </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Haven said that i think it is important for the WTO to reckon that the conditions and terms underwhich the GATS was negotiated and establish have changed, so given that Africa has grown despite the fact that the detailing of the GATS was not favourable to us, can one argue support Lamy's call for<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3534FF"> "Committing to further open trade in these sectors will be investing in the future".</font> </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>I think it is fair to argue that though the GATS terms has not favoured Africa, some sectors have grown and could do far better if the terms were favourable (or at worse be revisted) and here i dont blame anybody but we as Africans must be better prepared and go to these negotiations to gain more mileage that we have done in the past. </div><div><br></div><div>Am not a trade expert and i dont profess to be one but i think our country trade negotiators must engage internally with some of the sectoral business fronts and work with them in some of the far reaching negotiations that turn in some ways to undo the efforts of the private sector. </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Eric here</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><br><div><div>On 12 Mar 2008, at 22:28, William Foster wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div class="story-writer">by Pascal Lamy, WTO<br></div><div class="story-body">In the last 10 years Internet use has increased by 1,500 per cent. Mobile phone subscribers have increased 20 fold and world teledensity has moved from below 15 per cent to over 60 per cent.</div><div class="story-body">The rapid evolution of the telecommunication sector, both from regulatory and technological perspective, has brought about lasting changes to our economies and societies at large and is one reason that this sector merits our special attention today.</div> <div valign="middle" align="center"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td align="right"> <!-- Display Google AdManager Ad for 'AllAfrica_Story_Inset'--> <script language="JavaScript"> GA_googleFillSlot("AllAfrica_Story_Inset"); </script><script src="http://partner.googleadservices.com/gampad/ads?correlator=1205353816475&output=json_html&callback=_GA_googleAdEngine.setAdContentsBySlotForSync&impl=s&prev_afc=1&client=ca-pub-2420009840005975&slotname=AllAfrica_Story_Inset&page_slots=AllAfrica_Story_BannerMid%2CAllAfrica_Story_Inset&cust_params=language%3Denglish%26Topics%3Dafrica%252Cbusiness%252Ccapitalflo%252Cict%252Cinfrastruc%252Cio%252Csustainabl%252Ctrade%252Curbanissue&cookie=ID%3D80f630fe641d60b4%3AT%3D1204219589%3AS%3DALNI_Mb0u6xOXHbl-Gi4FZwwlnoaiIBJlg&ga_vid=205955462.1204223436&ga_sid=1205353817&ga_hid=555243224&ga_fc=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fallafrica.com%2Fstories%2F200803111154.html&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fus.f580.mail.yahoo.com%2Fym%2FShowLetter%3FMsgId%3D1410_21365074_246649_2447_2605_0_68233_7441_2959726212%26Idx%3D0%26YY%3D39506%26y5beta%3Dyes%26y5beta%3Dyes%26inc%3D25%26order%3Ddown%26sort%3Ddate%26pos%3D0%26view%3Da%26head%3Db%26box%3DInbox&lm t=1205346335&dt=1205353816970&cc=88&u_h=800&u_w=1280&u_ah=770&u_aw=1280&u_cd=32&u_tz=-420&u_his=1&u_java=true&u_nplug=10&u_nmime=42"></script><div id="google_ads_div_AllAfrica_Story_Inset"><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-2420009840005975"; google_ad_slot = "2563241882"; google_ad_width = 180; google_ad_height = 150; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><iframe name="google_ads_frame" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-2420009840005975&dt=1205353817574&lmt=1205346335&output=html&slotname=2563241882&correlator=1205353817573&url=http%3A%2F%2Fallafrica.com%2Fstories%2F200803111154.html&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fus.f580.mail.yahoo.com%2Fym%2FShowLetter%3FMsgId%3D1410_21365074_246649_2447_2605_0_68233_7441_2959726212%26Idx%3D0%26YY%3D39506%26y5beta%3Dyes%26y5beta%3Dyes%26inc%3D25%26order%3Ddown%26sort%3Ddate%26pos%3D0%26view%3Da%26head%3Db%26box%3DInbox&frm=0&cc=88&ga_vid=205955462.1204223436&ga_sid=1205353818&ga_hid=555243224&ga_fc=true&flash=9.0.115&u_h=800&u_w=1280&u_ah=770&u_aw=1280&u_cd=32&u_tz=-420&u_his=1&u_java=true&u_nplug=10&u_nmime=42" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" width="180"></iframe> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div class="story-body">The dedicated negotiations on basic telecommunications - whose 10th anniversary we had last month - were born out of an initiative taken during the final year of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.</div><div class="story-body">At the time, there was a very real prospect that basic telecommunications might be carved out of the new agreement then taking shape, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).</div><div class="story-body">Very few governments had offered commitments on these services, deterred by what appeared to be a yawning gap between the openness of some markets and long-entrenched restrictions to trade in many others. Though a number of major players were contemplating opening trade in this sector at the time, these were still surrounded by a considerable degree of uncertainty.</div><div class="story-body">The momentum has continued since. At present, over 100 WTO Members have commitments to open markets in some or all telecommunication services. The commitments normally entitle new entrants to supply the most essential services, such as fixed and mobile telephony, Internet and leased-line capacity.</div><div class="story-body">A great many Members have also committed to telecom-specific regulatory obligations. These market access and regulatory commitments permit global networks and facilitate the emergence of global markets for the benefit of all WTO Members, and their businesses and consumers alike.</div><div class="story-body">Telecommunications are emblematic of the highly integrated nature of modern economies: while the sector's own economic momentum depends on the existence of dynamic user industries, world-class communication links are today a sine qua non for a wide range of economic activities within services and beyond.</div><div class="story-body">The benefits from opening trade in telecoms cuts across developed and developing countries.</div><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="9" cellspacing="0" width="180"> <tbody><tr> <td align="right"> <table bgcolor="#000000" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr><td> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="3" width="100%"> <tbody><tr><td class="basic-seventy" align="center">Relevant Links</td></tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr><td class="nav" align="center"> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/business/"><b>Economy, Business and Finance</b></a> <br> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/capitalflows/"><b>Capital Flows</b></a> <br> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/ict/"><b>ICT and Telecom</b></a> <br> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/infrastructure/"><b>Industry and Infrastructure</b></a> <br> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/io/"><b>International Organizations and Africa</b></a> <br> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/sustainable/"><b>Sustainable Development</b></a> <br> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/trade/"><b>Trade</b></a> <br> <a class="blue" href="http://allafrica.com/urbanissues/"><b>Urban Issues and Habitation</b></a> <br> </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div class="story-body">In recent years, information and communication technologies have enabled economies from India to Ireland to develop and rapidly expand international outsourcing.</div><div class="story-body">Committing to further open trade in these sectors will be investing in the future.</div><div class="story-body"><em>Lamy is director general, WTO.</em></div><!-- end story layout piece here --> <br><br>William Foster, PhD<br>Faculty Associate<br>Social and Behavioral Sciences<br>Arizona State University Polytechnic<br><a href="http://www.FosterandBrahm.com">http://www.FosterandBrahm.com</a><br>520-440-0807<br>wfoster8560 (Skype)<br>blog: www.oresearch.net<div> <br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><hr size="1">Never miss a thing. <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs"> Make Yahoo your homepage.</a> </blockquote></div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; 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