Supporting the Policy Enabling Environment for Development
USAID SPEED

UEM SADC Conference

From March 23-25, 2008, the TIP Project helped financed the First International Conference on Regional Integration Issues and SADC Law.

The Conference is part of the wider initiative of the Faculty of Law at the University of Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) to facilitate and develop trade and economic capacity in the private and public sectors in order to raise awareness and increase private sector and academia’s participation in the trade policy formulation process.

The main objectives of the Conference were:

  • To serve as a forum and a platform for open dialogue and discussion on the SADC regional integration process;
  • To facilitate higher education and training institutions’ ability to participate in the trade policy process;
  • To assist in raising awareness and help in disseminating information related to SADC;
  • To facilitate practical strategies for next steps in building trade capacity in the public and private sectors;

The Conference focused on the following topics:

  • Regional integration in Southern Africa: issues, challenges and perspectives;
  • Regional Integration in the global perspective: how to draw more benefits and advantages for Mozambique;
  • The SADC Legal framework and substantive law: the SADC Treaty and Protocols;
  • The implementation of SADC Regional Integration agenda;
  • The role of universities and research institutions in the mainstreaming of regional integration, knowledge development and capacity building on regional integration;
  • Lessons from best practices and sharing of experiences: hearing voices on the regional integration agenda;

Participants

The Opening Plenary Session of the Conference was attended by 300 representatives from the public and private sectors, academia, donors, press and international participants.

Working group sessions were attended by over 100 senior civil servants within key ministries and public institutions involved in the implementation of the regional integration process, academics and researchers, private sector enterprises, the media, international development and cooperation agencies, and NGOs.

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