Technical assistance to support Malawi in Bilateral and Regional Trade negotiations

Objectives: The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the Government of Malawi in the formulation, negotiation and implementation of bilateral and regional trade agreements, in particular the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA), the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). These objectives are within the scope of an overarching objective of the negotiations to strengthen Malawi's economic integration into the regional and international trading system.

The specific objectives of the mission are as follows:

a. To improve the understanding and impact of trade agreements in order to develop informed negotiating positions;

b. Strengthen trade in services, services exports;

c. Strengthening the "trade policy dialogue" of stakeholders to develop strong negotiating positions; and

d. To strengthen the capacity of the Government of Malawi to formulate, negotiate and implement trade policies and strategies

Main deliverables:

Inception report

Analytical assessments that will inform Malawi's position in bilateral and regional trade negotiations developed.

Three validation meetings of the assessments

Services export strategy

Two consultation and validation meetings for the services export strategy

Private and public dialogue sessions

Four one-day dialogue meetings

Position papers and legal opinions on trade negotiations and draft texts

Trade negotiation capacity building through two five-day training sessions

Final report