It is common cause that improved trade and investment hold out promise for attaining higher economic growth and greater gains in the fight against poverty, indeed, for the attainment of the millennium development goals. International development experience attests that countries that have entered export markets, opened their economies up to imports, and strengthened their investment climates have tended to grow faster over sustained periods of time. Unfortunately, African countries have not harnessed these potential benefits of trade and investment due to a combination of factors, not least: (1) poor infrastructure, (2) benighted government policies, (3) weak productive capacity, and (3) restricted access to export markets, particularly in those areas in which they have a comparative advantage, notably agriculture and labor-intensive manufactures.
