Kenya expects trade deal to be out today (Wednesday)

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed

NAIROBI: Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed expects delegates at the ongoing UN conference to reach a deal elimination of trade barriers today.

Rich countries are negotiating with poor ones on various ways of improving trade between them.

A declaration dubbed the Nairobi Azimio and the negotiated text with specific agreements is expected to be issued during the ongoing United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

"We should have the agreements by tomorrow (today) for the documents to be adopted," Ms Mohammed said yesterday.

It was unlikely that the negotiations would go past Friday morning as was the case in the December meeting of the World Trade Organisation, also held in Nairobi.

The Cabinet secretary did not disclose the contentious issues in the current negotiations. However, classification of China as a developing country has in the past negotiations presented the biggest hurdle. Western nations feel the preferential treatment granted to exports from poor countries such as Burundi should not be extended to China, the world's second largest economy.

UNCTAD is an arm of the United Nations that strives to protect the poor countries by structuring international trade to deliver wealth equitably.