EU EPAs to Headline the Africa-Asia-Europe Trade & Investment Summit

The Afria-Asia-Europe Trade & Investment will host 6000 delegates and 300 exhibitors from 61 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe for the 3 day summit.

Centurion, South Africa, August 22, 2012 --(PR.com)-- The contentious issue of the European Union’s (EU) Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) is set to headline the Africa-Asia-Europe Trade & Investment Summit according to Garikai Nhongo, the Managing Director of Egoli Communications. The Africa-Asia-Europe Trade & Investment Summit will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from the 29th to the 31st of October this year and is set to tackle several trade issues and birth opportunities for businesses across the 3 continents.

With a large presence of European and African businesses, regional and government leaders expected at the summit, the discussion of the EPAs will be unavoidable. Since 2002, the European Union (EU) has been negotiating the EPAs with the Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries as a fully reciprocal trade arrangement between EU and ACP to replace the previous non reciprocal, preferential trade access of ACP countries to EU markets under the various Lome Conventions and the Cotonou agreement. In order to continue to have access to European markets (on the terms that it had enjoyed for more than three decades), Africa is now required to eliminate tariffs on over 80 per cent of imports from the EU; in some cases, abolish all export duties and taxes in others, countries can retain existing export taxes but not increase them or introduce new taxes; eliminate all quantitative restrictions; and meet all kinds of other intrusive and destructive conditions that literary tie the hands of African governments to deploy the same kinds of instruments that all countries that have industrialised applied to build competitive national economies.

“The issues around the EPAs are broad and contentious. What we hope to do at the summit is to give the platform for those issues to be explored by various stakeholders present. It has to be more than just a talk shop,” Nhongo adds.

The summit is set to welcome over 6000 delegates from 61 countries across the 3 continents to Cape Town in South Africa. This will include think tanks, government ministries and regional and international bodies.

For more details visit www.africa-asia-europe.com

About Egoli Communications:
The Africa-Asia-Europe Trade & Investment summit is Africa's premier Trade & Investment event bringing together 6000 delegates from 61 countries across the 3 continents. The summit boasts 300 exhibitors, 24 speaker presentations, 9 panel discussions, a televised debate and numerous networking opportunities.

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Egoli Communications,
1277 Mike Crawford Avenue,
Centurion,
Centurion - 0010,
Gauteng, South Africa,
Phone: (+27) - 126838890,
E-Mail: info@africa-asia-europe.com
http://www.africa-asia-europe.com
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Egoli Communications
Tim Mills
+27127537705
www.africa-asia-europe.com
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