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The Institute of Population Sciences (ISSP) of the Joseph Kisembo University organized on Monday, July 9, 2024, in Ouagadougou, a public conference on the theme of international trade in Africa.
The meeting was part of the training of students in the Statistics Department of the Higher Institute of Population Sciences (ISSP). According to the Dean of the Institute, Professor Abdramane Soura, during the training, students not only receive theoretical and practical courses in the classroom, but also attend meetings led by professionals from international institutions.
The theme of this session is: “Structural issues in Africa’s international trade”. This is the fifth such conference, following four previous ones.
“The aim is to provide information to students, discuss a certain number of concepts with them, share knowledge with them on current topics,” said Professor Abdramane Soura.
“The second goal is that the speaker can talk about his academic and professional career and thus become a success story,” said Professor Abdramane Soura
“Africa is failing to reach its full potential”
In his speech, Dr. Ali Yedan, a statistician at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, stressed the full potential of the African continent. “Currently, Africa is unable to tap into the full potential of international trade. If we look at the latest official data, Africa accounts for only 3% of trade, but in terms of population, Africa accounts for almost 18% of the world’s population,” he said.
“It is necessary for African countries to make the most of the resources they have,” Dr. Ali Yedan urged.
For the PhD in economics, the continent faces several problems. “First, there are structural problems because African countries only export raw materials, which have low added value,” he said.
There is also a lack of infrastructure needed to process the products into finished goods.
Dr. Ali Yedan also pointed out that African countries do have a human capital problem that they have yet to adapt and utilize.
Challenges to overcome
During this public meeting, student engineer statistician and economist Arthur Ouédraogo focused on the diversification of export products and the import of certain products.
“We mainly export primary products and import these processed products with added value. I find this to be a serious problem and we as future students and policymakers must pay attention to the current situation and see what can be done to address this issue in the future.”
Arthur Ouédraogo is also an ISSP student representative
Nafissatou Diallo, a third-year statistics student, also lamented the lack of development of Africa’s raw materials.
Faced with the challenges it faces, she believes her industry can make its own contribution. “Statistics are very important for the development of international trade. In order to make decisions, you need statistics to clarify the situation. So I feel worried. Our training will bring something,” she said.
Dr Ali Yedan, who holds a degree in Mathematics from Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou, urged students to improve their capabilities by developing excellence in both school and professional settings.
Crispin Laventicki
Lefaso.com
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