Forum for Trade and Development

Last month the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Trade out of Poverty released their inquiry into the UK’s Africa Free Trade Initiative (AFTi). The report, led by Lord Green and Ali Mufuruki, comes at a time when the new Secretary of State for International Development is working hard to restore the public’s faith in UK overseas … More Inquiry into the UK’s Africa Free Trade Initiative Calls for Continued Support

Earlier this week, UK Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel visited Kenya to see how UK aid is supporting projects that help lift the country out of poverty. Speaking to media, Patel was clear to balance her appeal for the public to take pride in the good work Britain is doing through the … More Patel visits Mombasa Port to see how UK aid is making an impact

Actors converged in Quito this week for Habitat III – the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. With the global population expected to double by 2050, the New Urban Agenda was adopted in a bid to tie urbanisation to development on sustainable and inclusive terms.   The impacts of globalisation and increasing … More Habitat III – Sustainable Cities Must be Hubs of Inclusive Trade

There are 1.1 billion girls in the world today, a powerful number for shaping a world that’s more sustainable for everyone. But girls dreams and potential are often thwarted by discrimination, violence and lack of equal rights and opportunities. This year, the theme for Day of the Girl Child is “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl … More 11/10/16 – International Day of the Girl Child

Most development proponents will agree that economic and trade development are key for increasing prosperity and the standard of living in Africa. In particular, the empowering of small holder farmers and traders, who are often women, will be key in helping nations pull themselves out of poverty.   Last week the WTO Public Forum had … More Pioneering Technology Bringing Prosperity to Africa  

The scale of global food waste is extremely hard to comprehend. We waste about 1.3 billion tonnes of food a year. This is generally food that hasn’t been prepared for eating. To put this into perspective if we saved half the food waste we could feed 870 million people; this is almost the amount of … More Foreign investors in developing countries should be promoting food efficiency

In a new strategy disclosed this month, the EU council have pledged to strip aid and trade programmes from developing nations who are incapable of accepting deported migrants in their tens of thousands.   The European Commission has threatened African countries with “negative incentives” if they do not “co-operate” in their efforts to halt migration … More EU foreign aid to Africa abused in new leverage scheme to stem migration crisis

What does Brexit – the withdrawal of Britain from the EU – have to do with Africa? A lot, says Uzo Madu, a British citizen with Nigerian roots. Africa played an important role for Britain when it joined the EU. When Britain’s colonial empire ended, the economy faltered as well. “I think Africa was a … More Brexit: The Reactions of Africa

Jo Cox will be remembered for her tenacity and passion for humanitarian aid in some of the world’s most violent crisis zones and for championing the importance of trade in the developing world. Before becoming an MP, Cox was a prominent activist for global development through trade, dedicated to improving the lives of some of … More Remembering Jo Cox: Never doubt the capacity for change

With a month to go before the potentially epoch-making vote on British membership of the EU, the debate so far has been characterised by bias, distortion and exaggeration. But how important are the EU establishments really for a body of open trade policies?   What could Britain do to increase trade if it were to … More Brexit: How will it affect Britain’s trade standing in the world?