Regional Conference on the role of IP in Market Integration in Central Africa and on the strategic interest of the AfCFTA IP Protocol

On 18-20 May 2022, a sub-regional workshop of the Commission of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), together with the ‘Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in Africa’ project (AfrIPI), was held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The workshop addressed the role of intellectual property in market integration and the strategic relevance of the AfCFTA protocol on intellectual property.

This first meeting of this activity aimed at:

• raising awareness and building the capacity of key IP actors (stakeholders at ECCAS  and Member States) on the contemporary importance of IP as a tool for market access and regional integration;

• engaging with ECCAS Member States’ negotiators of the FTAA IP Protocol to discuss the background, interests and challenges of the IP Protocol negotiations.

Participants at the workshop comprised of officials from the Common Market and Regional Cooperation Departments of the ECCAS, officials from Member States in charge of intellectual and negotiations on the AfCFTA, and representatives from the private sector.