Publications

Agricultural Commodities of Ethiopia, Madagascar and Tanzania

Fondation pour les études et recherches sur le développement international (FERDI)
Working Paper 280, December 2020, Paris

Authors: Raymond Saner, Magdi Farahat, Luca Chiarato and Lichia Yiu

he authors assess to what extent the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) provides assistance to LDCs through its “Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS)” towards more effective trade and development policies. The DTISs raison d’être is to improve LDC’s trade capabilities and - thence - reduce their levels of poverty. A key feature of LDCs economies are their agricultural commodities. DTIS are intended to guide LDCs in increasing the quantity, quality and value-addition of exports of agricultural commodities; creating jobs and increase welfare. Thus, better understanding how products best fit into the global supply and global value chains (GSC/GVC) becomes critical. Our analysis shows that the new guidelines for the DTISs of 2018 do not sufficiently address the Global/Regional Supply and Value Chains.

Article

Raymond Saner: “Infrastructure investment in Africa: Mainstreaming the SDGs to ensure cooperation between Economic, Commercial, Business and NGO Diplomacy”

Since the agreements on the 2030 Agenda and the Financing of development (AAAA) agreement in 2015, the member countries of the United Nations have agreed that domestic and foreign direct investment are expected to be aligned with the 2030 Agenda.
The 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda are supposed to be achieved in an integrated manner focusing at the same time on social, economic and environmental sustainability and be implemented in a transparent, inclusive and participatory manner.

In order to achieve these 17 goals and guiding principles, very substantial financial investment will be required. According to the 2014 World Investment Report (WIR) by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), approximately 4 trillion USD will be required every year in developing countries alone for the SDGs to be achieved by2030.

Lichia Yiu; “Role of Business Diplomacy Where Economic Diplomacy Stops –A Critical Reflection of the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa”

Historically, China had prior experience in interacting with Africa. In the first half of 15^th Century, Admiral Zhen reached Madagascar already with his fleet of “treasure boats”. Traders from the neighboring countries and dominions joint the fleet in order to benefit from the trading opportunities. This was the first official trade mission by the Chinese Ming Emperor. Such missions continued for more than 15 years and came to a halt. The Belt and Road Initiative is a systematic effort of the Chinese government to foster a stronger economic and political link with its neighbours in the Southeast Asia and beyond reaching the shore of Africa once again. In the geopolitical context of the post cold war period and the accelerated economic and technological catching up by China, such a concerted effort like BRI is causing concerns and anxieties in many quarters. Wherever there is a Chinese international trade policy, Chinese companies follow. Interactions with the host countries, either the community or the labour force or suppliers, is achieving mixed results.

Living Wage and Sustainable Development Goal # 8

Raymond Saner; University of Basel & Lichia Yiu; CSEND, Geneva

Paper and Presentation given during the 6th Conference of “Regulating for Decent Work” (RDW) on Living Wages and the Sustainable Development Goals: Workers’ Well-being in the Context of Employment and Costs of Living
ILO, Geneva, July 2019

The 2030 Agenda focuses on employment and decent work for all. SDG 8 was listed as one of the thematic topics of the 2019 High Level Political Forum in July 2019 in New York. All member countries of the United Nations were invited to present their implementation of the SDGs in general and of SDG 8 in particular. This paper and this presentation proposed to shed light on SDG 8 and how this goal relates to Living Wage.

Private military and security companies: legal and political ambiguities impacting the global governance of warfare in public arenas

Raymond Saner, Amaka Uchegbu and Lichia Yiu; 2019

The current regulatory environment of significance to the PMSC industry is ambiguous as a result of porous legal boundaries and incongruent policies due to competing political and judicial systems: national, regional, and international. Accordingly, it is essential to consider how ambiguities could be reduced and turned into legal certainty through both hard and soft law to prevent human rights abuses.