 As we stand here today, the world is beginning to face a significant rise of protectionism. The current crisis in the world economy which has not really been able to recover since the 2008 has reflected itself in growing tensions on trade and the rhetoric of protectionism in many capitals in the world including the United Kingdom during the recent referendum, the election campaign in the United States. Trade is a mechanism by which countries who are not able to produce many goods for their own use can begin to exchange goods, raise their level of welfare, rise from poverty for many countries. And so it is very important for markets to be open for countries to retain that opportunity to grow their economies through trade. The breakdown in the trade negotiations in Geneva which has not recovered since 2008 creates the possibility that the world will descend once again into a situation that we found ourselves in in the 1930s. It is arguable that the fact that we do have a world trade organization and a relatively stable system prevented the world from descending back into a situation we found ourselves in the 1930s. It is this insurance policy that the world requires to be mindful of and therefore the need to revitalize the WTO and to ensure that we negotiate together not to simply seek advantage for single countries and the big nations but to build a more sustainable and a more equitable trade order. The research that I'm working on at the University of Cape Town is to focus on how countries in Africa can work together to build a regional integration project that is more balanced, more equitable and that results in their ability to compete more effectively in the world economy. It is clear to me that when countries work together, especially those that are small, that are landlocked, that are vulnerable, they can combine their resources by cooperation across borders, building their infrastructure, building regional value chains and competing in the world economy on a more effective basis. The lesson from the First and Second World War is that trade rules matter and that a world without trade rules can descend into conflict and war. The fact that the Doha round has now almost collapsed sends a signal to the world that we may very well descend into a situation we found ourselves in in the 1930s and the 1940s and therefore the world needs to take note that if we do not pay significant attention to this situation we will be doing ourselves a great injustice. The approach that we are taking to regional integration in Africa is to avoid the kind of mercantilist approaches where countries negotiate for their own interests but to work together in a cooperative manner, ensuring that all countries benefit, that there is a more balanced approach to trade negotiations, that builds productive capacity, cross-border infrastructure and creates a basis for a more peaceful and stable Africa.