IN a speech at the University of Nairobi, WTO DG Pascal Lamy has said, "Africans today are more confident and hopeful in the future than ever before. This is also the great transformation that I have seen in the attitude of African negotiators in WTO: confident that trade, if coupled with domestic policies and Aid for Trade can be an engine for growth.”

He said that there is no shortage of growth stories on Africa. ''I have been travelling extensively in Africa in the last 20 years. But what is spectacular about the debate on Africa today is the shift in perception. Africa has changed from the land of pessimism to the land of opportunity. We see this renewed focus in the reporting from the mainstream media which has increasingly widened its traditional narrow reporting to spotlight the innovation and optimism of people on the continent and the growth trajectories of its countries, he added.

Mr Lamy emphasised, "Six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies over the past decade were in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Kenya, in particular, has continued to be a leader on the continent and in the East Africa region, with projected growth this year of around 6 per cent and with recent reports from TradeMark East Africa highlighting the impressive track record of Kenya’s investment within East Africa. Five years into the global financial crisis, Africa as a region has shown great resilience, with an average growth rate of over 5 per cent over the last decade. This is in contrast with the advanced economies, most of which are yet to fully recover from the economic downtown."