1.
SV PAN Delegates seated
0.10

2.
SV PAN Officials at head of conference including Treasurer, Executive Secretary and Deputy-President
0.24

3.
SV President of Togo Chamber of Commerce Mr Koffi Djondo, speaking
0.34

4.
SV PAN Delegates listening (2 shots)
0.46

5.
SV Mr Mwassive Keptigo, Togo's Minister of Commerce and Transport, speaking (2 shots)
0.54

6.
GV PAN Delegates applaud
1.00



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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: More than a hundred delegates from sixteen member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) attended the annual General Assembly of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce (FCCAO). The assembly opened in Lome, Togo, last week (8 November), a week after the signing there of a trade and aid agreement between the nine nations of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the fifty-eight African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP).

SYNOPSIS: The Assembly met in the Congress hall of the ruling R.T.P. (Rassemblement du peuple Togolais party. The theme of the Assembly was the search for the means of promoting industry and trade in West Africa and a study of the associated problems and possibilities. FCCAO were expected to explore the roles of the private sector and governments to compliment the work of the West African Economic Community.

President of Togo's Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry, M. Koffi Djondo, called for more dynamic and concrete activity by the Federation. He agreed with Togo President Eyadema's proposal for the creation of an ACP Chamber of Commerce. He said it would be in line with proposals to be studied at an UNCTAD/GATT (U.N. Commission on Trade and Development General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) conference, in New Delhi.

Togo's Minister of Commerce, M. Mwassivi Kpetigo, praised the work of the Economic Community. He said the world now realises that industrial development is a prerequisite for growth and for the development of all sectors of economies.