Egypt Participates in Regional Workshop on Measuring Digital Trade in Services for COMESA Member States
represented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, is taking part in the regional workshop on measuring digital trade in services for member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The four-day workshop is organized by the World Trade Organization from December 9 to 12 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The workshop aims to strengthen the capacity of COMESA member states in understanding the growing impact of digitalization on international trade and to underline the importance of developing methodological frameworks for measuring digital trade. Sessions will cover key concepts of digital trade, data collection sources, challenges facing measurement, and international and regional case studies.
A major focus of the workshop is addressing the challenges associated with measuring digitally delivered services. Participants, including representatives of central banks, national statistical authorities, and relevant government agencies, will receive recommendations from the 2023 Digital Trade Measurement Handbook prepared by the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization. The handbook provides unified definitions, conceptual foundations, and statistically comparable approaches to measuring digital trade at the international level.
Throughout the workshop, participants will engage in practical statistical exercises, roundtable discussions, and in-depth sessions examining conceptual frameworks, digitally ordered and digitally delivered trade, and national case studies. The program also explores upcoming updates to international trade statistics guidelines, with the objective of enhancing COMESA countries’ capabilities in monitoring and measuring digital trade in services.