Paulina Elago, Deputy Director for the Trade Facilitation and Capacity Building Project, is a trade economist with over 15 years experience in trade policy and international trade issues. Her expertise includes trade policy formulation, implementation and negotiation, trade development, export promotion and capacity building.
Before joining the Hub, Paulina spent three years at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as an Economic Adviser where she advised Commonwealth Developing Country members on trade policy issues. These issues included those related to negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries and the European Union, including WTO related issues. She assisted with the initial technical preparations and consultations that lead to development of negotiating positions for the various regional groups of the ACP group. She also facilitated and undertook trade capacity building activities in preparation for the negotiations and has facilitated dialogue amongst key stakeholders with a view to reach consensus on policy issues related to the negotiations on fisheries, rules of origin and WTO compatibility. In that context, she worked closely with individual members, regional integration organizations in West Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean regions, ACP Secretariat, European Commission and other donor agencies.
She co-edited the "Guide to the Cotonou Agreement" published by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2004. Paulina brings to the Hub expertise in trade policy and negotiating skills, as well as in-depth knowledge of the Southern African region including its regional integration arrangements. She also brings a vast network of policy makers across the region and other parts of the world, especially the ACP region, and close contact with regional organizations such as SACU, SADC and COMESA.
