Accra, Nov. 14, GNA - The United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is working on a project to strengthen existing programmes and to develop new products for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

The UNCTAD EMPRETEC programme, dubbed "EMPRETEC Africa Forum", is a capacity-building programme intended to promote the creation of support structures for SMEs in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

This was arrived at in Geneva at a recent UNCTAD meeting, which attracted the largest gathering of EMPRETEC Directors. Information note copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday said: "Small and medium firms, the products they sell and employment they generate were considered vital for broad-based economic growth and rising living standards."

UNCTAD currently supports 27 country programmes in Latin America; Africa; the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe.

Dirk J. Bruinsma, the UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General, in an opening address stressed that entrepreneurship development was essential for building productive capacities in developing countries and, therefore, should be a key element of the Aid-for-Trade initiative. "Aid-for-Trade is an initiative launched by WTO to help developing countries, particularly least-developed countries (LDCs), to build capacity and trade-related infrastructure to facilitate their access to markets and to export more as well as to promote growth, development and poverty reduction," he said.

Launched in Geneva, the Forum will promote regional networking initiatives to reinvigorate the EMPRETEC programme in Africa. Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Uganda would take the lead by strategizing with colleagues from the Continent on the best ways to mobilize resources, establish an effective communication and marketing strategy as well as ensure the consolidation of existing programmes and the creation of new country programmes in Africa with the support of UNCTAD.