Addis Ababa,July 29(ENA)--The European Commission has approved a six-year Trade Assistance Program (Trade.Com) amounting to 50 million Euro for Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

The program will focus on creating the necessary capacities in ACP countries to benefit from increased trading opportunities, according to a press release the EU delegation to Ethiopia sent to ENA on Tuesday.

The release quoted EU Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy as saying that the Commission needed to be ensure that the benefits from better trading opportunities translate into growth and development for which aid was therefore the necessary complement to trade.

Trade assistance was a key element of the EU-ACP Economic and Partnership Agreements currently being negotiated, Lamy said, adding he would have an opportunity to discuss the issue with ACP Trade Ministers scheduled to be held on 31 July.

EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson said, "...this programme will strengthen the ACP voice in multilateral or bilateral trade negotiations..."

The release quoted Nielson as saying also that the programme would complement efforts under the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations to strengthen the trading capacity of the ACP States and help them to effectively use trade for their development.

The Programme is complementary to the trade assistance already provided to ACP countries and regions through the National and Regional Indicative Programmes, the release said, adding in Ethiopia, an additional five million Euro has been programmed for this purpose.

Implementation would involve all relevant stakeholders such as the ACP regional integration organizations, the African Union and the ACP private sector and civil society, it indicated.