NAIROBI – African economists said efforts made by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi during the past years contributed to laying the foundation stone for promoting intra-African trade and competition through unifying and coordinating trade liberalization processes and trade facilitation systems and tools across the African continent, particularly after the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 that groups 55 African countries and eight regional economic entities.
In statements to MENA on Friday, the experts said that Egypt has actively contributed, through its presidency of the African Union and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and its active contributions in regional and international economic forums, to removing many obstacles that impede intra-African trade over the past years.
Egypt’s efforts aim at creating a unified continental market for goods and services and facilitating the movement of investors, including paving the way for the establishment of a unified customs union in the African continent, they added according to MENA.
Zambian economist Tunku Fofana said the AfCFTA, which has a consumer population of nearly 1.2 billion people, and Gross domestic product (GDP), estimated at dlrs 3 trillion, or 3 percent of the world’s GDP – constitutes a favorable opportunity to enhance economic growth and achieve intra-African trade integration.
He lauded Egypt’s efforts to support comprehensive development in the African continent, noting that the AfCFTA is one of the ambitious projects included in the Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
Rwandan economist Samuel Gilbert said that the AfCFTA will contribute, if its implementation is accelerated, to lifting about 30 million people out of poverty.
African countries should activate development policies and strengthen infrastructure to attract green investments and enhance trade through the AfCFTA and the three major economic blocs; COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), he further noted.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the 13 flagship projects of Agenda 2063:The Africa We Want, of the African Union. It is a high ambition trade agreement, with a comprehensive scope that includes critical areas of Africa’s economy, such as digital trade and investment protection, amongst other areas.
By eliminating barriers to trade in Africa, the objective of the AfCFTA is to significantly boost intra-Africa trade, particularly trade in value-added production and trade across all sectors of Africa’s economy.
