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Tuesday, April 02, 2019 3:30PM / AFDB
A year after the signing of the African
Continental Free Trade Agreement ( AfCFTA) in Kigali by 49 African states, and
following the ratification of the agreement by Ethiopia on the first
anniversary on 21st March, only one more state is now required
to reach the minimum requirement of 22 ratifying states. This will confirm its
entry into force, contributing to the creation of one of the potentially
biggest free trade areas in the world.
"Progress made on the free-trade
area is particularly encouraging," said the Chair of the 32nd session
of the Executive Council of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, in Addis Ababa
on 10 February 2019, referring to "the current pace of
ratification".
With the robust support of the African
Development Bank, the continent is beginning the final stage of its giant
economic project: to integrate the 55 African countries and create a common
market with a cumulative GDP of $2,500 billion. "Implementation of
the CFTA will result in a net gain of $2.8 billion in real income for
Africans," said the Bank's Macroeconomic Policy Director, Hanan
Morsy, who estimates that the AfCFTA will lead to a 15% increase in
intra-African trade.
Since 2010, economic and social
integration projects financed by the Bank have multiplied, breaking down
barriers between states and economic zones.
From Abidjan to Tunis, from Accra to
Bamako, Dakar, Ouagadougou and Niamey, the construction of major road
corridors and the convergence of customs systems have facilitated the movement
by land of goods and people. From Yaoundé to Lusaka and Brazzaville,
from Casablanca to Algiers, the creation of electrical
interconnections and renewable energy projects has woven a web linking the
capital cities of Africa and enabling millions of households to be lit by
electricity.
Lastly, the modernisation of the continent's
airports - Cairo, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Banjul - has enabled the liberalisation of African skies
by the creation of a single air transport market called the 'African Air
Transport Market (SAATM). Launched in January 2018, it will remove obstacles to
air connectivity in Africa.
To support these initiatives, a 'Visa Openness Index' (VOI)
has been established under the auspices of the African Development Bank and its
partners - the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Since its launch in 2016,
several African countries have reformed their systems for the issue of visas,
to simplify the movement of people on the continent.
Africa is making great strides on its
regional integration by facilitating inter-regional trade. "We are
determined to continue our support for the African integration agenda, because
this will lead to sustainable growth, will help the continent withstand
external pressures and will enable African businesses to develop and become
global giants,"said Gabriel Negatu, Director-General of the African
Development Bank in East Africa.
Mr Negatu also said that the Bank is
working to open up the continent. It has invested and will continue to invest
several million dollars in the creation of trade corridors and infrastructure,
including interconnected power grids. Not to mention the Bank's objective
of securing the establishment of a common passport in all African
countries. "Integration will bring cities closer
together. Implementation of the Continental Free-Trade Area (CFTA) will
boost cross-border trade. It will remove the frontiers that separate people.
Jobs will be created for young Africans. They will be given opportunities to
change Africa," Mr Negatu concluded
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