The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is not just a trade agreement, but rather the path for Africa’s development and industrialisation as it aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.
The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo, made this statement, today, in Port Louis, at the opening ceremony of a two-day World Trade Organisation (WTO) Chairs Programme Virtual International Conference on International Trade and Investment. The theme chosen for the conference is ‘AfCFTA: Challenges and Opportunities’.
Minister Ganoo highlighted that the creation of the AfCFTA has been a monumental step in the economic integration of Africa, potentially uniting all the 55 African Union Member States, covering 1.3 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product valued at USD 3.4 trillion. He reminded that the AfCFTA is an ambitious agreement that goes beyond just trade in goods and services.
As reported by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), underscored the Minister, the agreement could boost intra-African trade by about 33% and cut Africa’s trade deficit by 51%. He further emphasised that the implementation of the agreement will have significant implications for maritime transport and services trade. Recent study by UNCTAD indicates that Comoros, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Somalia will experience a surge in traffic through their ports by 2030 as a result of the AfCFTA, he added.
Moreover, Minister Ganoo cautioned that Africa has been overly reliant on global supply chains, and the continent suffers when these global chains are disrupted, as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, the African continent is expected to build its resilience and accelerate its industrial development, with trade now in place under the AfCFTA.
WTO Chairs Programme Virtual International Conference
The WTO Chairs Programme Virtual International Conference on International Trade and Investment aims to provide a forum not only to academics working on issues related to Africa and developing countries but also to policymakers from the region who can discuss and deliberate on the implications, benefits, challenges and opportunities of the AfCFTA in fields such as food security, economic development and integration, Women, small and medium enterprises, services and investment, among others.
