Monrovia, Liberia – African leaders and politicians have been urged to use the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to turn hardship into opportunity in the face of global uncertainty.
The African Development Bank convened a high-level hybrid debate at the 2024 African Economic Conference in Gaborone, Botswana, on November 24, 2024, when this call to action was made.
The goal of the AfCFTA, the world’s biggest free trade area, is to create a single continental market for investments, products, and services across 54 nations. Enhancing intra-African trade, promoting industrialization, generating employment, and establishing Africa as a significant role in the global economy are the objectives of the pact.
Under the theme “Can the AfCFTA Build Economic Resilience for Africa in These Uncertain Times?” In addition to promoting economic stability, integration, and inclusive growth throughout the continent, the event looked at how the AfCFTA may protect Africa from financial crisis.
In his opening statement, Jaswinder Bedi, CEO of Bedi Investments, emphasized the role of the AfCFTA in establishing a borderless Africa and called for value addition to optimize market potential.
“Globalization has peaked; the next mantra is regionalization, localization, and Africans trading with Africans.”
The CEO of Egypt’s El Gondy AfCFTA Trading Company, Dr. Nevine Nakhla, cited digital innovation and Africa’s youthful population as key forces for change.
Highlighting export diversification and regional value chains, she referred to the AfCFTA as “a gateway to empower SMEs, women, and youth for sustainable development.”
The Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Director of Industrial Development and Trade, Mr. Dhunraj Kassee, emphasized the value of cooperation among countries, regional organizations, the AfCFTA Secretariat, and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
He stressed that these collaborations have the ability to fully realize the potential of the AfCFTA, promoting industrialization, the creation of jobs, and inclusive growth throughout Africa.
“The Southern African Development Community (SADC) stands to gain a great deal from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as it expands the market for industrialization and builds value chains in priority sectors like agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, capital goods, and services,” he said.
“AfCFTA is a tool for the economic transformation of the continent, impacting areas like poverty reduction and women’s empowerment,” said Gilberto Antonio, Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General at the AfCFTA Secretariat, in his remarks.
“The legal framework to boost intra-African trade is in place and the priority now is its implementation. Instruments have been created to facilitate SME participation and ensure better sharing of the benefits of implementation between and within countries,” Antonio added.
Through strategic alliances with Asky Airlines, Zambia Airways, and Malawi Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines exemplifies how cooperation in aviation enhances connectivity, increases trade, and promotes regional economic integration under the AfCFTA, according to Mr. Samson Arega, Group Vice President – Customer Service Experience.
As a monument to the strength of cooperation in promoting economic resilience and integration, he pointed out that Ethiopian Airlines links 66 African locations, spanning markets and facilitating smooth commerce and travel.
Ms. Allen Asiimwe, Chief of Programs at TradeMark Africa, who took part virtually, stressed that Africa has established suitable regulations for intra-African commerce. She called on partner nations to eliminate non-tariff trade restrictions and open up borders in order to facilitate smooth commerce throughout the continent.
Dr. Joy Kategekwa, the African Development Bank’s Director of Regional Integration Coordination, said in her closing remarks that the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy is based on optimism, hope, and the belief that Africa can make a difference, and that the Bank is essential to realizing this vision. She underlined that AfCFTA is the primary lever for integration, which is crucial to Africa’s prosperity.
Enabling the free flow of people, expanding markets, increasing productive capacity, investing in infrastructural integration, unleashing financial integration, and fostering opportunities for women are the Bank’s five key goal, she maintained.
AfCFTA’s pivotal role in changing Africa’s economic landscape and bolstering its resilience in an increasingly unstable global economy was emphasized throughout the session.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Development Bank, and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) collaborated to host the 2024 African Economic Conference (AEC), which took place in Gaborone, Botswana, with the subject “Securing Africa’s Economic Future Amidst Rising Uncertainty.”
