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African ministers meet to consider free trade area legal instruments

Xinhua,March 09, 2018 Adjust font size:

KIGALI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Trade ministers from the African Union (AU) member states on Thursday started a meeting in Kigali to discuss the concluded legal instruments to establish the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The two-day meeting in the capital city of Rwanda was held ahead of the AU's extraordinary summit on the AfCFTA scheduled for March 17-21 in Kigali. Rwandan President and AU Chairperson Paul Kagame in February said a "historic pact" on the free trade area "will be signed" at the summit.

It is important to speed up negotiations towards the agreement of the AfCFTA in order to realize the continent's vision of single and larger market for African economies, said Vincent Munyeshyaka, trade minister of Rwanda at the meeting.

Legal instruments are critical to the AfCFTA negotiations and future implementation, said Munyeshyaka, adding that Africa needs to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploiting opportunities for scale production, free continental trade market access and better reallocation of resources.

Achieving Africa's rightful place in the global economy, single continental market for goods and services and as well as investments will play a vital role for the continent, said Burkina Faso's trade minister Harouna Kabore.

A continental free trade area will not only offer a larger and single market for African economies, but will contribute significantly to sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and better integration of the continent into the global economy, said Kabore.

The decision to form the CFTA was adopted in January 2012 during the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Head of States and Government of the African Union.

The CFTA is aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of businesses and investments. This, according to AU, will pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African Customs Union. Enditem

 

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