Zambia starts consultation process on free trade area

LUSAKA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Wednesday launched the start of high-level consultations on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in order for the country to come up with a common position before signing the deal.

Zambia did not sign the agreement last month as it still needed to conduct internal negotiations on some protocols in the agreement.

The country, however, signed the African Free Trade Area Declaration.

Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Christopher Yaluma said at the start of the consultations that Zambia will not sign the agreement until after inclusive consultations with all stakeholders.

While acknowledging that the agreement will provide greater market opportunities and enhance job creation for the country, the Zambian minister noted that the country needed to be prepared before signing the agreement.

"The onus is on us as a country to prepare adequately in order to take advantage of the emerging opportunities that will come from the agreement while minimizing costs," he said.

Kayula Siame, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary, said the government wanted to build consensus with all stakeholders before signing the agreement.

She said the launch of the consultative process was meant to engage the stakeholders on what the country's position was, discuss details of various protocols in the agreement.

Forty-four African countries signed the agreement to launch the AfCFTA during an extraordinary summit of the African Union (AU) in Kigali, Rwanda.

According to Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji, Zambia had negotiated the protocol on goods and services and the dispute settlement mechanism, while the remaining protocols, including on trade competition, investment and the intellectual property, were yet to be negotiated.

The AfCFTA was aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of businesses and investments.

According to the AU, this will pave the way for the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African Customs Union.

The AfCFTA could create an African market of over 1.2 billion people with a GDP of 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Enditem