Addis Ababa, 18 June 2018 (ECA) - The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe has lauded the representatives of the Tripartite group comprising COMESA, EAC and SADC for their work on synergies between the Tripartite Free Trade Area and the African Continental Free Trade Area – AfCFTA, signed this year by African Union Member States.
On 21 March 2018 in Kigali, 44 member States of the African Union signed the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). An additional 6 member States of the African Union signed the Kigali Declaration by which they committed to sign the Agreement of the African Continental Free Trade Area once they had undertaken necessary national consultations.
Dakar, 4 June 2018 (ECA) - The 6th Meeting of African Union Ministers of Trade (AMOT) concluded today in Dakar, Senegal after two days of deliberation. The meeting was preceded by the 11th meeting of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Negotiating Forum and the 6th meeting of the Committee of Senior Trade Officials (STO).
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 31, 2018 (ECA) – A two-day conference on “Digital Trade in Africa: Implications for Inclusion and Human Rights”, opened in Addis Ababa Thursday, with a high level panel discussion on the importance of digital technologies in the advancement of trade and Africa’s development.
The panelists at the opening session were Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, Economic Commissioner for Africa; UNCTAD’s Secretary-General, Mukhisa Kituyi; former ECA Executive Secretary, Carlos Lopes; and Amani Abou-Zeid, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy.
The ATPC, OHCHR and FES Geneva initiated a partnership to analyse the human rights implications of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The final joint report “The Continental Free Trade Area in Africa: A Human Rights Perspective” was launched in July 2017 focusing on specific case studies, stakeholders and human rights.
Addis Ababa, 21 May 2018 (ECA) - Digital trade within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be at the centre of discussions during an upcoming conference dubbed “Digital Trade in Africa: Implications for Inclusion and Human Rights.”
Addis Ababa, 14 May 2018 (ECA) – The people of Africa need to be mobilized for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the ongoing African Union (AU) reforms, former African Development Bank AfDB) President, Donald Kaberuka, said Monday.
Speaking during a high-level roundtable, which discussed issues around fiscal space and financial sustainability in the context of the AfCFTA, Mr. Kaberuka said the continental free trade area and AU reforms were both critical for Africa’s future, adding, nothing should be taken for granted.
Addis Ababa, 14 May 2018 (ECA) - "Africa will certainly make meaningful gains from African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) because our countries are individually and collectively committed", affirmed Mr Amadou Ba, the Senegal Minister of Finance. He however noted that African policymakers will first need to prioritize investments in regional infrastructure that catalyze integration and facilitate the intra-continental trade.
Addis Ababa, 14 May 2018 (ECA) – A passionate debate on the place of the private sector in the arrangements of the African continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has shored up tensions in thinking around foreign dominance of big business in Africa, especially in terms of investments. “Private sector and the implementation of the African continental free trade area” was the theme of the round table that spun the said debate at the 51at session of the UN Economic Commission for Africa.