The establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) is a major milestone in the long march of African integration. As foreseen in the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (commonly known as the Abuja Treaty), which entered into force in 1994, the integration process is to culminate in the African Economic Community. A review of the current status of Africa’s economic integration is the subject of Chapter 2.
The potential for trade to act as a channel for development has been well-recognized, and is reflected in the incorporation of trade in many of the 17 Goals enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For African countries, intraregional trade can act as a key channel for enhancing the transformative power of trade. While the share of intra-African trade to the total trade of African countries is currently low relative to other regions, the composition of that trade is more diversified than Africa’s trade with the rest of the world.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6 November 2017 (ECA) - ‘Getting the Future Africa-UK Trade Partnership Right’ was the subject of an expert group meeting held during the just-ended 10th Session of the Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration that was held in Addis Ababa.
The meeting was organized by the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) of the Economic Commission for Africa and the London-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI), in conjunction with the 10th Session of the Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 3 November 2017 (ECA) - The 10th Session of the Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration (CRCI) ended in Addis Ababa Thursday night with participants adopting recommendations that will go a long way in assisting member States in adopting and implementing the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).
The meeting, held under the theme; “Implementation of the continental free trade area and shared gains”, generated a lot of interest from member States with debate going well into the night as they discussed how countries will benefit from the CFTA.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2 November 2017 (ECA) – The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) on Wednesday launched joint reports on transforming African economies through smart trade and industrial policy and the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), respectively.
The joint launch was organized by the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) of the Economic Commission for Africa during the ongoing 10th Session of the Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 1, 2017 (ECA) - The 10th Session of the Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration (CRCI) officially kicked-off in Addis Ababa Wednesday with the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Vera Songwe, saying Africa needs to address its infrastructure gaps if the continent is to unlock its economic potential through industrial development.
Addis Ababa, 1 November 2017 (ECA) - A group of experts met in Addis Ababa for the 2017 edition of the continental workshop on trade and gender under the theme; “The role of regional economic communities in supporting gender sensitive implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area”.
The workshop was organized by the African Trade Policy Centre of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in conjunction with the 10th Session of the Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration.