The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents a unique opportunity for African States to boost intra-African trade and economic inclusion, the Angola’s representative to the African Union (AU) ), Francisco da Cruz said last week.
Speaking at the 9th meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) of the African Union, held in digital format, the ambassador underlined that the AfCFTA will allow African states to increase added value and adopt reforms to increase their access to the export market for Africa.
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“The implementation of the AfCFTA must be aligned with the fiscal policies of African States, particularly in sectors that are fundamental to international trade such as manufacturing, agriculture, services and renewable energy, among others”, underlined Francisco da Cruz.
The official, who is also the Ambassador of Angola to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (CEA), said that the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the strategic need for greater cooperation between the African States and their international partners.
Francisco da Cruz noted that the evolution of the AfCFTA can contribute to a greater resilience of the continent in the face of present and future economic shocks, mitigating the negative effects of Covid-19, encouraging regional trade by reducing trade costs and promoting reforms to sustain Africa’s integration and growth.
“In this process, we encourage close cooperation and complementarity between the AfCFTA Secretariat and the eight Regional Economic Communities in the development and implementation of common fiscal policy positions and trade facilitation measures among African States”, concluded Ambassador Francisco da Cruz.
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Among the relevant programmes of the AfCFTA, announced on Thursday by its Secretary General, Wamkele Mene, are the launch of the Guided Trade Initiative that seeks to facilitate meaningful trade between interested States Parties, the Business Forum, scheduled for March 2023 and the Intra-African Fair scheduled for November of the same year in Cote d’Ivoire.
Wamkele Mene expressed his optimism regarding the African Union Extraordinary Summit dedicated to the AfCFTA, to be held on 25 November this year, in Niamey, Niger, on the sidelines of the Summit on African Industrialization and Economic Diversification, ahead of the Continental Industrialization Week.
