African Leaders Reaffirm Commitment to Free Trade Zone Discussions

African leaders, bolstered by a wave of enthusiasm, have finally achieved a long-standing goal of establishing a continent-wide free trade area after 17 years of negotiations. The monumental accomplishment was officially launched Friday, ushering in a new era of economic integration across the continent.

As African leaders gather in Addis Ababa for the annual African Union summit this weekend, the challenge of turning the landmark agreement into a reality remains. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been hailed as the largest free trade agreement across the world, with participation from 54 of the 55 African countries, with the exception of Eritrea.

Discussions concerning the expedited implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will commence on Saturday. The initiative, which seeks to raise intra-African trade by 60% by 2034, involves removing almost all tariffs and forming an economic bloc of 1.3 billion people with a collective GDP of $3.4 trillion.

African countries currently engage in minimal trade with one another, as they exchange only fifteen percent of their goods and services, while more than sixty-five percent is exchanged with European countries.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was designed to improve this situation, as it was projected to lift fifty million Africans out of extreme poverty and increase their incomes by nine percent by 2035, according to the World Bank.

Nevertheless, the implementation of the AfCFTA has not been as successful as intended, due to such impediments as differences in tariff reductions and the effect of the current pandemic on border closures.