AU Launches African Continental Free Trade Area

The African Union (AU) announced the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) as of January 1, 2021.

The step coincides with the efforts of the ambitious continental integration project, which is one of the main projects in the Agenda 2063 adopted by the leaders of the continent to create an integrated economic zone that includes all parts of Africa.

The declaration of the AFCFTA came during a virtual online celebration held at the headquarters of the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

The online celebration is the first in a series of events that will be actually held during the next few weeks to celebrate this important occasion in realizing the dream of the founding fathers of the organization African Unity for Unity and Integration (AUUI).

A statement issued by the African Union (AU)  today stated that the percentage of trade that African countries carry out with each other ranges between 16-18% only, while the largest part of the continent's trade with the rest of the world takes place.

Most of the African exports are raw materials, including extractive goods such as oil, gas, and minerals that are subject to market fluctuations.

In previous statements last month, the President of South  Africa and the President of the African Union, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that the African Continental Free Trade Area would boost intra-African trade, boost industrialization and competitiveness, contribute to job creation, and unleash regional value chains that would facilitate the meaningful integration of Africa. In the global economy.

Ramaphosa added that the African Continental Free Trade Area would also improve Africa's prospects as an attractive investment destination, and would help advance the empowerment of African women, by improving women's access to business opportunities, which in turn would facilitate women's economic freedom and expand the productive capacity of countries.