Minister of Planning: African Free Trade Area Boosts Intra-regional Trade by 33%

Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated in the session held by the International Trade Center under the title "Transforming Trade Integration in Africa into a Reality" through video conference technology.

During her speech, the Egyptian said that the first period of 2020 witnessed the outbreak of the Corona pandemic at a time when African countries signed one of the largest trade agreements in the world during the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union, which witnessed the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).

Al-Saeed added that despite Africa being a resource-rich continent and a vast market, comprising about 1.3 billion people, African trade in goods and services is still low, amounting to about 3% of global exports and imports on average.