Posted on April, 25, 2019 at 09:16 am
A SENIOR expert on trade and goods with the African Union Commission (AUC) has allayed African countries’ fears and concerns over the economic prospects of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Dr Halima Noor Abdi yesterday dispelled fears that the continental free trade area will have a detrimental effect on some of the economies. Instead, the AUC official explained that the agreement will enable the member states trade with other economic blocs.
“This is a very lucrative opportunity for African countries; they shouldn’t be hesitant in signing and ratifying the agreement,” said Dr Abdi while fielding questions from journalists on the sidelines of a five-day Consultative Workshop on Market Access Concessions on Trade and Goods.
Dr Abdi assured that the agreement will work in the best interest of African states, contrary to reports that it will work against them.
“They (African countries) shouldn’t be worried about the agreement, if anything, it will open up their opportunities to other markets,” she said. According to the senior expert on trade and goods, the AUC will continue persuading its member states to sign and eventually ratify the AfCFTA.
She disclosed that the AU had carried out a number of simulations on how African states could benefit from the agreement, including the one conducted in Tanzania last year.
Out of the 55 AU member states, 52 have signed the protocol, save for Eritrea, Nigeria and Benin. Likewise, only 22 have ratified the protocol while 20 are yet to deposit the instruments of ratification.
The countries that have deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification with the AUC Chairperson are Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Niger, Chad, Congo Republic, Djibouti, Guinea, eSwatini, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Egypt,
Ethiopia and The Gambia.
Countries that have obtained parliamentary approval for ratification but still need to deposit their instruments of ratification with the depositary are Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan are yet to ratify the agreement.
Source: Daily News