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The association marked the operation of the African e-commerce platform called ‘Sokokuu’.
By Our correspondent
January 4, 2021: Ethiopian Airlines-DHL and African Electronic Trade (AeTrade) Group have partnered to transport historic packages in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
During the AfCFTA Start of Trading 2021 launch ceremony on January 1, Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said that the partnership aimed to invoke the start of AfCFTA market trading and the operations of the African trading platform. electronic in the continent, according to a joint statement issued by the partners involved.
The partnership with the African Electronic Trade Group and DHL is crucial, as Ethiopia is a key player in African cargo and passenger transport, he said.
He stressed the need to boost intra-African trade to pave the way to a bright future while fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The link between an integrated African market, the free movement of people and Africa’s single air market cannot be underestimated, as it serves as a catalyst to open up immense opportunities in Africa for the benefit of Africans and all stakeholders,” he said Tewolde. .
The Executive Director further congratulated the leaders of the African Union for their strategic focus on legal instruments that will make it easier for Africans to travel freely around the continent and do business with each other.
The partnership marked the start of trade under the recently effective agreement and the operation of the African e-commerce platform called ‘Sokokuu’, which means big market, central market and unity in the Kiswahili language.
For his part, former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and sponsor of AeTrade Group welcomed the start of Ethiopian Airlines to connect Africa not only through passenger transport but also packages under AfCFTA.
AfCFTA, which launched in March 2018 in Kigali, went into effect in the New Year. So far, it has brought together 54 signatories to the African Union, except Eritrea, and has the potential to boost intra-African trade by more than 52 percent by 2022, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
