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Business News for Monday, January 18, 2021
Source: Diplomatic affairs
2021-01-18
Anne Sophie Ave, Ambassador of France in Ghana
France’s Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Ave, has said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into full effect on January 1, 2021, will take longer to settle as regional integration policy , in his opinion, it could be more complicated. than estimated.
AfCFTA seeks to harmonize 1.3 billion people in a $ 3.4 trillion economic bloc in the hope that the agreement will become the largest free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization.
However, the French diplomat, when mentioning the prospects of the agreement in an interview with Harriet Nartey on Pan African Television’s Diplomatic Affairs program on Saturday, January 16, 2021, noted that “it seems very easy. The truth is that it is a bit complicated because there are products that you really want to protect, you want to protect a part of your industry, each country has specificities that they want to maintain and how are you doing with your currency? And how are you doing with the infrastructures? If you say you want to trade more with us, but you don’t have the right infrastructure, how do you do it? “she asked.
Although these are imminent challenges that pose a threat to a smooth implementation of the AfCFTA, the ambassador explained that “there is a way to get there and that is where we are ready to help. We want to partner with these countries. “
Commenting on whether Africa should draw lessons from the European Union, Anne Sophie Ave called for the agreement to be developed to accommodate the unique opportunities and challenges in Africa, while linking with other economic blocs to glean vital lessons that could provide a new impetus to intra-trade with Africa.
