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African leaders at a summit today approved that trade should begin on January 1 next year as scheduled in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and called on African financial institutions to provide technical and financial support for its implementation.
“We call on women, youth, businesses, unions, civil society, cross-border traders, academia, the African diaspora and other stakeholders to join us as governments in this historic effort to create the Africa we want in line with the African Union. Agenda 2063, ”said the leaders in a statement at the end of their 13th extraordinary summit of member states held virtually today.
The leaders reaffirmed their determination to deepen continental integration through the AfCFTA and commended the contribution of the African Trade Ministers for the preparations for the launch of trade on January 1, 2021.
Opening the meeting, the President of the African Union and President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that the start of trade would be one of the “most important milestones” of the continental integration project and the clearest affirmation yet that Africa is determined to take over. of their own destiny.
Mr. Ramaphosa described the AfCFTA as the grand edifice that contains Africa’s collective dreams and aspirations for an integrated and prosperous continent.
“The AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade, promote industrialization and competitiveness and contribute to job creation, and unleash regional value chains that will facilitate the meaningful integration of Africa into the world economy,” he said.
According to him, the AfCFTA should be used to promote the empowerment of African women, which is one of the most important goals of the continental body’s Agenda 2063, as improving women’s access to business opportunities not only facilitates economic freedom of women, but also increases productivity. countries capacity.
She called on the AU to consider a Protocol on Women in Trade to facilitate greater business opportunities for women and to focus on eliminating non-tariff barriers to trade.
President Ramaphosa also expressed his gratitude to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) for providing technical support to the continental initiative.
In his own speech, AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene pledged to work with CEPA and the United Nations Development Program to prepare the AU Protocol on Women in Trade, saying that for the AfCFTA is inclusive and ensures shared growth across the continent, African women, youth and SMEs must be at the center of its implementation.
This protocol will be based on the AfCFTA Framework Agreement, which recognizes gender equality as an explicit objective.
Mr. Mene also joined some of the leaders in acknowledging the technical assistance provided by ECA member states in developing their national AfCFTA strategies.
The Director of CEPA’s Trade and Regional Integration Division, Mr. Stephen Karingi, welcomed the results of the summit saying: “The inclusion of health and education among the priority service sectors for liberalization in the framework of the AfCFTA in light of the impact of the covid- The 19-year pandemic has received a boost from the champion of the AfCFTA, President Issoufou of Niger. ”
“The decision to have December 2021 as the common deadline for Phase II and Phase III negotiations shows the continent’s commitment to realize and secure the benefits of electronic commerce early. We remain committed to working with the African Union and our partners to achieve Africa’s integration agenda and, in doing so, accelerate the implementation of the SDGs and Agenda 2063, the Africa we want, ”he added.
