Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Tong Defa late Wednesday urged Africa to leverage the opportunity provided by the continental free trade initiative to achieve economic independence.
Tong said during a media briefing, the second since assuming duty as ambassador to Ghana, that after attaining political freedom, the continent is now poised to gain its economic independence through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) initiative.
“In the last century, from the 1950s to the 1970s, you got independence from colonialism. Now, it is time for African countries to be independent economically. I think it’s the right time and the right moment,” the ambassador stated.
According to him, Africa’s 1.4 billion population, including a youthful population averaging around 30 years, and the abundant natural resources to be fully utilized are huge potentials for success.
He urged African countries to pursue the vision of a continental free trade area with unity of purpose because, with a united front, the continent would succeed in building a single economic zone and become an economic powerhouse.
For that reason, Tong said China, as a partner of Africa, was cooperating with the AfCFTA Secretariat in Ghana and the African Union to ensure that the initiative becomes successful.
Tong added that the 10 action plans, including trade, prosperity, industrial cooperation, connectivity, and development cooperation, introduced during the last summit of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) last year in Beijing were part of China’s program to support the implementation of AfCFTA.
In that direction, he said China would cooperate with all 53 African countries that have normalized ties with China to work out these action plans to align with each country’s development agenda.