The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides an impetus for the continent to build together for socio-economic development, Veronica Nduva, secretary general of the East African Community (EAC), has said.
Nduva said this in a recent interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the ongoing 6th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, adding that AfCFTA allows Africa to approach development from a common platform and perspective.
She said the continental agreement would also enable Africa to have stronger negotiation ability and use the power in its numbers to get better deals when negotiating partnership agreements.
“We are eliminating the barriers that slow down intra-African trade, boost trading among ourselves, create and strengthen our markets, expand our markets, and make us benefit more from our products,” the secretary general said.
Nduva noted the EAC presents an excellent example of how intra-regional trade can boost development.
“Trading among ourselves in EAC has started seeing significant improvement since the start of the guided trade under AfCFTA, and our trading with the rest of Africa has also been improving,” said the official.
She added, “So, it is already working for us, and our example has shown that if we strengthen our trade policies, have common fiscal policies, and agree to get into partnerships together, then we have the statistical evidence that it is doable.”
During the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, intra-EAC trade rose 20 percent to 3.2 billion U.S. dollars, the highest level recorded within the region in over two years, according to the latest data from Trade Mark Africa (www.trademarkafrica.com).
Similarly, trade with the rest of Africa surpassed 5.0 billion dollars for the first time in two years, according to the data.
Again, the seven countries in the EAC region increased their trade with the rest of Africa by 584.6 million U.S. dollars to 4.3 billion dollars in Q4 of 2023, a 14 percent rise compared with the corresponding period in 2022, according to the data.
The data added that cross-border trade within the region also recorded a 12 percent rise in Q4 2023, from the previous year’s 2.6 billion dollars to 2.9 billion dollars.
The continental free trade area initiative was approved in 2012 and entered into force in 2019, aiming at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market.
The AfCFTA secretariat launched the Guided Trade Initiative in Oct. 2022, with eight countries participating in the initial pilot program.