EU committed to successful AfCFTA implementation  

The European Union (EU) is committed to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), an official has said.

   Irchad Razaaly, Ambassador of the European Union to Ghana, stated this on Monday, during the 6th Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition, adding that the EU would support Africa to accelerate the implementation.

   “We have provided an 82-million-euro grant to support the acceleration and implementation of AfCFTA because we know the merits of integrating the internal markets,” Razaaly disclosed.

   He added that Europe does not see AfCFTA as a competition for trade between Africa and Europe because in Europe, “We also trade among ourselves as much as we trade with the rest of the world.”

   Since the EU has the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with many African countries, the ambassador said the EPA is a fantastic opportunity as a stepping-stone to accelerate AfCFTA and continental integration because integrating 54 countries that have no specific trade links would be difficult.

   He said the EU was, therefore, supporting the various regional blocs in Africa to integrate their trading activities as the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) has done for a successful implementation of AfCFTA.

   “West Africa is the most integrated region in Africa in trade. The economy is well advanced in that regard. So, we are happy to support the other regional blocs to develop their trade and economies so they can fully take advantage of AfCFTA,” he stated.

   In the case of Ghana, the ambassador said the EU has been assisting to develop agro-industries to help the country’s Small-and-Medium enterprises take advantage of the opportunities under AfCFTA and the EU market.

   “We are helping Ghanaian farmers to grow more fruits and transform them. So we are big when it comes to cassava, mango, and pineapple because it is not only about growing them, but about the transformation, the packaging, and more importantly to meet the international regulations,” said Razaaly.

   He said this support would help Ghana and other African countries to diversify their export base by also exporting value-added products rather than just raw commodities.

   “Another area linked to trade and industry is funding. Access to funding is difficult, but we are ensuring access to funding for the development of the industries,” stated the ambassador.

   Trading under AfCFTA started officially in Jan. 2021, creating the world’s largest free trade area with a population of 1.3 billion.

   The International Monetary Fund puts the combined gross domestic product of the African region at GDP of 3.0 trillion U.S. dollars as of 2022.