Let's push the African Continental Free Trade Area as a sure-fire way to a golden 'made in Africa' label, leaders say at Intra-African Trade Fair.
ENPNewswire-November 18, 2021--Let's push the African Continental Free Trade Area as a sure-fire way to a golden 'made in Africa' label, leaders say at Intra-African Trade Fair
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Release date- 17112021 - That history repeats itself need not be a bad thing in Africa, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stressed during the opening ceremony of the second Intra-African Trade Fair in Durban, South Africa.
Speaking on Monday, the president recalled that for centuries in pre-colonial times, Africa was a thriving trade hub. Now the continent is 'taking concrete steps to write its own economic success story.'
'I think many of us long to see that wonderful and golden label-'made in Africa'-not made anywhere else in the world. This is critical if we are to change the distorted trade relationship that exists between African countries and the rest of the world,' Ramaphosa told the audience in Durban, home to one of the busiest harbors in Africa.
The biennial Intra-African Trade Fair was launched in 2018 to be a springboard for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Organized by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Fair brings together development, trade and investment communities to negotiate deals and agree on the steps required to promote intra-regional trade.
The AfCTA, which became effective this year, aims to become the world's largest trade zone since the World Trade Organization in 1994, with the potential to boost African incomes by billions of dollars in the next decade. Speakers at the Trade Fair said such promise was especially relevant as the continent tries to rebuild in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citing successful deals from the maiden Trade Fair, Afreximbank CEO Benedict Oramah dismissed skepticism about African countries' ability to significantly boost trade among themselves, which currently stands at around 18% of total goods that cross national borders.
Oramah said Afreximbank was 100% behind Africa's trade pact. 'This fair is a starting point. The other reasons why they are wrong: Today, we have a strong and dynamic AfCFTA secretariat with knowledge and energy to drive the AfCFTA agenda.'
The 2018 Trade Fair delivered deals worth about $32 billion, of which around $25 billion had been implemented and another $2.5 billion are being processed. Its offshoots include a young...
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