AfCFTA: will Africa’s ‘historic’ free trade deal be a game changer?
- The African Continental Free Trade Area is the largest since the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1994
African nations officially launched a landmark trade agreement at the African Union summit in Niger on Sunday, with the long sought-after agreement hailed as a historic step towards “peace and prosperity” across the continent.
After 17 years of tough negotiations, the AU launched the “operational phase” of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in what AU commission chairman Moussa Faki had described as a “historic” moment.
“An old dream is coming true, the founding fathers must be proud,” said Faki, adding that AfCFTA would create “the greatest trading area in the world”.
It is hoped that AfCFTA – the largest since the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1994 – will help unlock Africa’s long-stymied economic potential by boosting intraregional trade, strengthening supply chains and spreading expertise.
Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou hailed it as “the greatest historical event for the African continent since the creation of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963,” referring to the AU’s predecessor.
“The eyes of the world are turned towards Africa,” Egyptian President and African Union Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at the summit’s opening ceremony.