NAIROBI: The African Union launches the ‘operational phase’ this weekend of a long-awaited trade accord, but analysts say the continent faces an uphill task to transform the pact
into reality.
The 55-nation AU, gathering for a summit in Niger, will give the formal push to a deal to phase out tariffs on trade from the Cape of Good Hope to Cairo.
By doing so, say supporters of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), business between African nations will boom.
The economy of Africa, with a GDP of $2.5 trillion today, will reach takeoff just as its 1.2 billion population doubles over the next three decades,
they predict.
“It’s a remarkable achievement, and one that can even be described as historic,” AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said Thursday in the Niger capital Niamey.
Backers were given something to celebrate ahead of the summit: on Tuesday,
Nigeria, the continent’s largest and most populous economy, said it would sign after long
holding back.
Talks on free trade began back in 2002, culminating in a deal that in late May crossed the threshold of ratification by at least
22 countries.
That tally is now 25 out of 55 AU members. Benin and Eritrea are the last countries
yet to sign.
The sunny mood may well sour when the AU is confronted with the realities of the task at hand, observers say.
“Negotiations on some very important points have not yet been completed,” said Trudi Hartzenberg, director at Tralac, a specialist trade law organisation based in South Africa. – AFP
