Implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement will boost intra-African trade and industrialization

Implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement will boost intra-African trade and industrialization

The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) should be expedited as the free trade zone will boost intra-African trade and accelerate industrialization, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Acting Executive Secretary, Mr. Antonio Pedros, has urged.

“While the AfCFTA’s promise is high, that promise can be realized only if the Agreement is implemented efficiently,” Mr. Pedro said, admitting that implementing the AfCFTA Agreement and supporting African economies, particularly Least Developed Countries (LDCs), was no small task.

In remarks at the opening of the Regional consultation on LDC5 for LDCs in Africa and Haiti, Mr. Pedros said the Doha Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries was timely for Africa whose economies have been impacted by the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine war.

The regional consultation on LDC5 for LDCs is taking stock of trade elements of the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022-2031 (DPOA). The regional consultation is organized by the World Trade Organisation and United Nations Office of the High Representative for LDCs (UN OHRLLS), in cooperation with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).

Welcoming the Doha Programme of Action for focusing on increasing LDCs exports and accelerating digital transformation&building institutional capacities, which were