Somalilandsun: The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) invites you to a workshop on COVID-19 as a catalyst for Accelerating Trade and Investment in Africa virtual event.
| What: | Trade and Investment Webinar |
| Who: | African Development Bank and Korea Customs Service |
| When: | 24 November 2020, 10.45 to 13.45 GMT |
| Where: | Virtual |
Objectives of the Workshop
- To cross-examine the need for retooling, resetting reviving and restarting trade and investment in RMCs post-COVID-19, within the context of the AfCFTA.
- To explore measures needed to deepen reforms in Africa’s business environment while emphasizing competitiveness.
- To identify critical measures to reducing the costs of doing business, with an emphasis on ICT platforms and logistics services and improving cross-border trade facilitation and re-energizing the continent’s regional value chains.
Target audience
Participants will include policymakers, Regional Economic Communities, SMEs, the private sector and other stakeholders.
Join AfCFTA on 24 November 2020 to discover the real trade and investment opportunities available through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The webinar will provide a forum for knowledge-sharing and networking. It will explore crucial policy actions and the scope of investments necessary to mitigate the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expert participants will explore how African countries can transition from aid to trade and become part of the new world order. Free registration HERE
Guests are invited to join the ceremony by clicking on the following live stream links:
About AfCFTA
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a trade agreement that has been in force since 30 May 2019, between 22 states of the African Union (AU). It aims to create a vast free trade area of over 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of over US $ 2 trillion. As of April 2020, 29 countries have ratified the agreement.
The idea of creating an Africa-wide free trade area emerged at the 2012 AU summit in Addis Ababa. Negotiations began in 2015 and the deal was signed by 44 of the 55 AU member states in March 2018, during the AU summit in Kigali. At first, large economies such as South Africa and Nigeria refused to endorse the agreement. However, South Africa signed in July 2018 while Nigeria joined at the 11th hour in July 2019. Eritrea is the only AU state that has refused to sign.
The AfCFTA aims to liberalize 97% of products, 90% of non-sensitive products followed by 7% of sensitive products. Phase 1 of the negotiation process has focused on trade in goods and services. Phase 2 includes competition policy, intellectual property and investment and is aimed to be completed by 2020. Phase 3 will then incorporate e-commerce protocol.
Some foreign powers have already seen opportunities arising from the AfCFTA. China is planning to capitalize on it to connect African and Chinese markets to promote the free movement of goods, persons, capital and technologies. India is close to clinching a trade deal with Mauritius, which would provide a foothold into Africa. Turkish investors also see possibilities for development within the whole continent, while the EU might consider a mega trade deal. The African Union would be in favour of an Africa-US trade deal when the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expires in 2025.
The text of the AfCFTA is available here: https://www.bilaterals.org/?afcfta-consolidated-text-march
