Copy of Proposals to Fast-Track the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement

The Economic Commission for Africa's Economic Outlook 2025 recommends accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a key driver for promoting economic growth and regional integration on the continent.

The report emphasized the importance of fully implementing the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, including reducing customs duties and removing non-tariff barriers, unifying trade policies among African countries, and developing regional value chains in strategic sectors such as food industries, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy, while integrating climate policies into the framework of the agreement's implementation.

The report also recommended simplifying customs procedures by adopting digital technologies such as the shared electronic registry (blockchain) and electronic data processing, to reduce trade costs and improve efficiency, enhancing women's participation through policies that support their access to finance, education, and digital skills, and investing in sustainable urban development to provide an environment that supports economic growth.

The same report indicated that Africa is at a "critical turning point" in its development trajectory, especially given the failure to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels. This makes the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, signed in 2018 and effective in 2021, a "roadmap for achieving inclusive and sustainable growth." He also expected the agreement to increase intra-African trade by 45 percent by 2045, with the continent's GDP rising by 1.2 percent, enhancing economic integration and stimulating development.

He also emphasized the need to implement investments worth $120.83 billion in the transportation sector by 2030 to support infrastructure, in addition to simplifying regulations to enhance market access, and encouraging innovation and digitization as key pillars of economic transformation.

Commenting on the report, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Claver Gatete, said that forecasts indicate a decline in Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio from 67.3% in 2023 to 62.1% in 2025, but he considered this improvement "insufficient" to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Gatete stressed that Africa has a "unique" opportunity to reshape its economic trajectory through the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Agreement, which will enhance the transition from a supplier of raw materials to a producer of value-added goods and services, and support the building of a more competitive and innovative economy.

Source: https://www.echoroukonline.com/%d8%aa%d9%88%d8%b5%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a8%d8%aa%d8%b3%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b9-%d8%aa%d9%86%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%b0-%d8%a7%d8%aa%d9%81%d8%a7%d9%82%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%85%d9%86%d8%b7%d9%82%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa