The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides an impetus for the continent to build together for socio-economic development, Veronica Nduva, secretary general of the East African Community (EAC), has said.
Nduva said this in a recent interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the ongoing 6th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, adding that AfCFTA allows Africa to approach development from a common platform and perspective.
She said the continental agreement would also enable Africa to have stronger negotiation ability and use the power in its numbers to get better deals when negotiating partnership agreements.
“We are eliminating the barriers that slow down intra-African trade, boost trading among ourselves, create and strengthen our markets, expand our markets, and make us benefit more from our products,” the secretary general said.
Nduva noted the EAC presents an excellent example of how intra-regional trade can boost development.
“Trading among ourselves in EAC has started seeing significant improvement since the start of the guided trade under AfCFTA, and our trading with the rest of Africa has also been improving,” said the official.
The AfCFTA was approved in 2012 and entered into force in 2019, aiming at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market.
News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Xinhua, https://newsghana.com.gh/afcfta-propels-africa-to-build-together-for-economic-development-eac-official/