The African Union (AU) has announced Thursday that it has launched the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The AfCFTA agreement was adopted and opened for signature on 21st of March 2018 in Kigali and entered into force on 30th of May 2019.
The 12th Extraordinary summit of the African Union which was held in Niamey on the 7th of July 2019 was a momentous occasion for Africa, as it saw the successful launching of the AfCFTA.
Today's launch ceremony of the operational phase included “a roll call of honour” during which the 27 countries that had ratified the instruments of the AfCFTA at 7th of July, 2019 were announced, and the 28 countries which had signed but not yet ratified were also announced with only one member state, Eritrea, yet to sign.
A commemorative plaque was unveiled to mark the occasion and the announcement of the selection of Ghana to host the AfCFTA secretariat was also made.
The launch of the operational phase was characterized by the adoption of five key instruments:
The Rules of Origin, The Tariff concessions, The online mechanism on monitoring, reporting and elimination of non-tariff barriers, NTBs, The Pan-African payment and settlement system, and The African Trade Observatory,
The AfCFTA will be the largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation, given Africa’s current population of 1.2 billion people, which is expected to grow to 2.5 billion by 2050.