African Union Summit: what progress for Zlecaf?

The President of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, current Chairperson of the African Union, delivers his inaugural address during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa , February 18, 2023. © AFP - TONY KARUMBA

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

The establishment of the continental free trade area is among the topics at the center of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa this Saturday, February 18.

Initiated in 2012, this free trade area came into force on January 1, 2021, which aims to promote intra-African trade and break with traditional North-South trade patterns, a pattern that has been destabilized with the Covid pandemic. -19.

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Use the Zlecaf as a lever so that the initiative does not join " 

 ", here is the message delivered, this Saturday, February 18, in Addis Ababa by Azali Assoumani, the new president of the African Union .

The President of the African Union Commission,

" 

 " to implement this free trade area.

Trade between regions of the continent is not easy.

Intra-continental trade currently represents less than 20% of total trade on the continent.

To boost the momentum, Zlecaf launched, last October, in Ghana, the Guided Trade Initiative, the initiative of products guided for preferential trade.

Around a hundred goods or foodstuffs, produced or processed on the continent, have been identified.

Thus, ceramic tiles, air conditioners, but also tea, sugar… goods from eight countries on the continent.

Among them: Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and Tunisia.

A pilot initiative therefore waiting to be extended to all 46 Zlecaf countries.

Intra-African trade should be stimulated by various measures such as the partial or total lifting of customs duties or the establishment of a pan-African payment and settlement system, in order to streamline the still complicated administrative and banking procedures between states.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Zlecaf “ 

 ”.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, this free trade area represents a market of approximately $1.3 billion.

► To read also:

• African Union: the free trade area project at the center of the 36th summit

• The African Union takes stock of Zlecaf and wants to rethink industrialization in Africa

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