Nigeria will hold a forum in the next days to discuss the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The forum is intended primarily to attract the Nigerian private sector.
For the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the agreement has the potential to generate a number of benefits for Nigeria by supporting trade creation, structural transformation, productive employment and poverty reduction. “And the role of the private sector is critical in its implementation,” says Adeyinka Adeyemi, senior consultant at ECA’s African Trade Policy Center.
AfCFTA entered into force on May 30, 2019, and has been ratified by the 22 requested countries. Currently, 54 countries have signed and 27 countries have ratified AfCFTA. The historic agreement provides an opportunity for Africa to create the world’s largest free trade area, with the potential to unite 1.3 billion people, in a $ 2.5 trillion economic bloc, ushering in a new era of development.
ECA believes that the AfCFTA will become an essential engine for economic growth, industrialization and sustainable development in Africa, in line with the African Union Agenda 2063.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signed the AfCFTA agreement in Niamey at the African Union Summit in July (photo). Then the National Action Committee for the implementation of AfCFTA was created, chaired by Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
+ The Forum, which will take place from 5 to 6 December 2019 in Lagos, is being co-organized by ECA, in partnership with the European Union, the Nigerian Manufacturers Association (MAN), the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry , Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC).