ECA Chief urges stakeholders to deliver a 'timely and meaningful' CFTA

The Execute Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Vera Songwe, made a case for the Continental Free Trade Area on the historic ambition to integrate Africa’s fragmented markets and deliver African prosperity. She was speaking at the opening of a two-day meeting of African Ministers of Trade (AMOT) in Niamey on 1 December 2017. The AMOT meeting is expected to examine and approve the text of the Agreement establishing the CFTA. Ms. Songwe urged the trade ministers to ensure that the CFTA is delivered in a ‘timely and meaningful’ manner. The Executive Secretary noted that by eliminating tariffs the CFTA can boost intra-African trade by 52% and that by reducing non-tariff barriers it can be doubled, benefiting African welfare to the tune of $22 billion.