President, Save Nigeria Importers and Exporters Coalition, Chief Dr Osita Patrick Chukwu was nominated as presenter and panelist at the AFCFTA AU conference in Lome, Togo over the weekend.
He served on the panel with the camerounian port Administrators. The African Continental Free Trade Area has slated many programmes for the year 2023 to strengthen trade relations between African nations.
Adoption by the African Union of the theme for 2023 as the “Year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation”, will generate greater political commitment and accelerate the effective implementation of the agreement
By eliminating barriers to trade in Africa, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will lift 30 million people from extreme poverty and another 68 million people from moderate poverty.
To boost intra-African trade, the continent has embarked on the gradual elimination of tariffs on 90 percent of goods, and the reduction of barriers to trade in services aimed at increasing Africa’s income by $450 billion by 2035.
The successful implementation of the AfCFTA will lead to the creation of more decent jobs, improved welfare and better quality of life for all citizenry, and sustainable development.
Beyond the policy transformation and reforms, the AfCFTA seeks to ensure inclusivity of women and youth, including youth in the rural areas, development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and overall industrialization of the Continent.
As of February 2022, eight countries representing the five regions of the continent – Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Tunisia – participated in the AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), which seeks to facilitate trade among interested AfCFTA state parties that have met the minimum requirements for trade, under the Agreement.
Picture: Chief Osita going through computer is 2nd from right
