- Record breaking figures at Kenya's biggest construction trade exhibition
- Kenya Unveils $2 Billion Plan for New Nairobi Airport Project amid Growing Pressure on JKIA
- Tanzania Gives Go-Ahead to Massive Sh80.85 Billion Mbamba Bay Port Construction Project
- KeNHA Unveils Strategic Sh394 Billion Plan to Construct Major Highways in Kenya
- Ruto’s Multi-Million Plan to Host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Tournament in Kenya
- Tanzania's Modern Industrial Park Project on Course with 3.5 Trillion Investment
- African Development Bank Greenlights $696.41 Million for Phase 2 of Tanzania-Burundi-DRC SGR
- Biggest construction trade exhibition announced in Nairobi at KICC
- President Ruto's Vision of Affordable Housing Projects Taking Shape in Kenya
- Ethiopia Receives $720 Million in Funding for Road Construction Project
Economic 'game changer'? African leaders launch free-trade zone
NIAMEY (Reuters) - African leaders launched a continental free-trade zone on Sunday that if successful would unite 1.3 billion people, create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development.
After four years of talks, an agreement to form a 55-nation trade bloc was reached in March, paving the way for Sunday’s African Union summit in Niger where Ghana was announced as the host of the trade zone’s future headquarters and discussions were held on how exactly the bloc will operate.
It is hoped that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) - the largest since the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994 - will help unlock Africa’s long-stymied economic potential by boosting intra-regional trade, strengthening supply chains and spreading expertise.
“The eyes of the world are turned towards Africa,” Egyptian President and African Union Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at the summit’s opening ceremony.
“The success of the AfCFTA will be the real test to achieve the economic growth that will turn our people’s dream of welfare and quality of life into a reality,” he said.
Africa has much catching up to do: its intra-regional trade accounted for just 17% of exports in 2017 versus 59% in Asia and 69% in Europe, and Africa has missed out on the economic booms that other trade blocs have experienced in recent decades.
Economists say significant challenges remain, including poor road and rail links, large areas of unrest, excessive border bureaucracy and petty corruption that have held back growth and integration.
Members have committed to eliminate tariffs on most goods, which will increase trade in the region by 15-25% in the medium term, but this would more than double if these other issues were dealt with, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates.
The IMF in a May report described the free-trade zone as a potential “economic game changer” of the kind that has boosted growth in Europe and North America, but it added a note of caution.
“Reducing tariffs alone is not sufficient,” it said.
Posted on : 13 Sep,2019
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Exhibitions In Africa
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05 - 07, June 2024 - 09th Afriwood Kenya 2024
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05 - 07, June 2024 - 09th LightExpo Kenya 2024
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KICC, Nairobi, Kenya
05 - 07, June 2024 - 25th Buildexpo Tanzania 2024
Diamond Jubilee Expo Center, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
12 - 14, Sep 2024 - 08th Afriwood Tanzania 2024
Diamond Jubilee Expo Center, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
12 - 14, Sep 2024 - 08th LightExpo Tanzania 2024
Diamond Jubilee Expo Center, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
12 - 14, Sep 2024 - 08th Minexpo Tanzania 2024
Diamond Jubilee Expo Center, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
12 - 14, Sep 2024