Zambia is latest country to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement

Abstract

Zambia has submitted the instruments of its ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to the African Union Commission, AUC Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said. “I was delighted to receive the Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia HE Emmanuel Mwamba, alongside AU Commissioner Albert Muchamba, who deposited the instruments of ratification to the AfCFTA, making Zambia the 36th AU member to fully accede to the agreement,” Mr. Mahamat said on 5 February 2021. The AfCFTA agreement entered into force on 30 May 2019 after the treaty was ratified by 22 countries – the minimum number required by the treaty. It provides the opportunity for Africa to create the world's largest free trade area with the potential to unite more than 1.2 billion people in a $2.5 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development. It has the potential to generate a range of benefits through supporting trade creation, structural transformation, productive employment and poverty reduction. Through its African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has been working with the African Union Commission (AUC) and member states to deepen Africa's trade integration and effectively implement the agreement through policy advocacy and national strategy development. The ECA also works with the International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and independent trade experts with the financial support of the European Union to assist with the implementation of the agreement.