Economic Commission for Africa African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development : draft communiqué Financing the African post-pandemic recovery

Abstract

Economic Commission for Africa African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Draft communiqué financing the African post-pandemic recovery. The recovery of African economies could be restrained by the surge in food, oil and fertilizer prices caused by the war in Ukraine and other shocks, such as virulent new variants of the coronavirus, rising interest rates in developed economies, climate shocks, capital outflows, currency depreciation, rising debt and increased borrowing costs. Minister of finance propose to use the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area to boost intra-African trade in food, industrial products and services, in order to build productive capacity and resilience against external shocks. We recognize that the full implementation of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area also has the potential to contribute to the acceleration of inclusive and sustainable development in Africa and to boost collective gross domestic product by $55 billion by 2045. Minister of finance commend it on the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area.