Participants at a session during the extraordinary African Union summit
in Kigali on March 20, 2018. The African Continental Free Trade Area, to
be signed on March 21, is expected to boost intra-African trade. PHOTO |
RWANDA PRESIDENCY
Weak transport links could hinder the success of the African
Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), experts at the ongoing African
Union Summit in Kigali say.
The CFTA agreement is set
to signed on Wednesday by heads of State during the extraordinary AU
summit. The agreement targets to boost intra-Africa trade by making
Africa a single market with a population of 1.2 billion people and
cumulated GDP of more than $3.4 billion.
According to
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
secretary-general Mukhisa Kituyi, poor infrastructure could hamper the
continent from realising the benefits of the treaty.
“You
cannot talk of CFTA when the infrastructure and roads system in Africa
move from inward towards the coasts and [border] posts. This means that
our systems are built to depend on trade with the outside world and not
among ourselves. We need to develop infrastructure that promotes
intra-Africa trade,” Mr Kituyi said.
“We need to talk
about border to border trade, and think about how to facilitate small
businesses if the CFTA is to benefit us as we want.
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