By Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa
has declared that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
would provide integrated and diversified markets that would unlock
Africa’s full productive capacity.
Nigeria is yet to sign into AfCFTA, which already has 49 African countries as signatories.
In a keynote
address at the annual meetings and 25th anniversary celebrations of the
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in Abuja, Ramaphosa said that
the AfCFTA held enormous opportunities for the growth of the economies of the African continent.
He stressed the need to address the continent’s infrastructure deficit and to pursue industrial development.
In his
address, President of Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah welcomed the
signing of the AfCFTA agreement by 44 African nations in Kigali in
March, adding that it would accelerate the integration of Africa
markets, foster regional value chains and promote dynamic competitive
advantage across Africa for certain kinds of goods and boost employment.
According to
him, “It is important that the AfCFTA be thoroughly debated so that
everyone would understand the opportunities it offered and the obstacles
that needed to be overcome.”
In her
address, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said that
continued infrastructure improvements and a focus on trade, particularly
regional trade, would drive sustainable growth.
Adeosun commended Afreximbank for its role during the last global recession when it supported many African countries with trade support and lines of credit at a time others were withdrawing from Africa.
More than
100 speakers including Heads of State, ministers, central bank
governors, heads of international organisations, business leaders,
African and global trade development experts, and academics, are
speaking during the four-day annual meetings and 25th anniversary celebrations.
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