The General Secretary for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), H.E. Wamkele Mene has disclosed that 96 different products are to be traded freely among the seven member states who have signed and agreed on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) without paying any duty on exportation and importation.
Speaking at the launch of the Africa Guided Trade Initiative in Accra, he emphasized on the vision of the forefathers of Africa whose wish is to see the liberation of the African continent through a common goal, and to him, the AfCFTA agreement has come to serve that purpose in this contemporary season.
“This is the moment the founding mothers and fathers of the Organization of African Unity have longed for. We have finally honoured and made reality the vision of those who liberated our continent”, he said.
He acknowledged the fact that since the initiative of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the seven-member countries, which are Tanzania, Mauritania, Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda and Ghana are making the necessary effort to make the vision and goal of AfCFTA a reality.
According to H.E. Mene, the ninety-six (96) products will be under these categories ” “horticultural products, pharmaceuticals, rubber, aluminum kitchenware, sugar, steel, and wooden products”.
In expatiating on the benefits of the AfCFTA agreement he said “we are connecting East Arica to West Africa, North Africa to South Africa. Trade will be the driver of inclusivity, creating opportunities for young Africans. So we have taken the first journey today, and I hope in 15 years, we would have succeeded in lifting millions and millions of Africans out of poverty”
Present at the meeting was the Trade and Industry Minister of Ghana, Hon. Alan Kyerematen, who also added that African countries must note that “…AfCFTA is not just on paper but a reality. And we are moving from talk and negotiations to action”.
He emphasized, that African countries must make available an industrial and logistic framework to support the idea behind the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement since that will be the best way for all African counties to see themselves as one and reincarnate the unity of Africans.