Zambia signs African CFTA

Zambia has joined other African Countries to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). President Edgar Lungu signed the protocol which was witnessed by African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry Albert Muchanga who signed on behalf of the African Union.

The Head of State said Zambia will now work towards necessary processes required to ratify the agreement. He said Zambia recognized the importance of the agreement which is set to liberalise trade of both goods and services for all African countries .

Zambia witnessed the declaration of the AfCTA in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018. President Lungu said Zambia, as a committed member of the African Union, would strive to implement programmes and projects of the AU.

The AfCTA will now be sent for ratification through Zambia’ institutional mechanism. Zambia is already in wide free trade areas through the 19-member SADC and the 21-member Comesa trading blocs.

The AfCFTA aims to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African customs union.

It also intends to expand intra African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization and facilitation regimes and instruments across RECs and across Africa in general, according to a statement issued by first secretary press at the Zambian mission in Addis Ababa, Inutu Mwanza.

“The AfCFTA will help resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration processes. It will also help to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploiting opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources,” she stated.