Monrovia – Liberia has actively participated in the conference, which drafted the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Kigali, Rwanda.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, the purpose of the agreement is to establish a single market for goods, services, and movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration of the African Continent.
This is in accordance with the Pan African Vision of “An integrated prosperous and peaceful Africa” enshrined in Agenda 2063.
The Liberian delegation is led by Mr. Gbehzohngar Milton Findley, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Others in the Foreign Minister’s entourage are the Assistant Foreign Minister for Afro-Asian Affairs, Honorable Naomi Gray and Ms. Ciata S. D’Almeida, Assistant Minister/Special Assistant to the Foreign Minister.
The objectives for creating this Continental Free Trade Area by the African Union include among other things creating a liberalized market for goods and services through successive rounds of negotiations.
It is also to contribute to the movements of capital and natural persons, and facilitate investments building on the initiatives and developments in the State Parties and Regional Economic Communities which is recognized by the African Union.
It is also a precursor to lay the foundation for the eventual establishment of a Continental Customs Union and a Continental Single Market.
They also intend to enhance the competitiveness of the economies of State Parties within the Continent and at the global market.
The organizers said the agreement is also aimed at resolving the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration processes.
“In order to realize the purposes of the AfCFTA, it is expected under Article 4 of the Agreement that State Parties to the Agreement shall do the following: ‘Progressively eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods; progressively liberalize trade in services. Cooperate on investment measures, intellectual property rights and competition policies.’”
The Foreign Ministry release further states that in order to realize the AfCFTA purposes, ‘Member States are to cooperate on all trade-related areas between African Union Member States; Cooperate on customs matters and the implementation of trade facilitation measures; Design a mechanism for the settlement of disputes in the interpretation and application of the Agreement and Establishment and maintenance of an institutional framework for the implementation and administration of the African Continental Free Trade Area.’
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