Gabon is pushing for the official activation of the African Free Trade Area.
High-level meetings to promote African economic integration
Written by: Mohammed Omran
Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the Free Trade Area, opened African continent (ZLECAf), its agenda includes holding two official meetings with high-level government officials, in a move aimed at promoting the activation of the free trade agreement and turning it into a tangible economic reality.
Gabon is pushing for the official activation of the African Free Trade Area.
This came as part of his sixth visit to the Republic of Gabon, where the visit confirmed that Gabon, which ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement in 2019, has made significant progress by establishing its national commission, adopting its customs offer, and defining its commitments in the services sector. However, the main challenge remains to transform this accession into a real and active trade movement between African countries.
During his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, His Excellency Herman Eymongoult, the importance of moving from the theoretical framework to practical application was emphasized, by identifying priority sectors in the fields of export and import, and working to open regional markets to Gabonese products, in order to promote the “Made in Gabon” slogan, and to move from an economy that depends on exporting raw materials to an economy based on manufacturing and creating added value.
High-level meetings to promote African economic integration
He also discussed with the Minister of Trade, Small and Medium Enterprises and Youth Entrepreneurship, Zineb Ngena Channing, the opportunities that the African Common Market offers to Gabonese companies, especially with regard to empowering young people, opening new horizons for investment, providing job opportunities, and encouraging entrepreneurs to integrate into the world’s largest continental market in terms of the number of countries, which includes more than 1.4 billion consumers.
These moves come as part of the African Continental Free Trade Area’s efforts to promote economic integration among member states and transform the agreement into an effective platform for growth and trade, particularly in Central Africa, where Gabon has a strategic location that enables it to play a pivotal role in regional value chains.
The meetings concluded with the establishment of a clear political framework for continuing the visit, with the next phase to include meetings with representatives of the private sector, who are the key element in transforming agreements into actual cross-border trade, amid expectations of issuing more results and recommendations during the coming period.
