(The Southern African Times) – The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will strengthen trade between Africa and Europe, according to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.
President Akufo-Addo made the remarks at the “Focus Africa 2023” Conference held in Madrid, in Spain, on Monday.
He noted that AfCFTA would link all the 54 markets of Africa, covering 1.2 billion people, into a single market.
“It is the world’s largest free trade area outside of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) itself. By 2050, it will cover an estimated 2.5 billion people, and have over a quarter of the world’s working age population,” he said.
“Imagine the investment and business opportunities offered by the infrastructure required to link our markets more effectively. And imagine the business opportunities that this huge market would offer for manufacturing and services firms from Spain and Europe that could establish production facilities in Africa to serve the African markets.”
President Akufo-Addo urged Spanish and European stakeholders to take advantage of the treaty to boost trade between the two sides to benefit both.
“The time has come for Africa, Spain, and, indeed, the rest of Europe, to establish a sustainable, strategic partnership based on trade and investment co-operation on the exchange of value-added transactions. It would obviate the resort to aid, which has not achieved its purpose,” he said.
