Theme of The Year 2023: “Acceleration Of Afcfta Implementation”

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The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a flagship project of Agenda 2063 aimed at creating a single African market for goods and services facilitated by free movement persons, capital, investment to deepen economic integration, promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality, industrialization, agricultural development, food security, and structural transformation.

The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The overall mandate of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion.

As part of its mandate, the AfCFTA is to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-Africa trade. In particular, it is to advance trade in value-added production across all service sectors of the African Economy. The AfCFTA will contribute to establishing regional value chains in Africa, enabling investment and job creation. The practical implementation of the AfCFTA has the potential to foster industrialisation, job creation, and investment, thus enhancing the competitiveness of Africa in the medium to long term.

In March 2018, the 10^th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda, adopted the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA Agreement came into force in May 2019. As of March 2023, 46 countries had ratified and deposited the instruments of ratifications with the African Union Commission. Mozambique has ratified the Agreement but is yet to deposit the instruments of ratification with the AU Commission. The following countries were yet to ratify the Agreement. Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Madagascar, Benin, Liberia, and Libya. Eritrea is yet to sign the Agreement.

The AfCFTA Secretariat headquartered in Accra, Ghana, is the administrative organ mandated to coordinate the implementation of the AfCFTA. The Secretariat is responsible for convening meetings, monitoring and evaluating the implementation process of the AfCFTA.

Trading under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement began on 1 January 2021. As at February 2022, eight countries representing the five regions of the continent - Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Tunisia – participated in the AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative, which seeks to facilitate trade among interested AfCFTA state parties that have met the minimum requirements for trade, under the Agreement. This initiative supports matchmaking businesses and products for export and import between State Parties. The products earmarked to trade under the Initiative include: ceramic tiles; batteries, tea, coffee, processed meat products, corn starch, sugar, pasta, glucose syrup, dried fruits, and sisal fibre, amongst others, in line with the AfCFTA focus on value chain development.

In the year 2023, the AfCFTA Guided Trade shall also focus on Trade in Services in the five priority areas, ie. Tourism, transport, Business Services; Communication Services; Financial Services; Transport Services, and Tourism and Travel-related Services. The ultimate objective is to ensure that AfCFTA is truly operational and the gains from the initiative are improved implementation in order to achieve increased inter-regional and intra-Africa trade that

Theme of The Year: “Acceleration of AFCFTA Implementation

The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU Assembly) adopted the African Union Theme of the Year 2023 as the year for “Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation”. The Theme of the Year and its mandate to support the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement will aim to be celebrated through close collaboration with all relevant organs and specialized agencies of the African Union, regional mechanisms and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), in line with their respective mandates to fast track the implementation of the AfCFTA for the benefit of Africa’s population.

As at February 2023, forty-six (46) Provisional Schedules of Tariff Concession have since been submitted by member states including four (4) from the Customs Unions. Following the coming into force the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA in May 2019, efforts have been enhanced to accelerate the implementation and advanced usage of the existing operational tools that to facilitate the realization of commercially meaningful trading under the AfCFTA. These include, among others:

The conclusion of the AfCFTA Phase One and two Protocols which provide a legal basis to advance the operationalization of the trading. The finalisation of the AfCFTA negotiations ensure that the market access under AfCFTA was not taken advantage of only by the big corporations but for the SMEs, women, and young Africans in trade, to also grow their businesses. The recently concluded Phase Two Protocols cover protocols on Investment, Competition Policy, and Intellectual Property Rights will greatly contribute to deepening economic integration in Africa. Under the Phase One Protocol on Trade in Goods, State Parties committed to reduce tariffs on 90% of goods traded among themselves in equal annual installments until they are eliminated within 5 years for non-Least Developed Countries (LCDs) and 10 years for Least Developed Countries. For an additional 7% of ‘Sensitive’ goods, tariffs will be eliminated within 10 years for non-LDCs and 13 years for LDCs. A final 3% of ‘Excluded’ products are to retain their tariffs to allow flexibilities for State Parties with particular sensitivities, but will be subject to review every five years. Under Phase II, the finalization of the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade and Digital Trade will be concluded in 2023.

The development of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative to connect businesses and products for export and import between interested State Parties. The first AfCFTA Certificate of Origin for Rwanda was issued to Igire Coffee for coffee products destined to Ghana. Kenya also exported its first goods, Exide batteries to Ghana. The Initiative requires state parties to issue AfCFTA trading documents, including certificates of origin, importer and exporter declaration forms, and ensure that their customs laws and systems are aligned to the AfCFTA requirements.

The operationalisation of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund aims to support both the member states and private sector to effectively participate in the new trading environment established under the AfCFTA. As with any major trade liberalisation regime, the AfCFTA Agreement will introduce near-term disruptions, as tariff revenues by State Parties are reduced, industrial sectors are disordered, businesses and supply chains are reorganised, and employment is dislocated – often in ways that cannot be anticipated. The estimated requirement for uninterrupted implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and to eliminate the adjustment cost is at $10 billion over the next six to ten years. The Adjustment fund will for instance, be meaningful for a country experiencing challenges with its textiles and clothing sector to access the fund for retraining of workers or for recapitalization, procuring machinery for goods, or to increase competitiveness The Adjustment Fund consists of a Base Fund, a General Fund and a Credit Fund. The Base Fund will consist of voluntary contributions from State Parties, grants and technical assistance funds to address tariff revenue losses as tariffs are progressively eliminated. It will also support countries to implement various provisions of the AfCFTA Agreement, its Protocols and Annexes. The General Fund will mobilise concessional funding, while the Credit Fund will mobilise commercial funding to support both the public and private sectors, enabling them to adjust and take advantage of the opportunities created by the AfCFTA.

The Pan African Payment System (PAPSS) in place is a centralised Financial Market Infrastructure enabling the efficient and secure flow of money across African borders. PAPSS works in collaboration with central banks in the continent to provide a payment and settlement service to which commercial banks, payment service providers and fintech organisations across the continent can connect as participants. The platform provides a simple, low-cost risk-controlled payment clearing and settlement system. It also serves as an avenue of expanding financial inclusion to cover the informal sector while monitoring funds transfers, thus reducing money laundering, which costs the continent several billions of dollars annually. As of June 2022, the PAPSS network consists of 8 central banks, 28 commercial banks and six switches. It will expand into the five regions of Africa before the end of 2023. All Central banks are to sign up by the end of 2024 and all commercial banks by the end of 2025. With 42 currencies on the continent, PAPSS will significantly reduce the costs of currency convertibility and save the continent an estimated $5 billion annually.

The AfCFTA Private Sector Strategy aims at delivering impact and economic recovery in the post-pandemic world by engaging with stakeholders from across the private and public sector, and from across all corners of the continent to ensure an inclusive approach to implementing the AfCFTA. For the continent to reduce its vulnerability to external shocks and improve trade and economic performance, the AfCFTA, regional value chains are being developed, under the AfCFTA Private Sector Engagement Strategy, to offer African countries an opportunity to use regional advantages to boost competitiveness, diversify product supply, and export products with higher value-addition.The strategy focuses on four initial priority sectors or value chains, namely agroprocessing, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and transportation and logistics, based on the potential for import substitution and existing production capabilities on the continent.

Launching of the AfCFTA e-Tariff Book in November 2022 further allowed for a digitalized trade facilitation that ensures tariff concession schedules are easily accessible to Trade and Customs Authorities. The Tariff book includes rules of origin and the customs procedures that apply to products which allows users to benefit from enhances knowledge and capacities in the use of tariffs, commodity classification and organisation of tariff-related work within Customs administrations and other relevant stakeholders. These tariff concessions have been offered by the customs unions and once agreed they will then be nationalised and traders will be able to trade fully.

Conducting the AfCFTA Regulatory Audits on Trade in Services that identify restrictions on market access and national treatment affecting the supply of services into the country as defined in the AfCFTA Trade in Services Protocol. The report details descriptions that document each trade restriction and its legal reference. For example, one of the areas where this data is particularly useful is in the tourism sector. By understanding the restrictions on market access and national treatment impacting tourism services, countries can work to remove those barriers and create a more open and welcoming environment for tourists. This, in turn, can help to boost the economy through increased tourism revenue.

Establishing the Automotive Fund for any investment that seeks to pursue local content development in the automotive value chain. The funding will also be used for ensuring access to consumer finance as part of the creation of demand and associated insurance products. A comprehensive strategy has since been developed for automotive manufacturing in Africa. The strategy points to an immediate need to finalise the Rules of Origin (ROO) and the establishment of the Task Force that could fast-track the development of a major advanced automotive value chain in Africa. The finalisation of the ROO for the auto sector is essential, as it would facilitate strategies in developing regional and continental value chains. It would assist in developing national programmes and allow for greater cooperation and trade between those members who have adopted national programmes and wish to develop trade in vehicles and components under the AfCFTA.

The AfCFTA Dispute settlement mechanism, a key pillar in the successful implementation of the Agreement is active with the operationalisation of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in April 2021. The Appellate Body comprises 10 Board Members. The operationalisation of the DSB signals the readiness of the AfCFTA dispute settlement infrastructure to take up any disputes that may arise in the course of trading among the State Parties.

The AfCFTA SME Financing Facility which will catalyse access to finance for SME business activities. This is to ensure that the market access is not taken advantage of only by the big corporations, but that the SMEs, women and young Africans in trade, can also have the opportunity to grow their businesses in support of trading under the AfCFTA.
The AfCFTA Trade and Industrial Development Advisory Council inaugurated as a 13- member Council to advise the AfCFTA Secretariat on trade integration and transformative industrialization as part of the implementation of the AfCFTA. The role of the Advisory Council is to focus on the AfCFTA implementation processes, negotiations and implementation; trade facilitation and connectivity; industrial development and regional value chains; and inclusivity issues.
The elimination of Non-Tarriff Barriers Mechanism (NTBs). The elimination of NTBs is critical to boosting intra-Africa trade and achieving the objectives of the AfCFTA. It will reduce the costs of trading across borders and ease cross-border movement of goods. The bulk of the AfCFTA benefits will be realised if State Parties efficiently manage and eliminate NTBs. The Protocol on Trade in Goods establishes a reporting, monitoring, and elimination mechanism where traders can file a complaint on a specific trade obstacle they have encountered during the process of moving goods and services across borders.

The Interlinking Drivers of Trade

The implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement is by necessity, a complex and highly collaborative undertaking, drawing on the expertise and experience of all. For the AfCFTA to be a successful and to increase the attractiveness of the African market for trade and investment, it must be complemented by similar progress of other AU Flagship projects, such as the African Integrated High Speed Network; African Commodities Strategy; Pan-African E University; the African Passport and Free Movement of People; Silencing the Guns; Implementation of the Grand Inga Dam Project; Creation of an Annual Consultative Platform for policy dialogue; Single African Air Transport Market; Pan-African Virtual University; and the Continental Financial Institutions.

The interlinkages with other critical economic sectors, the AfCFTA will similarly advance the progress in the implementation of the other sectors such as:

CREATION OF OPPORTUNITIES AND PRIVATE SECTOR ENGAGEMENTS

The AfCFTA presents a unique opportunity for the continent to attain economic emancipation, which will lead to job creation, poverty alleviation, improved welfare and sustainable development. Beyond the policy transformation and reforms, the AfCFTA seeks to ensure inclusivity of women and youth, including youth in the rural areas, development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and overall industrialization of the Continent. This will be guided by the Framework of the Agenda 2063, which among others calls for project development, structuring, marketing, financial collaboration and enhancing Public-Private Investment (PPP) and the AfCFTA Private Sector Engagement Strategy. Engagement with private and Public stakeholders is expected to generate support and awareness, direct support to responsible implementing stakeholders, evaluate and monitoring data, and access to collaborators.

Through various platforms the AfCFTA has been engaging with the Private Sector. This includes the Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF), where its 3^rd edition will take place in the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire in 2023. The AfCFTA Business Forum is also expected to take place in 2023 with the view to further enhance fund mobilization and private sector engagement.

REGIONAL VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT AND FOSTERINGINDUSTRIALISATION

Africa’s dependence on trade with the outside world, with heavy concentration on export of primary commodities, has made the Continent particularly vulnerable to external macroeconomic shocks and protectionist trade policies. It is important for Africa to promote intra‐continental trade to reduce its vulnerability to external shocks and improve trade and economic performance and use the Theme of the Year to advocate for these causes. The AfCFTA is a key driver for Africa to realize the structural transformation and industrialization of the continent as envisaged in the AU Agenda 2063.

With the AfCFTA, regional value chains are being developed, under the AfCFTA Private Sector Engagement Plan, to offer African countries an opportunity to use regional advantages to boost competitiveness, diversify product supply, and export products with higher value-addition, to help bolster the continent from future economic shocks. This will also help lower our import dependency on goods that can be produced and traded within the continent.

The strategy focuses on four initial priority sectors or value chains, namely agro-processing, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and transportation and logistics, based on the potential for import substitution and existing production capabilities on the continent.

TRADE FACILITATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Implementation of trade facilitation measures is critical for the successful implementation of the AfCFTA. Trade facilitation measures address major challenges such as increased trade costs arising from NTBs; inadequate, inefficient transportation and weak logistics infrastructure; cumbersome regulatory procedures; lengthy customs processes; and incoherent documentation, thereby placing Africa’s private sector at a competitively disadvantaged position.

There is need to augment industrial capacity to produce the goods and services that would be traded in the AfCFTA, to boost intra-African trade. Towards this end, it is important to accelerate work on improving the supply-side constraints such as the lack of good transport and logistic infrastructure, information and communications technology (ICT), and energy infrastructure by aggressively implementing the African Union’s Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) to ensure a successful and sustainable industrialisation agenda and thus a successful AfCFTA.

HARMONISATION OF STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

Effective collaboration is also required for harmonized standards and regulations. This is to be achieved through standards development, mutual recognition, harmonisation that fosters increased rate of diversification, industrialisation and transformation of Africa’s economy and boosts the continent’s ability to supply its import needs from its own resources. It is also aimed to integrate systems so as to benefit from an increasingly connected global marketplace. This will include promotion, identification of the African Standardisation priorities activities through development, harmonisation and implementation of standards for identified priority products; promotion and coordinate technical competence of the African Quality Infrastructure bodies and related legislations to enhance the competitiveness of products of African origin and African Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) to facilitate the intra-Africa Trade.

MAINSTREAMING TRADE AND CLIMATE RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Climate change has underscored the need for Africa to build greater resilience, transforming her economies towards higher value-added production while preserving the environment. By collaborating with relevant stakeholders, there is need to mainstream climate change issues, including land degradation, into the AfCFTA implementation by advancing: climate resilient development, through several pathways, including; renewable energy and transformative green industrialization; agriculture, food and nutrition security and climate change adaptation; strengthening its development finance institutions; engaging in multilateral forums and; contributing to a compact on a global green new deal that advances Africa’s interests on climate resilient development.

Furthermore, climate change continues to be an increasing threat to Africa with most agriculture in Africa mainly rain fed. Africa also suffers from the cumulative effects of multi perils and hazards including repeated droughts, flooding, cyclones, etc. For instance, repeated droughts force rural households to deplete assets and engage in negative coping strategies including creating a continual state of food insecurity for the most vulnerable households. In addition to the ex-post impacts of drought, the risk of a drought event also has significant impacts on the growth of the agricultural sector by slowing on-farm investment and participation in higher-risk, higher-return productive activities. Drought risk further stifles investment by farmers in higher-value crops because households cannot access credit to purchase such inputs as seed and fertilizer. Also, Banks carry the same risks as their agricultural clients, so they hesitate to invest in agriculture because of potential default during a weather event or losses of revenue associated with low prices.

Therefore, policy innovations to unlock climate finance for resilient Food Systems in Africa is critical. That is why the African Risk Capacity (ARC) was established, as a Specialized Agency of the African Union, to capacitate African governments to better plan, prepare and respond to effects of extreme weather events and natural disasters and build a more resilient Africa that is adaptable to climate change towards building resilience in Africa which was positive ripple effects on the Agricultural sector and economic growth by unlocking critical climate and DRR finance. Scaling up in all facets of ARC will be critical on the way forward to actualizing the benefits of the AfCFTA.

MAINSTREAMING THE ROLE OF EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AFCFTA

Beyond negotiations, capacity development to ensure the implementation of the Agreement is a critical element to the overall economic development of the continent. The importance of skills development, employability and opportunity driven entrepreneurship in helping Africa realize its continental trade objectives cannot be overemphasized.

Although Africa continues to experience a youth bulge, there is a mismatch between existing education and training and the skills needs of enterprises. Critically important is the need to foster not only the skills needed by enterprises today but also the skills of the future. To strengthen African businesses' competitiveness in the context of the AfCFTA, the priority is to invest in human capital to equip Africans with the skills needed to engage in skill-intensive manufacturing industries such as apparel and machinery.

To this end, there is need to work closely on the improvement of Education system, innovation and technology in supporting the AfCFTA market and to encourage start-ups towards job creation.

MAINSTREAMING HEALTH INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AFCFTA

More than 90 % of the global public health emergency events reported annually are from Africa. The continent has the lowest health workforce to population ratio in the world while carrying majority of the disease burden. In addition, 90% of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics are imported to Africa making the continent dependent on the rest of the world, even during crucial pandemic periods.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the preceding 2014 Ebola Disease Outbreak demonstrated that trade within Member States of the African Union and between Africa and the rest of the world can be significantly affected by public health emergencies. Without careful consideration of health security in the continent the realization of AfCFTA will not be attained. This requires establishing and maintaining the trade and health nexus in the continent.

Accordingly, the Theme of the Year 2023 will consider health security as a critical component of the operationalization process. The second phase operationalization of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the decision to establish and operationalize the Africa Medicines Authority (AMA) are considered as golden opportunities to mainstream health into AfCFTA.

MAINSTREAMING THE ROLE OF WOMEN AND YOUTH IN TRADE

Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70% of the population under the age of 30. Women make significant contributions to cross border trade in many African countries. However, women and young people face challenges such as underemployment, lack of opportunities and other structural and financial challenges that hinder their ability to trade. The AfCFTA seeks to enable women and young people to seize the opportunities it offers by advancing gender equality in Africa through increased employment opportunities and by helping to lower the gender wage gap. In line with Aspirations 1 and 6 of Agenda 2063 and African Women’s Decade on Financial Inclusion and Economic Inclusion 2020 to 2030, it is imperative for the AfCFTA to promote an inclusive socio-economic development of the continent anchored on women and youth through the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade.

By capitalising on the Theme of the Year, a focused approach should be taken towards the alleviation of the rural population is a critical matter in the promotion of Women and Youth in Trade. This will ensure implementation takes place at the grass root and that no one is left behind in the implementation of the AfCFTA.

MAINSTREAMING THE ROLE OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT

Diaspora constitutes an important economic, social, political and cultural power, which cannot leave indifferent the African countries in the implementation of the AfCFTA. In February 2021, the Assembly also declared 2021-2031 as Decade of African Roots and Diasporas. The 2023 Theme of the Year should therefore bring together initiative aimed at bringing together, supporting projects, events and other initiatives to strengthen the role of these group in advancing the economic integration of the AfCFTA.

MAINSTREAMING THE ROLE OF STATE PARTIES AND AFCFTA NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICES

The key to the implementation of the AfCFTA is related to the role of the national government. It is critical local stakeholders; policy makers promote specific advantages and address important bottlenecks in the implementation of the AfCFTA. Accordingly, the AfCFTA Secretariat shall closely fast track the implementation of the AfCFTA Guided Trade, the use of the AfCFTA tools such as the Pan African Payment System, the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund and continue its work on ratification and domestication of AfCFTA.

In collaboration with Member States, the AfCFTA Secretariat, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders shall also endeavour to increase the support to State Parties on the operationalisation of the AfCFTA Coordination Offices. This coordination shall amongst other focus on the dissemination of the AfCFTA and all relevant document in African Languages so as to guarantee accessibility to the local community.

As the Building block of the AfCFTA, the Regional Economic Communities shall in this regard harness their role to coordinate the positions and approaches of their respective Member States in the implementation of the AfCFTA. The Indicative Action Plan developed with CEOs of RECs shall also serve as the basis for continued discussions between the Secretariats of the AfCFTA and the RECs in the implementation of the AfCFTA.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE AFCFTA AGREEMENT AND THE DECISIONS OF AU POLICY ORGANS

The implementation of AU Policy Organs decisions on the AfCFTA is critical to the efficient and impactful operationalization of the AfCFTA and to achieving the objectives of the AfCFTA as stipulated in the AfCFTA. The implementation of legally binding decisions and commitments is one of the key priority areas of reforms of the African Union.

Within the framework of institutional reforms of the African Union, the AU Assembly decisions relating to the AfCFTA since 2017 emphasise the challenge of timely implementation of decision which result in delays in the start of trading under the AfCFTA by all AfCFTA State Parties. AU Assembly decisions on the AfCFTA broadly focus on the following areas: the finalization of outstanding phase I negotiations especially Rules of Origin, Schedules of Tariff Concessions and Schedules of Specific Commitments; completion of phase II negotiations that cover investment, competition policy and intellectual property rights; operationalization of AfCFTA supporting tools; framework of collaboration between the AfCFTA Secretariat and RECs; the institutional operationalization of the AfCFTA Secretariat; and engagement and collaboration with strategic partners and the private sector to ensure the effective implementation of the AfCFTA.

The Theme of the year for 2023 will provide the needed impetus for timely implementation of AfCFTA related decisions by AfCFTA State Parties and be instrumental to monitoring and evaluating such implementation to identify gaps, challenges as well as the support needed.

A key activity of the AfCFTA Secretariat envisages for 2023 is also the finalisation of the five- year implementation strategy of the AfCFTA. This strategy shall consider existing structures of the African Union and work closely with the Private Sector to ensure the implementation of the AfCFTA and overall, the set objectives of Agenda 2063 – the Africa We Want.

Objectives of The Theme of The Year On AFCFTA

The main objective of the proposed theme of the year 2023 is to secure the commitment of all stakeholders to speed up the implementation of the AfCFTA and fast-track the overall economic integration of agenda of the continent.

The objectives include among others:

To encourage AU common approach towards economic integration, and highlighting in this regard the importance of identifying and addressing social, economic, political aspects of trade as drivers of the development of Africa in all the AU Organs. This shall include amongst others:

Advocacy and sensitisation outreaches to ensure the cross-cutting implementation of the AfCFTA; achieve universal signature and ratification of the AfCFTA Agreement; strengthening of the AfCFTA National Coordination Offices and strengthening domestic policy and legal frameworks/regional replicates;

Identify a sustainable funding mechanism for the AfCFTA implementation

Undertake joint capacity building programmes for sustainable development

Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the AfCFTA and implementation of AU Policy Organ decisions on the AfCFTA and monitor compliance by all regulatory authorities and relevant users

To identify the priorities of the private sector and enhance engagement through various means and platforms, including the IATF 2023 and the AfCFTA Business Forum and to mobilise the whole continent, partners, the private sector, economic operators and all stakeholders to be a mouthpiece in advocating the AfCFTA;

Continue to build partnerships and mobilise resources, and to undertake outreach activities and promote the utilization of the AfCFTA by economic operators through unceasing engagement and sustain the high momentum around the AfCFTA;

Strengthen the implementation capacity of State Parties and Non-State Parties to develop a strategic action plan to hasten the implementation process;

To foster in a broader term, the development of homegrown accurate trade data, devise means for monitoring and evaluating data to inform policies;

To strengthen the domestication of the AfCFTA and national implementation, through various outreach programmes including support towards the operationalisation of the AfCFTA Coordination Offices within the respective jurisdictions of State Parties.

Collaborate with key partners for infrastructure development, improved interconnectedness and facilitates the easy movement of goods, services and people.

To promote and fast-track the implementation of all flagship projects of the Agenda 2063

The African Union’s Agenda for Continental Trade Integration

Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the African Union Constitutive Act towards economic integration, the Theme of the year for 2023 seeks to generate greater political commitment with trade as a developmental Agenda for Africa. It will serve to mobilize solutions and solidarity to turn that vision into reality, with a view to create interlinkage with member states, AU bodies, private sector actors, development partners, and other stakeholders, who have important roles to play to accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA. Trade as developmental imperative became evident through the policy directions of member states and require consolidated efforts by mainstreaming trade in all sectors, such as Agriculture, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment; Industrialisation; Science and Technology, Infrastructure and Energy, Peace and Security, development of Health, Human Rights and Business, Women, Youth, Civil Societies and Diaspora. The implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement is by necessity, a complex and highly collaborative undertaking, drawing on the expertise and experience of all key stakeholders including Regional Economic Communities (RECs). As its building block, the AfCFTA also relies on the existing best practices in the RECs. AU bodies, such as the AUDA-NEPAD, African Risk Capacity, APRM also play a critical role in the implementation of the AfCFTA. The Theme will be implemented by drawing on the complementarity of other AU Flagship projects, namely: The African Integrated High-Speed Network; African Commodities Strategy; Pan-African E University; the African Passport and Free Movement of People; Silencing the Guns; Implementation of the Grand Inga Dam Project; Creation of an Annual Consultative Platform for policy dialogue; Single African Air Transport Market; Pan-African Virtual University; and the Continental Financial Institutions. The implementation of the AfCFTA calls for collaboration in implementing the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment by improving the Visa Regime to enable African nationals enter their territories for, among others tourism, business, and education. The Theme of Year will also focus on the necessity of utilising the potential of the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to increase the attractiveness of the African market for trade and investment.

Resource and Reference Materials

Videos

Watch films on various thematic areas (available in various languages.)

African Union Continental Free Trade Area on- https://youtu.be/zIhe6DN0hGE
African Union Free Movement of Persons and Goods - https://youtu.be/vxUr_6-DxUc
The African Union Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) - https://youtu.be/kYcr7ouiUuY
The African Union Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)- https://youtu.be/H946IsYMrHQ
African Union Infrastructure and Energy - https://youtu.be/sVvvWTlhRrs
African Commodities Strategy - https://youtu.be/7yVn4JcXCDg
The African Union Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (AU-PANVAC)- https://youtu.be/VfUUegqzjVQ
African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)- https://youtu.be/_o1M6YT2mCk
What is Agenda 2063- https://youtu.be/T_-YcUVdP7w

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