Malawi hosts outreach workshops on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Lilongwe and Blantyre

Lilongwe, Malawi, September 16, 2019 – The Ministry of Commerce and Tourism, in partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union Commission (AUC), is organizing an awareness raising workshop on AfCFTA in Lilongwe and Blantyre on 17 and 19 September respectively. These workshops aim to engage relevant stakeholders on AfCFTA issues in order to obtain a consensus allowing Malawi to ratify the AfCFTA Agreement. Each workshop is expected to bring together about 150 participants from the private sector, civil society organizations, parliamentarians, academia and government.

Salim Bagus, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism said "AfCFTA marks the beginning of Africa's economic transformation and Malawi's economy is expected to benefit with the creation of this unique market." This is a new hope to boost intra-African trade in 55 African countries with a combined population of more than 1.2 billion people. AfCFTA will facilitate increased business opportunities in Malawi in terms of unlimited market and economies of scale, which will reduce the costs of doing business and improve the efficiency and profitability of our industries , SMEs and exporters. "

The agreement came into force on May 30, 2019 when the threshold of 22 countries has ratified it. The operational phase of the agreement began on July 7, 2019, during the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union, with a transition period until July 1, 2020, when the exchanges will begin as part of the l & # 39; agreement. Malawi signed the South African Free Trade Agreement on March 21, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Said Adejumobi, regional director of ECA for Southern Africa, said "The workshops are a major opportunity to raise awareness among private and public stakeholders in Malawi about AfCFTA, discuss perceived challenges and make the most of the opportunities that the ratification and implementation of the AfCFTA." # 39; AfCFTA can bring. "

AfCFTA offers Africa the opportunity to create the largest free trade area in the world. It could potentially reunite 1.3 billion people, within a $ 2.5 trillion economic bloc. Open a new era of development. The main objectives of AfCFTA are to create a continental market for goods and services, with the free movement of people and capital, and to pave the way for the creation of a customs union. It will also develop intra-African trade through greater harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization across the continent. AfCFTA should further strengthen the competitiveness of industries and businesses through opportunities for large-scale production, access to the continental market and better reallocation of resources.

This workshop is part of a more comprehensive project aimed at deepening the commercial integration of Africa through the effective implementation of AfCFTA. With financial support from the European Union, ECA collaborated with partners including the African Union Commission (AUC), the International Trade Center (ITC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (UNCTAD) and a selection of independent trade experts Implementation Strategies for AfCFTA.