A UN official said it was important to coordinate African initiatives with the BIS to boost infrastructure development

Company News of Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Source: Ghananewsagency.org

2019-07-09

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Sunday reaffirmed the importance of coordinating continental initiatives with the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China to boost infrastructure development in Africa.

She underscored the UN's commitment to "collaborate with African institutions to mobilize the resources necessary for the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, officially entered into force. force here on Sunday .Music also stressed the need to invest in the infrastructure sector for the continent to realize the full potential of AfCFTA.

She highlighted the potential of the BIS to advance infrastructure development and regional integration in Africa.

"We will work with you to coordinate and mobilize additional sources of funding, from the African Development Bank's Africa50 Fund to the African Union's Infrastructure Development Program, through the Belts Initiative and China's roads, "Mohammed told African leaders at the opening session of the 12th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Niamey, capital of Niger.

The Continental Free Trade Pact "will create jobs and help transfer technology and develop new skills, improve productive capacity and diversification, and increase African and foreign investment," she said.

AfCFTA "will bring reality to the promise of trade-driven economic growth for African entrepreneurs, manufacturers, investors, innovators and service providers," Mohammed said.

The pact is "a tool for unlocking African innovation, spurring growth, transforming African economies and contributing to a prosperous, stable and peaceful African continent, as envisioned in Agenda 2063 and the Agenda. for sustainable development 2030, "she said.

The free trade agreement with Africa was launched on March 21 in Kigali, capital of Rwanda.

On Sunday, the operational phase of AfCFTA was officially launched at the extraordinary AU Summit. It entered into force on May 30, after the deposit of the required minimum of 22 instruments of ratification by the AU Member States to the AU Commission.

Five other instruments of ratification have since been deposited, including Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, which deposited their respective instruments on Sunday, bringing to 27 the total number of countries that have deposited their ratification of AfCAFA with the Commission. from the AU.

Also on Sunday, Nigeria and Benin signed the free trade pact, making Eritrea the only member of the African Union not to have signed the historic agreement.