49 members of the AU signed a free trade pact

Nouakchott – Forty-nine members of the African Union have signed the agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (ALE), said AU Chairman Paul Kagame at the beginning of week

Kagame, also Rwandan president. in Nouakchott at the closing ceremony of the 31st summit of the 55 members of the African Union

South Africa, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Lesotho and Burundi signed the AfCFTA in Nouakchott. Chad and Swaziland have ratified the agreement, bringing the total number of ratifications to six.

A minimum of 22 ratifications is necessary to allow the entry into force of the FTA and 15 ratifications for the protocol on the free movement of persons. The FTA is the largest free trade area since the creation of the World Trade Organization, according to the AU. It could create an African market of more than 1.2 billion people with a GDP of 2.5 trillion US dollars, according to the pan-African bloc. (Xinhua)