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If you have visited Rwanda, you may have heard of Umuganda, a huge clean-up operation that takes place every last Saturday of the month. Transformative civic operation has gained global recognition of the country. Umuganda means "to come together for a common purpose to achieve a result".
This is exactly what the 13th African Economic Conference (AEC), to be held in Kigali from 3 to 5 December 2018, hopes to do. Bringing together African think tanks, researchers, policymakers, public and private sector leaders, and representatives of regional economic organizations, the meeting is determined to push Africa's integration agenda to new heights.
The rally comes just nine months after African leaders signed an agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), the largest free trade agreement in the world since the creation of the African Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA). World Trade Organization, an equally important step.
AfCFTA brings together the 55 African Union member states of the continent, which represent a combined market of more than 1.2 billion people. The agreement could potentially create a radical change in intra-African trade.
Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) indicate that ALECA has the potential to boost intra-African trade by eliminating import duties and doubling trade, if the obstacles non-tariffs are also reduced. This will bring the continent's current intra-African trade figure to 52.3%, compared to 54% in the North American Free Trade Area, 70% in the European Union and 60% in Asia.
The theme of the AEC for 2018: "Regional and Continental Integration for Africa's Development" fits into the African Development Bank Group's strategy to promote strong, shared growth and sustainable in Africa. The organizers said the conference this year would be too theoretical and it would not have many practical solutions to advance the continent's regional integration agenda, particularly the implementation of AfCFTA.
The challenges of Africa are well known. That is why the African Development Bank group has made Africa's integration one of its "High 5s" development programs.
"Our vision is that of a stable, integrated and prosperous continent of competitive, diversified and sustainable economies, fully engaged in global trade and investment," said Bank President Akinwumi Adesina. .
Over the last three years, the Bank has financed projects valued at $ 1.3 billion and regional public property valued at $ 187.6 million. The Bank's policy is to ensure that all regional projects spend 10% of their budget on soft infrastructure interventions.
As part of its mandate, the World Bank Group continues to lead several continent-wide initiatives targeting both "hard" infrastructure and "infrastructure" (for example, policies and instruments). trade and services facilitation). These initiatives include the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), the Infrastructure Development Program for Africa (PIDA) and the Intra-African Trade Enhancement Program.
The African Development Bank Group will continue to support and intensify transformation initiatives aimed at strengthening regional integration. The institution is also committed to working with stakeholders. RECs need support to put in place a "soft" infrastructure, harmonize investment and engineering codes, and guarantee quality and certification standards.
For Moono Mupotola, Director of the Bank, Regional Integration "It is imperative to seize this opportunity and appeal to all stakeholders participating in the upcoming African Economic Conference to deepen and achieve relevant and effective will guide future actions. "
One of the highlights of the conference will be the launch of the Bank's flagship report, the 2018 Visa Transparency Index. Africa and the global community will expect important results to demonstrate the progress made.
The Bank will turn to regional experts to determine the best ways to accelerate the integration of Africa. For this to happen, it is imperative to act quickly and effectively to solve the problem of political will, harmonization of legislation and non-tariff barriers.
Through all this, the Bank remains optimistic that cooperation through the RECs is the fastest way to bring together the 54 fragmented African markets.
And as with Umuganda, the task at hand can be difficult and arduous, but with the entire community united for a common purpose, it is not so far from achieving greater integration.
According to the president of the bank, Adesina: "We have taken up the challenge and we are progressing!"
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