Addis Ababa, 18 December 2020, ECA – The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), is planning a webinar for African journalists to enhance their coverage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
About 100 journalists from across the continent are scheduled to participate in the webinar on effective coverage of the AfCFTA which comes up on Tuesday22 December for English-speaking journalists.The remaining two for Francophone and Arabic speakers will come up next month.
The Coordinator of the ATPC, Mr. David Luke, will lead a team of experts at the Centre to make presentations during the event.Among topics to be discussed are the state of play of the AfCFTA, the role of journalists in covering the agreement, gender dimensions, and national strategies for implementing the agreement.
The AfCFTA provides an opportunity for Africa to create the world's largest trade bloc with the potential to unite more than 1.2 billion people in a $2.5 trillion economy and usher in a new era of development. It has the potential to generate a range of benefits through supporting trade creation, structural transformation, productive employment and poverty reduction.
The AfCFTA entered into force on 30 May 2019 having been ratified by the required 22 countries. Now 34 countries out of the54 that have signedthe treaty have ratified it.
Through the ATPC, the ECA has been working with the African Union Commission(AUC) and member states to deepen Africa's trade integration and effectively implement the agreement through policy advocacy and national strategy development. The ECA also works closely with the International Trade Centre (ITC), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and a selection of independent trade experts with the financial support of the European Union (EU) to support the implementation of the AfCFTA across the continent.
Issued by:
Communication Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel. +251 11551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org