Kigali, 28 February 2022 (ECA) – An integrated support of the United Nations (UN) and non-UN agencies towards the implementation of an inclusive African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that ensures economic opportunities and resources accessible to all, especially women is vital to the success of the AfCFTA.
This has been highlighted during the virtual event under the theme: Towards enhanced partnerships to support an inclusive AfCFTA organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the sidelines of the 8th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) in Kigali, Rwanda.
“AfCFTA is the people! AfCFTA will not succeed through UN bodies, Governments, African Union Commission (AUC) or AfCFTA Secretariat but can succeed through the private sector/people who need to understand and commit to its implementation ” said Stephen Karingi, Director of the Regional Integration and Trade Division of ECA emphasizing the work of ECA in advocacy and sensitisation efforts on the AfCFTA.
Junior Davis, Head of the Policy Analysis and Research Branch of UNCTAD, also presented the key areas of intervention, planned programmes, and potential partnerships with UN and various actors in line with UNCTAD’s overall goal of promoting an inclusive AfCFTA.
Also speaking at the event, Aissatou Diallo, AfCFTA senior coordinator of the International Trade Centre (ITC), commended the work being done with sister agencies, especially ECA and UNDP, in empowering, enabling and enhancing the participation of the private sector in the AfCFTA. But, she also added that “more synergies and complementarities are needed between UN agencies to support the AfCFTA”.
“Access to finance is a major challenge for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa,” said Komi Tsowou, Regional Programme Adviser on the AfCFTA at the UNDP. “To alleviate this challenge, UNDP is working on an innovative financial mechanism in partnership with financial institutions and others to support MSMEs” he further added.
“No product, no trade!”, says Fofana Fatoumata, Executive Secretary of the AfCFTA National Strategy Committee of Côte d'IvoireFofana urged technical partners to look beyond capacity building and work towards improving production capacity for the success of the AfCFTA.
On his part, Kolawole Sofola, Director of Trade a.i. of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also underlined the need for implementing partners to improve coordination among themselves but also tailor the support to the countries based on their stated needs rather than employing off-the-shelf instruments.
The outcomes from these discussions will inform the deliberations of the ARFSD and set the pathways for more collaborative interventions between UN Agencies under the Opportunity/Issues-Based Coalitions (OIBC-2) to ensure effective support towards the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
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Addis Ababa
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E-mail: eca-info@un.org