Exercising its mandate to promote the economic and social development of its member States and foster intra-African integration, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has been relentlessly supporting the effort to establish and operationalize the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) since the inception of the idea in 2012. ECA’s support to the AfCFTA project is led primarily by the Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD), which works closely with all other ECA divisions, sub-regional offices (SROs) and the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP).
The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) is a specialized centre of excellence within RITD that conducts cutting-edge trade policy research and analysis, offers capacity building support to member States, and promotes consensus building around key strategic ideas. Established in June 2003, the ATPC works to strengthen the human and institutional capacities of African Governments to formulate and implement sound trade policies and participate more effectively in trade negotiations at the bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels. ATPC also works closely with key stakeholders in the field of trade policy, including the private sector, civil society, and academia, to ensure that trade policy serves the interests of the general public for sustainable and inclusive development.
