Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can potentially raise Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $450 billion in 2035.
Shettima disclosed this at a breakfast event with African Heads of State to launch the Action Plan for AfCFTA on the sideline of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, according to a statement by his spokesperson.
The Vice President emphasised that the positive impacts that the AfCFTA agreement could bring, in terms of increasing intra-Africa trade, is why it must not be allowed to fail.
- “African trade is to be boosted by 52.3% by 2025. We should increase these targets and look at the trillions of dollars. African countries need to move quickly to iron out whatever agreements and impediments are remaining to ensure free and smooth trade. Issues around rules of origin negotiations must be completed,” Shettima noted.
Speaking further, Shettima suggested that for set objectives to be met, information sharing between the government and private sector players must be optimized and prioritized.”
- The Vice President also pointed out that “negotiations have turned out to be too slow, with clashes between national and continental priorities, leading to too few consummated deals between countries since January 2021 to date.
- “Looking ahead, there is a need for speed and cohesion among African countries. The idea of AfCFTA must not fail, and there is no room for mediocrity in today’s world.”
