With the launch of the African Union's long-awaited Continental Free Trade Area this month, African leaders have an opportunity to set their countries on a path toward social and economic transformation. But they will first need to come together to ensure that the new framework's power is not merely symbolic.
LUSAKA – When African leaders launch the massive Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) on March 21, 2018, at a summit in Kigali, Rwanda, their top priority should be to avoid rolling out something that is either hollow or redundant. The CFTA – one of 12 flagship programs under the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 framework – could double intra-African trade and bring enormous benefits to the continent. But much will depend on the arrangement’s final shape.
LUSAKA – When African leaders launch the massive Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) on March 21, 2018, at a summit in Kigali, Rwanda, their top priority should be to avoid rolling out something that is either hollow or redundant. The CFTA – one of 12 flagship programs under the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 framework – could double intra-African trade and bring enormous benefits to the continent. But much will depend on the arrangement’s final shape.