Accra, 8 July 2022 (TDI): The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), celebrated the annual African Integration Day on Thursday.
Giving his remarks on the occasion, Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA said, “If we don’t achieve the objective of the economic integration, we shall forever remain on the peripheral of the global economy because no single African country can be able to achieve global competitiveness on its own”.
Moreover, to revive the spirit of African integration, AfCFTA quoted Kwame Nkrumah, a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary of the last century.
Nkrumah was one of the main advocates of Pan-Africanism in its early development. Many of Nkrumah’s thoughts are still important for the achievement of African Integration today.
Furthermore, AfCFTA’s celebration of the Day also included a review of its own development. The AfCFTA cited words from Mahamadou Issoufou, the former President of Niger who is a Champion of the AfCFTA.
President Issoufou’s words showed how difficult it is for countries to compromise sovereignty in order to achieve African integration. However, he stressed the enormous opportunities and benefits that integration will bring to the continent in various fields.
AfCFTA and Its Role in Achieving African Integration
According to the African Union, the development and final fulfillment of intra-African trade and investment will generate economic growth.
Simultaneously, the implementation of regional integration can also create job opportunities for millions of Africans. Accordingly, the AfCFTA is a regional agenda that aims to achieve African Integration from an economic perspective.
Data from the African Union shows that the full implementation of the AfCFTA would increase Africa’s real income by 7% to USD 450 billion by 2035. At the same time, a study from the World Bank tell that intra-African trade will increase 81% by 2035 with the operation of AfCFTA.
AfCFTA is a path to the success of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. As Secretary-General Wamkele called for, now is the time for African countries to collectively take up the charge. Continental collaboration is an unavoidable way to achieve African prosperity.
Also read: AfCFTA celebrates Africa Day
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