President Edgar Lungu says the continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) for Africa will create deeper interactions for all countries on the continent.
President Lungu said there is need to embrace this commitment if African countries are to benefit fully.
ZANIS reports that President Lungu noted that the AfCFTA will create the biggest free trade area in the world with a market of more people, and growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
President Lungu said this in Maputo today during the US-Africa business summit being held at the Joaquim Chissano Conference Centre.
President Lungu is among 13 Heads of State that are in that country to find ways of increasing US-Africa trade relations.
He said the AfCFTA has immense opportunities for increasing intra-regional trade, enhancing production, promoting economies of scale, creating jobs, raising incomes and improving the standard of living of the African people.
President Lungu added that the AfCFTA is expected to liberalise trade in goods and services for African countries and extends its coverage to investment, competition policy and intellectual property rights.
The Head of State said that the AfCFTA, once fully operational, will be the largest trading block on the continent, bringing together fifty five (55) African countries with a combined population of more than one billion people.
President Lungu added that the AfCFTA will, therefore, create opportunities for scaling up production for producers, not only in Zambia but in the entire Africa.
He said the AfCFTA is expected to provide a huge market access for the produce, ultimately contributing to job and wealth creation for all Africans.
“There is need to develop a good national strategy and action plan for trade in both goods and services for AfCFTA, which will spell out the modalities and interventions required to catalyse production systems in the country and promote trans- boundary trade opportunities” said President Lungu.
“It is important to note that the AfCFTA agreement is not self-executing as it requires counties to deploy deliberate strategies towards ensuring that the private sector, as key stakeholders in production and trade, is primed to exploit a larger market and product opportunities offered by the AfCFTA, with reduced tariff and non-tariff barriers’”. Added the Head of State.
President Lungu said it is imperative to, among others, address supply-side constraints limiting the productive capacity of industry to stimulate competitiveness and coherence between the National Industry Policy and trade promotion initiative.
He said the effective exploitation of the AfCFTA will require consensus among all stakeholders, who include the private sector, government, academics, and civil society, women and youth organisations.
Meanwhile Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangangwa says time has come for Africa to seize the moment and make an impact.
President Mnangagwa said the continent of Africa has a population of 1.2billion people which means it has its own market for its goods and services.
He looks like he has got a hangover in that picture.
Thanks
BB2004,2016
Smel1ly Mushota
H.E President Lungu has nailed it well. As a continent at large we have done a dismal job in building economic capacity that would exploit the trade opportunities AfCFTA presents to our stressed economies in Africa. The massive youth population burst across Africa is certainly valuable human capital and ready market. These are levers of the economy that are capable of turning our fate from despair to prosperity. Bravo!
Ba Edgar should have delegated HH to speak on his behalf.
HH and Ramaphosa are the right to speak on African Trade, not Ba Edgar and George Weah!!
PEPFER 421 Million,is USA Govt happy??
The content of speech appears like one addressing AU…No reference to America, just wondering
Busy reading speeches …with no substance to follow up!!
When His Excellency urges consensus with all stakeholders, I think we all know Civil Societies, UPND, will be disruptive. Just reading the negative statements above informs you of the BIGGEST problem in Africa. Africans just looooooove go fight!
I fortunately that one factor is the cat amongst the pigeons. I would appeal to good Zambians to unite to protect our country and its reputation for peaceful conduct and safe and secure place for business, investment. We are ready, we have the infrastructure, let’s ummmm….develop a PRODUCTION industrial culture.
But his foreign minister said Zambia will not be signing
AfCFTA agreement Any time soon to avoid dumping ????
A President who addresses other forums but is afraid to address his own People. I miss RB, FTJ, and KK. They held press conferences and took questions, Ba Lungu is afraid its sad. We are on autopilot.
#DORASILIYAFORRUNNINGMATE2021
#DORASILIYAFORPRESIDENT2026
Oh the irony of Lungu addressing & giving pro -growth advice to a business summit while putting the Zambian economy in reverse gear these last 4yrs. Rwanda’s Paul Kagame should take your place ECL.
@bulubulu ARE U A Phd HOLDER LIKE mUSHOTA? U deserve a honourary degree for reading between the lines, the contents are irrelevant to US-AFRICA RELATIONS, CONGRATES for beating the would be two DOCTORS LUNGU AND MUNANGAGWA, U DESERVE TO BE A REVIEWER FOR TECHNICAL PAPERS