Harare, 9 May, 2018: The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF),together with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), will hold a panel discussion on capacity imperatives and training systems needed for countries to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), on the sidelines of the Conference of Ministers in Addis Ababa. The panel discussion will be held at the United Nations Conference Centre’s Room 6 on Sunday 13 May between 1400hrs and 1530hrs.
The AfCFTA launched on 21 March 2018 in Kigali, opened the path to a regional, common market which can help increase intra African trade from 16 % presently to more than 52% by 2022. To achieve this ambitious goal, member countries will need to negotiate continental rules in areas such as competition, investment or intellectual property.
African countries will therefore need to build the kind of know-hows that will enable them to benefit as much as possible from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and help ensure this new entity becomes fully operational.
This panel discussion is aimed at policy makers, investors, civil society, private sector, national and regional planners as well as Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Industry officials. The main objective of the panel discussion is for participants to assess capacity imperatives for ratification and implementation of the AfCFTA and to build a common understanding of capacity development options and opportunities for capacity development partnerships.
