the poorest continent in the world — Africa — was going to follow in the footsteps of Europe and create the largest free trade zone. According to economists, this will help to overcome the consequences of the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and necessary for the survival of national economies, writes CNBC.
the project of the African free trade zone (AfCFTA) was conceived independently from the coronavirus was supposed to be implemented July 1, 2020, but its launch had to be postponed. However, participants do not abandon the idea and while I only postpone it.
it is Expected that AfCFTA will become the largest free trade area in the world. The population of the 54 member countries will be 1.3 billion people and total GDP of 3,4 trillion dollars, which surpasses the European Union and the TRANS-Pacific partnership (TPP), which in 2017 out of the United States.
negotiations on the establishment of AfCFTA was difficult and lasted for several years, but in the end all the participants managed to come to an agreement. Despite the postponement, has already been appointed the future head of the AfCFTA Valcele man continues to Express confidence in the overall success of the company.
Interviewed by the publication, the financiers expressed confidence that the establishment of a free trade zone will be a strong tool for the recovery of the continental economy. Now, many African countries do not have their own production of essential goods, including Essentials, and face difficulties due to the impossibility to import them from China and other countries outside the continent.
Earlier, the African Union, uniting all the countries of the continent, said that continent-wide damage from the current crisis will be only 1.1 percent of the total GDP and thus become less significant compared to European losses.
