- The African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECA) and the Initiative
Belt and Road (BRI) come together to foster economic integration, industrialization,
infrastructure construction, as well as overall development on the continent.
With the ICR which poses as "a vector of industrialization and transfer of know-how and
technologies", the ZLECA can enable African countries to "really take off and have savings
competitive in a globalized world," said Ivorian academic Abdoulaye Bamba in an interview
recently given to Xinhua.
THE ZLECA UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Considered the largest free trade area in the world in terms of number of members, the
ZLECA, officially launched by African Heads of State on July 7 in Niamey (Niger), can become the
powerful engine for sustainable growth based on inter-African trade, according to the Deputy Secretary
General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed.
The ZLECA, which is to bring together 54 members and 1.2 billion inhabitants, "will make it possible to realize the dream of a
trade-based economic growth for entrepreneurs, industrialists, investors,
innovators and service providers from Africa,” she said.
Ms. Mohammed is far from alone in drawing this conclusion.
For the Zambian government, the entry into operation of the AfCFTA marks a turning point in the
strengthening intra-African trade and economic integration. Zambian Minister Joseph Malanji
of Foreign Affairs, said that Africa's courageous decision to open its markets should
also be accompanied by the continent's industrialization programme.
Christopher Yaluma, Zambia's Minister of Trade and Industry, said market opening in
Africa presented vast opportunities for technology transfer and synergy creation for
promote economic growth and development.
South African Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel says AfCFTA will benefit the sector
manufacturing, because its products will be bought and sold in a market of 1.2 billion people. "Corn
to obtain these gains, we will also have to face many challenges, including the alleviation of a
cumbersome national and African customs administration, the creation of systems allowing payments
between countries and the construction of adequate infrastructure to connect African countries," he said.
note.
The African Union (AU) stressed on December 3 the need to remove barriers to trade
intra-African, insofar as less than 20% of the goods produced in Africa currently remain on the
continent. “Africa is in a unique position, in that it has access to an untapped market.
African countries must unleash intra-African trade, which will benefit all their economies,”
she indicated.
According to figures provided by the AU, intra-African trade represents barely 15% of the total trade of
Africa. “Less than 20% of regional production remains in the region,” the AU noted.
In November, the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Amira Elfadil, called on members of the bloc
pan-African to ratify the protocol on the free movement of persons intended to strengthen mobility in Africa. The protocol was signed by 33 members, but only four of them handed over their instrument of
ratification at the AU Commission, namely Rwanda, Niger, Mali and Sao Tome and Principe. His
entry into force requires 15 ratifications.
CHINA ALONGSIDE AFRICA
Côte d'Ivoire, which, supported by China, has carried out the largest port project in the country with the extension and
modernization of the port of Abidjan, could be the best placed to respond to the concerns of the
South African minister.
This project includes the widening and deepening of the Vridi canal, the construction of three
new container berths and the construction of a ro-ro terminal. With the new terminals, these are
some 190,000 vehicles now landed at the port of Abidjan, not to mention the tripling of its
capacity which increases to a flow rate of 1.8 million containers against 600,000 previously or even
docking of large ships over 150,000 tons with a draft of 16 meters. From now on,
the narrowness of the entrance to the canal and the congestion of the landing quays are now only a distant
memory.
China is ready to do its best to help Africa get out of the "underdevelopment trap" and
realize the "African dream" as soon as possible, declared on November 23 in Nagoya (Japan) the State Councilor and
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. According to him, the lack of funds is the biggest challenge for the
development of Africa, with an annual investment gap of 100 billion dollars in
infrastructure. Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa generate a total revenue of more than 50
billions of dollars each year, he pointed out.
Attaching great importance to the debt issue, China is actively helping African countries to
improve their debt management capacity and offer support to African countries when they encounter
difficulties, Wang said, adding that the two sides have made positive progress in building
joint of the ICR.
China has helped Africa build over 10,000 km of roads, over 6,000 km of railways and
many libraries, schools, hospitals and other welfare facilities, widely promoting the
local development. At the same time, more than half of the eight action plans and supporting funding
announced at the 2018 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing have been
implemented.
As Wang Yi said on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in September, the
China will work tirelessly to accomplish "what our African brothers expect of us and do everything
in the direction of their interests". All this is underway.