The African Union started its annual summit on 15 February. In a context marked by the repercussions of the war in Ukraine and the persistence of armed insurrections, the discussions will focus on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 on speeding up the establishment of the free trade zone (Zlec).

The UN estimates that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area should bring together 1.3 billion people and thus become the world's largest market with a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion dollars. The market was to be effective as of July 1, 2020. Unfortunately, the closure of most borders due to the coronavirus pandemic has pushed back the schedule. Intra-African trade represents only 15% of the continent's total trade at the moment.