TANZANIA has officially submitted the instruments of its ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to the Afri- can Union Commission (AUC).
Ratifying the AfCFTA agreement means that the country will now be able to access the market of over 1.3 billion people across the continent.
This will help to foster the free movement of goods, services, and people across borders and help meet the continent’s enormous economic potential.
The new development comes after the Parliament of Tanzania passed resolution No. 4/2021 of September 9, 2021, granting permission for Tanzania to be part of the Af- CFTA agreement.
The instruments of ratification was presented by the Ambassador of Tanzania in Ethio- pia, Innocent Shiyo, who is also the country’s Permanent Representative to the African Union.
Ambassador Shiyo presented the instruments for ratification to the Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission Ambassador Albert Muchanga who received it on behalf of the Chairman of the AUC Moussa Faki Mahamat.
“The establishment of the AfCFTA is an opportunity and a very important step in expanding business opportunities,
attracting investors and increasing exports of Tanzanian products, particularly agricultural products,” said ambassador Shiyo.
He revealed that the opportunity also acts as a crucial catalyst for economic growth and trade between member states (intra-African trade) by promoting African participation in world trade and building its capacity to add value to products through sound technological, innovative and competitive policies.
Besides, the ambassador stressed the countries readiness to effectively participate in the implementation of the Af- CTA agreement which aims to open up the doors of a market of more than 1.3 billion people within the African continent.
For his part, ambassador Muchanga applauded Tanzania for the bold move of ratifying and depositing its ratification instrument to the AUC, calling upon other countries which are yet to ratify the agreement to emulate the example which set by Tanzania.
The AfCTA has been ratified by 54 member states of the AU out of the existing 55 the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The agreement officially gained status in July 2019, after ratification by 28 member states of the AU.
The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and a major step towards African continental economic integration. Tanzania fully participated in and signed for its establishment.
Analysts’ reports show that the significance of the AfCFTA cannot be overstated as it will be the world’s largest free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994. It is estimated that if successfully implemented AfCFTA, Africa will have a combined consumer and business spending of 6.7 trillion US dollars in 2030.
AfCFTA will also have a significant impact on manufacturing and industrial development, tourism, intra-African cooperation, and economic transformation.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), has predicted that it will raise intra-African trade by 15 to 25 percent, or 50 billion US dollars to 70 billion US dollars, by 2040, compared to an Africa without the AfCFTA.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) similarly projects that, under the AfCFTA, Africa’s expanded and more efficient goods and labor markets will significantly increase the continent’s overall ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index.
Increased market access, in turn, is expected to enhance the competitiveness of industries and enterprises.