The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund and the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have signed a protocol agreement for an $11.24 million US dollar support package to enhance the Secretariat’s effective implementation.
The signing took place on July 25, 2022, on the margins of the ninth meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers responsible for trade, held in Accra, Ghana.
The grant agreement aims to boost sustainable intra-African trade and augment the number of participating African member states. It is intended to move the African trade integration agenda forward. The AfCFTA Secretariat is currently in phase II of its implementation phase of the Free Trade Area.
The grant will focus on three areas, including institutional strengthening of the AfCFTA Secretariat; private sector support to implement the AfCFTA, and support of climate-resilient regional and continental value chains to boost intra-Africa trade.
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, said, "We welcome the support of the Bank as this is a clear indication of our strategic partnership that will strengthen the capacity of the Secretariat and facilitate the start of commercially meaningful trade under the AfCFTA preferences."
The Secretary-General, while signing the agreement on behalf of the organization, notes, "The COVID-19 pandemic and the current geopolitical tensions have created an ethos of urgent collective action for the implementation of the AfCFTA." We all have a shared responsibility to change the destinies of all Africans as we achieve the laudable objective of the AfCFTA. "
The Vice President for Regional Development, Integration, and Business Delivery for the African Development Bank, Yacine Fall, said, "The African Development Bank is proud of the strong partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat and is confident that this institutional support will help support our respective mandates to spur greater continental trade and economic transformation, in line with Agenda 2063’s vision of the Africa we want."
While signing on behalf of the bank president, Fall expressed optimism that "Africa’s hope for building back stronger and better lies with the successful implementation of the AfCTA."
However, it is expected that, in addition, studies and initiatives will be undertaken to identify new business and economic opportunities for women, to help develop the AfCFTA Women and Youth in Trade Protocol, and to support capacity building and targeted business skills for women.
The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area in Ghana
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