The call to end trade barriers in Africa has been on the front burner for the economic managers in the African continent and this call has been re-echoed by the newly elected President of Kenya, William Ruto.
President William Ruto
President Ruto who is rallying his fellow East African regional leaders, says that it will require joint forces to end the current trade and investment bottlenecks in the region.
President Ruto was speaking to the East Africa Community (EAC) council of ministers, a meeting he hosted in Nairobi, Kenya.
Rwanda’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also part of the group led by its Chairman Ambassador Ezechiel Nibigira.
Also in attendance were Kenya’s Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and the EAC and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano.
“We have a common destiny as East Africans. We must, therefore, work together towards eliminating impediments to trade and investment within the region for the prosperity of the people,” President Ruto said in a tweet.
The debate on the benefits of trade has dominated this decade, and Africa has cast its vote for more and better trade with itself. In March 2018, African countries signed a landmark trade agreement, the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), which commits countries to remove tariffs on 90 percent of goods, progressively liberalize trade in services and address a host of other non-tariff barriers. If successfully implemented, the agreement will create a single African market of over a billion consumers with a total GDP of over $3 trillion.
This will make Africa the largest free trade area in the world. The AfCFTA as a result should stimulate demand for intra-African food imports, supporting the much-needed corporate and individual prosperity in the continent.
On this issue, it is expected that the President of Kenya will get all the needed support and cooperation from his counterparts in the region for a free flow of local goods and services between them to boost the regional economy and subsequently, that of the continent.
