ICT: ‘AfCTA’s Digital Trade Forum Comes to Zambia
Notice: Undefined index: catFilterList in /home/zambi/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-likes/api.php on line 243
ICT:
‘AfCTA’s Digital Trade Forum Comes to Zambia
…… “digital technologies for barrier free-trading environment’
5 June. Lusaka (Zambia Informer) ——-AS Africa transcends into a digital environment, devoid of trade barriers, Zambia has joined like-minded architectures of the new world order through the Vision 2064.
June 20-22, all the 54 countries on the continent converge in Zambia for the first-ever, Digital Trade Forum under the to jointly harness and endorse the call for transparent and digitally driven intra trade, but downplayed by many interest ground and costing the continent millions of revenue because of artificial human and technical barriers.
The forum dubbed: “Creating Opportunities in the AfCFTA Digital Trade Market”: Accelerating Intra Trade” has attracted all players from the 54-countries to help shape the digital transformation and bolster Africa’s intra-trade-snailed paced by human and technical hence losing revenue substantially.
The Government which recently approved the hosting of the Digital Trade Forum hopes to be part of the resolutions that will champion the new trade order through dialogue on key opportunities that exist within the AfCFTA market, following the adoption of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade.
The Government’s decision through its cabinet last month aligns with existing policies that embrace the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020-23 and the Protocol on the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA on Digital Trade.
Its protocol has been debated and concluded and ready for application as a driver to increasing intra trade.
“Given the conclusion of the protocol on digital trade, it’s an opportune time to convene the AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum,” Cornelius Mweetwa, the minister of information and chief Government spokesperson says in a statement.
The Digital Transformation, a new phenomenon will seeks to hasten the continent’s industrialisation. Under the Digital Trade Protocol of the AfCFTA, there will be harmonisation of rules of trade and common principles.
This is to enable and support digital trade across Africa under a single market embracing 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion.
The AfCFTA, with potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, the Digital Trade Protocol (‘the Protocol’) of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a milestone to redefine how the continent undertakes trade.
This will be done by define the environment for digital trade between members of the African Union (AU) including island nations such as Mauritius and Madagascar using harmonized trade rules devoid of any barriers that stifle harmonized business among and beyond countries beyond the AfCFTA.
Arguably, research shows that the continent despite its potential to grow three-fold only accounts for a paltry potentially, despite accounting for 17% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for only 3% of global trade and 2% of manufacturing output.
The continent has the lowest proportion of intra-regional trade than any other part of the world and is overly dependent on the export of raw materials, almost ensuring that the majority of the continent’s citizens live in poverty.
Various studies and economic models have revealed that if Africa were to increase its share of world trade by just 1% that increase would generate around US$70 billion of additional income for the continent hence the reason for leaders on the continent endorsing and operationalizing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
It is envisaged, the ‘one single market will accelerate intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market by creating the world’s largest free trade area.
The creation of a tariff-free continent is intended to grow what has traditionally been low levels of intra-African trade and in the process, grow local businesses, drive GDP growth and reduce poverty levels.
Once fully implemented it will eliminate tariffs on 90% of goods and reduce barriers to trade in services, potentially increasing Africa’s income by US$450 billion by 2035. AfCFTA is predicted to grow intra-African trade by 3.9% per annum.
“Once trade barriers have been removed, capital will be required to support increased intra-African trade,” research says adding:
. “Africa needs significant investment into infrastructure including roads, railways and bridges to physically provide easier accessibility.
The continent also needs to invest in technology and digitalisation.
“Not only will digitalisation benefit smaller businesses, but digital supply chain finance solutions will make it easier and more affordable for small and emerging businesses to access trade finance solutions.”
One of AfCFTA’s aims is to ensure more efficient trade by digitalising customs and border procedures. Negotiations around AfCFTA’s protocol on digital trade – defined as “digitally-enabled transactions for the trade in goods and services that either be digitally or physically delivered” – are ongoing.
AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mane recently underscored the importance of Digital Trade:
“If we don’t deploy these digital technologies that all of us are going to be discussing today and tomorrow, I don’t [think] that we will reach that objective”.
AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mane recently underscored the importance of Digital Trade: “If we don’t deploy these digital technologies that all of us are going to be discussing today and tomorrow, I don’t [think] that we will reach that objective”.
AfCFTA: The Genesis:
• The official negotiations for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched in 2015 by African Heads of State and Government at the 25th Ordinary Session of the AU.
• Negotiations continued until March 2018, where the agreement was signed at the 10th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of States and Government, where 44 of the 55 African Union Member States signed the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
• Exactly a year following the signing of the agreement, the AfCFTA entered into force on May 30, 2019. The operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched during the 12th African Union (AU) Assembly in July 2019.
• Then, 27 countries had ratified the AfCFTA, while 28 others had signed but not yet ratified. As of February 2023, 46 of the 54 signatories have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, making them state parties to the agreement.
• While trading under the agreement commenced on January 1, 2021, there are still negotiations taking place to finalize all aspects of the agreement, all divided into three phases.
• Fifty-four African Union (AU) member states have now signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement (only Eritrea has not) and 47 have ratified it. At present, the Non-State Parties are Benin, Eritrea, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
© Copyright Reserved
Photo: AfCFTA Secretariat
