NAIROBI, April 4 (Xinhua) — East Africa’s bloc on Wednesday lauded Kenya for being one of the first countries to approve the framework establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which will create a single market for goods and services in the continent.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said the quick approval of the bill to ratify the AfCFTA demonstrates the strong political will of the Kenyan government to strengthen inter-African linkages on trade through the elimination of trade barriers to foster a liberalized single continental market.

“The IGAD Secretariat also welcomes the signature of the African Continental Free Trade Area by all Member States of IGAD – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda – and will endeavor together with the African Union to work alongside its Members States to facilitate efforts to enhance free trade within its respective region and across the continent,” the bloc said in a statement.

All the East African countries except Burundi which did not attend the Summit on March 21 in Rwanda signed all the three protocols. Only 22 member countries were required to sign the agreement to make the AfCFTA treaty operational.

According to the Africa Union, AfCFTA aims to establish a single liberalized market that will spur industrialization, infrastructural development, economic diversification and trade across the continent that is home to some 1.2 billion people.

IGAD said the trade pact which requires ratification by 22 countries before entering into force seeks to increase intra-African trade by 52 percent, leading to an increase in industrialization, job growth, and economic diversification.

Source: Xinhua News

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